Chapter 1 - Purpose

Abstract

This chapter explains the purpose of this book, which is intended to provide guidance to qualitative hazard analyses conducted for industrial and commercial processes, specifically for Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA), What-If, and Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) review teams. The methodology and procedures used for these reviews can be adopted and applied for Security Vulnerability Analysis (SVA). The safety and security of process facilities are important parts of a company’s operations. Worldwide petrochemical safety regulations, international security threats, and a company’s own Process Safety Management (PSM) policies would require that a hazard identification, process safety, and security analysis review of its existing and proposed operations be accomplished. The purpose of the evaluations described in the book is to identify the major risks that have the potential to severely impact the industry. PHA, What-If, and HAZOP reviews are the most common industrial qualitative methods used to conduct process hazard analyses, while SVAs are typically applied for process security analyses. It is qualitatively estimated that up to 80% of a company’s hazard identification and process safety analyses may consist of PHA, What-If, and HAZOP reviews, with the remaining 20% from checklist, Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Event Tree Analysis (ETA), Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), and so on. Process hazard analysis reviews need to be updated and revalidated every 5 years as a minimum by U.S. regulations (OSHA and EPA).