Course Title: Environmental and Safety Management

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Environmental and Safety Management

Credit Points: 12.00

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
PROC2056	City Campus	Undergraduate	120H Civil, Environmental & Chemical Engineering	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006

Course Coordinator: A/Prof. Doug Swinbourne

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2201

Course Coordinator Email: drs@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 7:1:4

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

There are no pre-requisite courses, however you are expected to have completed Years 1 and 2 of the chemical engineering program.  Chemical engineering vocabulary and basic concepts will be expected to be familiar.

Course Description

Environmental & Safety Management provides a formal introduction to the legal and moral obligations on chemical engineers to minimise loss during processing operations.  Loss covers environmental damage, the safety of the workforce and nearby communities and the avoidance of damage to process plant and equipment.  The legal obligations under Victorian law will be discussed, specific issues considered and management systems to facilitate the implementation of loss prevention strategies will be outlined.

This course highlights the fact that chemical engineering design is not just a technical exercise.  New plants, or modifications to existing plants, must be designed in such a way that the environmental and the humans involved are protected to the maximum extent possible.

You will learn to assess new designs or existing operations in a systematic and comprehensive manner, which will lead to better engineering solutions and comply with all legal obligations.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

It is expected that as a result of completing this course, you will be aware of your legal and moral obligations to society.  You will have learnt how to develop a management strategy to facilitate the assessment of the risks associated with chemical engineering operations, and methods for mitigating these risks.

At the conclusion of this course you will be able to; describe the obligations imposed by law on process designers and plant operators; list and discuss the various risks that are inherent in chemical engineering processes; design and implement management strategies for risk minimisation.

Overview of Learning Activities

Lecturer inputs: a range of learning experiences are planned for you, including lectures, tutorials, group exercises etc.  The tutorial exercises and assignments will provide you with opportunities to practice the techniques being described during lectures.

Your input as learners: you are expected to participate actively and constructively in class discussions and exercises.  When you are given weekly tasks to complete, or assignments, you are expected to complete them yourself to the best of your ability.

Overview of Learning Resources

The course has a Distributed Learning System site, which will contain a wide range of learning materials and discussion boards.  You may be given printed class notes when appropriate.  The RMIT Library contains many useful references, and there are useful internet sites to which you will be referred from time to time.

Overview of Assessment

Your understanding of the key concepts and your ability to come to clear and logical conclusions regarding the risks associated with various processing routes will be tested both in weekly tasks, assignments and a formal examination.