(63a) Digital Risk Management and Process Safety

Most organizations recognize IEC 61511/ISA-84 as the global best practice for functional safety management. The challenge is in finding the most effective way to fully comply with these standards over the operation and maintenance phases, which comprise 99% of the asset lifecycle. Traditionally, the front-end engineering work from risk assessment to SIS design has been document-based using one-seat calculators and other one-off, disparate solutions that make it nearly impossible to leverage while the plant is running.

The Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) represents the foundation of a functional safety management program and this can assist organizations towards achieving their compliance goals. This forms part of a Digital Risk Management solution which identifies mismatches between operating data and assumptions during design in order to eliminate unnecessary risk. It also leverages internal work processes rather than implementing new ones in order to optimize efficiencies. Implementation of such a solution avoids any culture change or the constant add-ons which are typically involved in lifecycle approaches simply to monitor Tier 3 and Tier 4 metrics as identified in API RP-754.

This presentation will help organizations understand why a Digital Risk Management solution is required in order to utilize the entire process safety investment made by an organization. It will also explain how templates standardize PHA/LOPA reports in order to minimize additional training and configuration costs, as well as how absorbing PHA/LOPA files into the Process Safety Monitoring environment will best assist organizations to focus on the appropriate severities.