Jensen Hughes

Since 1939, we have dedicated ourselves to fire protection engineering, initially in the United States and now worldwide.

Today, our expertise, commitment and passion extend across additional domains — including accessibility consulting, risk and hazard analysis, process safety, forensic investigations, security risk and emergency management as well as digital innovation across many of our services.

We help our clients face the most critical issues in our industry and world, including:

Critical Infrastructure Protection

As a strategic partner to global public and private enterprises with fixed asset portfolios, we help clients anticipate risks and take action before harmful incidents occur. We provide services for everything from interstate pipelines and mission-critical data centers to nuclear power facilities and government landmarks.

Environment, Communities + Standards

As an industry leader, we build a better world by providing innovative solutions for the most complex issues facing society. We assist wildfire risk, consult on energy storage system solutions, safely advance carbon-free infrastructure like nuclear power, and commercial workplaces, and strive to set an example in our industry for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Protecting People Before, During + After Crises

As experts, we protect people wherever they work, live or play. We uncover root causes, investigate structural defects and product failures, intervene when an employee poses a risk of violence, and champion new ways for police departments to answer the needs of communities.

Large-Scale Design + Construction

As a preferred partner to the most respected architectural and engineering firms in the world, we help bring to life the safest, most secure and most resilient infrastructure — like the tallest buildings, strongest dams and longest tunnels as well as new cities in emerging markets.

Industry Leadership

We have served on more than 450 committees for international standards-setting organizations and have been instrumental in developing and revising safety codes. Through our client service, recruitment and training, we help drive the adoption of codes and standards worldwide.

With more than 90 offices and 1,500+ engineers, consultants, analysts and strategists we provide a range of services across all markets — from government, healthcare, science and technology to energy, mission critical and transportation.

Services include fire protection, accessibility consulting, risk and hazard analysis, forensic investigations, security risk consulting, emergency management, digital solutions, among many others.

Combustible dust explosions can be devastating. According to an OSHA survey, an average of five employees are killed and another 28 are injured in dust-related incidents every year, and insurance trends show that related losses can exceed $1 million in property damage per incident. However, with proper awareness and planning, you can protect against dust explosions and limit the risk to your facility, employees and the environment.

Our engineers, scientists and consultants work as one team to address the complexities of safety and security to help our clients protect what matters. Mitigating the factors that could put lives, property and reputations at risk has been our objective for over 80 years. We’re dedicated to advancing the science of safety through technology, knowledge and best-in-class research and development. For more than a decade, Jensen Hughes has been helping clients understand combustible dust risks, develop mitigation strategies, and train employees in safe workplace practices. We’ve performed more than 1,200 combustible dust projects in the last three years alone, developing many methods of hazard protection and mitigation that are code compliant and cost-effective.

The first step in understanding the potential for explosion is developing a dust sampling and testing strategy to determine whether a potential hazard exists. Our state-of-the-art combustible dust and flammability testing laboratory serves as the foundation for all our dust hazard analysis services, allowing us to provide an in-depth interpretation of results by subject matter experts familiar with your facility.

Next, a dust hazard analysis (DHA) is performed in order the determine whether the potential for fire or explosion exists. The DHA provides actionable, prioritized recommendations for risk mitigation and management. The goal is to get to an acceptable level of risk that protects worker safety, enables business continuity and limits damage to the facility and the environment should an incident occur. We begin with a thorough understanding of our clients’ process and existing operational and budgetary constraints, apply hazard and risk reduction principles, and deliver practical, cost-conscious recommendations acceptable to all stakeholders.

Because industrial dust is inherently risky

If you operate a manufacturing or industrial facility that processes particulate solids, you probably have a combustible dust hazard. As one of the most under-recognized hazards in industrial facilities, combustible dust fires and explosions can threaten life safety, operational continuity and regulatory compliance. Our team can help you better understand your risk and guide you through the steps and strategies to limit potential consequences. We recognize that each operation has a unique budget and complexity, and we take the time to understand the level of detail required for each dust hazard analysis prior to taking action.

COMBUSTIBLE DUST TESTING

20-L Spherical Chamber

+ Dust Explosibility Screening
+ Explosion Severity (Pmax and KSt )
+ Limiting Oxygen Concentration
+ Minimum Explosible Concentration

Ignition Temperatures

+ Minimum Autoignition Temperature
+ Dust Layer Ignition Temperature

Modified Hartmann Tube

+ Minimum Ignition Energy

Powder Characterization + Processing

+ Particle Size Analysis
+ Moisture Content Analysis
+ Powder Volume Resistivity
+ Particle Size Analysis

DOT 4.1, 4.2 + 4.3 Testing

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

+ Administrative Controls Assessments
+ Cubic-Meter Testing
+ Design Review and Commissioning
+ Educational Seminars and Training
+ Equipment Strength Evaluations
+ Expert Testimony
+ Explosion Prevention
+ Explosion Vent Design
+ Gas/Vapor Flammability Testing
+ Hazardous Area Classification Studies
+ Process Hazard Analyses
+ Product Compliance and Testing