Use of the Bowtie Tool to Develop Regulatory Standards Focusing on Process Safety and Integrity of an Ideal Pumping Systems

Process safety seeks to manage the integrity of operational systems and hazardous processes by applying good design principles and good operational engineering practices to prevent incidents that have the potential to release hazardous energy or materials. One of the fundamental roles of workplace standardization is to create routine procedures that managers and employees must follow to perform and complete tasks and responsibilities safely. Several tools have been used to develop requirements and identify risks, among them, Bowtie has stood out for being a tool focused on avoiding the release of dangerous energies and for its easy visualization. Bowtie is a very versatile tool as it can be used to determine the probability of a top event to occur. This work proposes a new application of the Bowtie tool, being used in the development of technical requirements, with a focus on process safety, to keep the large pumping systems of a large industry in the mineral sector. The work showed a gain in the focus of the most relevant requirements to avoid the unwanted material event (MEU). The great challenge in its use lies in not knowing in detail the operational context in which the idealized system is inserted.