Abstract
HAZOP analysis has become a versatile tool for industrial risk assessment and optimization in the past decades. It facilitates systematical design review with wide applications spanning across entire project lifecycle, from initial design to operation and decommission stages. Traditional qualitative HAZOP process that largely depends on historical experience and brainstorming can lead to inaccurate hazard identification and severe accident consequences. This study aims at improving the depth and accuracy of HAZOP analysis by delivering a comprehensive exploration of the critical factors and advanced quantitative approach. The impact factors were illustrated from prerequisite and assurance aspects. Prerequisite factors serve as the fundamentals of HAZOP which involve design technical details, HAZOP team management, execution strategy and HSE culture, while assurance factors denote the systematical PSI data and quantitative analytical frameworks. A classical chemical case study via semi-quantitative method was exemplified. Countermeasures and international leading practices were introduced with a summary chart at the end. Special attention should be paid to the effectiveness of safety guards and coming up HAZOP recommendations. Motivating future works can be explored such as HAZOP efficiency optimization, finer study targeting different project types, and broader industry applications. By incorporating the critical factors with integrated quantitative approach, the influence of enterprise HAZOP analysis will be more profound with enhanced accident prevention and risk awareness in the overall industrial environment.
Highlights
HAZOP analysis (Hazard and Operability Analysis) is a safety assurance technique predominantly applied in chemical engineering industry to identify the potential hazards, root causes, protective measures together with long-term preventions
Conventional HAZOP technique has been used as the qualitative risk evaluation approach in past decades, which largely depends on historical experience or brainstorming and may lead to inaccurate hazard identification and severe accident impact
This article aims at improving the depth and accuracy of HAZOP analysis, by highlighting critical impact factors and proposing quantitatively integrated framework with the lessons drawn on classical industrial cases
Summary
HAZOP analysis (Hazard and Operability Analysis) is a safety assurance technique predominantly applied in chemical engineering industry to identify the potential hazards, root causes, protective measures together with long-term preventions. It is a systematical team activity facilitated by HAZOP leader and multidisciplinary professionals, involving rigorous review of design documents and control schemes [1]. With half century of development since its inception in 1960s, HAZOP technique has evolved into a powerful tool for industrial risk assessment and prioritization comparing with traditional methods It has been used for diverse industries such as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, and nuclear fields, spanning the entire project life cycle from initial design stage, through operation and modification, to decommissioning at the end [2]. HAZOP scenarios can be consolidated into the integrated risk matrix of an enterprise [4] and used as invaluable training materials to strengthen long-term risk management database
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