The Next Generation of Hazard Assessment Protocols
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Date
1999
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Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center
Abstract
The process industries have been using the hazard and operability (HAZOP) study and design specification checklist methods to analyze processes for several years. Both can be utilized to provide adequate safety analysis results, but generally lack consistency. The HAZOP study was designed as a baseline tool for new processes. Although powerful, it literally begins with a blank sheet of paper for every process node. This is typical for a first time study of a process unit or for the analysis of a unit that has been reviewed several times. In addition, the results of the HAZOP study rely heavily on the capability and experience of the review team and the facilitator. Many companies with multiple plant sites have developed corporate safety design criteria. This is typically used to specify the installation of safety systems. Corporate measures applied across several different process units and multiple plant sites have had varying degrees of success. Most found that the corporate mandated design specification policy was too ridge and did not easily conform to the introduction of new technologies or process changes. Under the current economic climate, companies must strive to maximize profits and satisfy shareholders in the mist of tighter margins, increased environmental regulatory pressure, and constant fluctuations of demand in the world markets. Those that survive must be more competitive through being conscience of emerging trends and ways of improving efficiencies. Emerging into the new millennium with the same awkward safety methods may not guarantee the increased efficiencies needed for some companies to compete. What would be an ideal tool for streamlining timely analysis methods and maximizing the analysis efficiency? The ideal tool would provide timely information needed to maintain continued safe operation of plant processes. It would make efficient use of previous safety data and provide a basis for corporate process knowledge to reside and grow. It would eventually expand into a collection of data and knowledge from the plant’s most experienced operations and maintenance staff. The hazard assessment protocol combines process safety concepts and lessons learned from extensive HAZOP studies and safeguards indicative to the design specification checklist. It promises an alternative methodology for conducting safety analyses that is more beneficial and cost effective than its predecessors. Furthermore, the protocol can assist plant personnel in conducting process hazard analysis, management of change and incident investigation reviews as mandated by 29 CFR 1910.119 and 40 CFR 68. The customized protocol can be used to substantially improve the effectiveness of prevention programs by permitting faster, more targeted safety analyses and reviews in accordance with plant operations. The protocol proposed herein is not a radically different concept. In fact, it is very similar to the methods used successfully by the offshore petroleum production industry for over 20 years.
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Presentation
Keywords
Hazard Assessment Protocols