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Safety Instrumentation Systems

Safety instrumentation systems can help companies achieve risk reduction and incident prevention. A safety instrumented system (SIS) takes automated action to keep a plant in a safe state, or to put it into a safe state, when abnormal conditions are present. The SIS may implement a single function or multiple functions to protect against various process hazards in your plant.

Can Functional Testing Be Replaced by Inspection After Demands?

Mar 14, 2011
Hui Jin
Safety instrumented systems are used to reduce the risk of major accidents in the process industry. To claim a certain risk reduction from such systems, it is necessary to perform reliability analyses, within internationally accepted frameworks, such as the IEC 61511. The main factors that...

Analysis of Independent Protection Layers Used In Three Typical Chemical Processes

Mar 14, 2011
Herb W. H. Meyer
Independent protection layers (IPLs) used to mitigate most severe consequences are analyzed for three chemical processes: Olefins, Low-density Polyethylene, and an intermediates chemical plant. The IPLs are categorized by type (i.e., interlocks, PSVs, independent alarms, etc.), by function (...

Using LOPA for Sil Assignment: A Tale of Two Plants

Mar 13, 2011
Michael S. Schmidt
Two plants operated by the same company have ?identical? ammonium nitrate (AN) solution pump installations. Yet the LOPA teams concluded that the safety instrumented functions to protect those pumps needed different safety integrity levels (SILs). Despite the similarity of the installations, the...

Modular Procedural Automation Addressing the Post Recession Skills Gap

Mar 23, 2010
Maurice J. Wilkins
A procedural operation consists of a set of tasks that are conducted in a set way time-after-time to achieve a certain goal such as starting or shutting down a unit or making a product. As demonstrated by Paul McKenzie (Bristol Myers Squibb) at the WBF NA Conference 2007 in Baltimore, it could even...

Modification of Risk Using Barrier Methodology

Mar 23, 2010
Robin Pitblado
Risk assessments use frequency data mostly from generic sources, typically from the North Sea offshore environment or from process facility records mainly from Europe. As QRA's are being applied increasingly in North America and in the developing world, novel techniques are necessary to establish...

Successful Process Safety Management Requires a Barrier Risk Assessment Tool

Mar 22, 2010
Ronald G. Hallmark
The expected outcome of Process Safety Management is to minimize the likelihood of a major accident hazard from occurring and ensure that the necessary mitigation and emergency preparedness mechanisms are in place in the event that an accident does happen. PSM programs objectives are to establish...

High Integrity Protective System Design Using a Risk Based Approach

Mar 22, 2010
Robert J. Stack
With the update of the High Integrity Protective System (HIPS) methodology by API in 2007, Dow Chemical updated its internal work process to apply Dow's risk based work processes to HIPS design, application and evaluation. Rather than just focusing on the vessel related consequences of substituting...

HAZOP, LOPA, SIL: Be Careful What You Ask for!

Mar 21, 2010
Mike Broadribb
In recent years Process Safety Engineers have promoted the use of HAZOP to identify hazards and assess safeguards, followed by LOPA to identify if additional protection layers are necessary and, if they are to be provided using safety instrumented functions, how reliable the SIFs need to be...

Instrumented Protective Systems for Distillation Operations

Mar 21, 2010
Jennifer Mize
Distillation is one of the most common unit operations in the chemical processing industry. Using relative volatility as a means of separating chemicals involves adding large amounts of energy to the system at the base of the column, typically through the use of a reboiler, and then removing that...

Chronic Pain Resulting from Your Relief Device Management Systems

Mar 21, 2010
David A. Moore
With the increasing use of Layer of Protection Analysis as a semi-quantitative method of assessing process risk, LOPA practitioners are asked to assign credit to numerous safeguards including relief devices. Relief devices are only as strong as the initial design of the component and the systems...

Case Histories and Lessons Learned

Apr 29, 2009
Delmar Morrison, Mark Kaszniak, Scott Davis
Reviews of process safety incidents and near misses provide valuable learning opportunities. Papers dealing with incidents, near misses, and the lessons learned are presented. Please Note : Case Histories and Lessons Learned -- Spring Meeting 2009 includes the following recorded presentations: ·...

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