Effective hazard analysis and risk assessment is always difficult in any situation. It is especially difficult in a research environment such as for pilot plants and laboratory operations. This paper will present the top ten problems the author has encountered in his 40 years of experience in this area. These include:
Failure to develop detailed credible scenarios
Not accepting the full potential for human error
Failure to thoroughly evaluate systems and controls as fail safe
Considering dependent failures as independent
Incomplete information on all the materials involved and their properties
Tacitly assuming the proposed work is a trivial risk
Approaching the review in too unstructured a manner
Assuming that more reviewers equates to a better review
Not recognizing something as a change
Willingness to compromise on unworkable solutions
The presentation will highlight each area and suggest some potential corrective actions.
