HAZOP CHAIR

A HAZOP study is a structured risk assessment designed to identify hazards and operability issues with new and existing plant.  Hazards are defined as any event that could result in injury to people or harm to the environment.  Damage to equipment and/or financial risk can also be included in the risk assessment if required.

The HAZOP procedure incorporates the identification of initiating events that could result in risks, the consequences of the initiating event, the severity and frequency of these events, the safeguards currently planned or in place to prevent the consequences identified and the residual risks once all safeguards are accounted for.  Where further actions are identified they are recorded against the individual events.

The Hazop generally takes longer than a Hazid as it is a more detailed study and is performed in more detail and focuses on each individual element of a system or process.

The HAZOP study aims to identify deviations from normal operating conditions that may lead to hazards, undesirable consequences  or operability concerns and provides a more thorough and comprehensive analysis compared to HAZID.

Methodology of HAZOP

The methodology of HAZOP typically involves the following steps:

1. Defining the system or process being assessed and establishing the objectives and scope of the analysis.
2. Assembling a multidisciplinary team with in-depth knowledge of the system or process.
3. Identifying each individual element of the system or process and systematically examining them using a combination of parameters (e.g. Flow, Temperature, Level, Pressure) combined with guide words such as No, More, Less, As Well As”, “Part of,” “Reverse,” etc.
4. Identifying potential deviations from normal operating conditions and their consequences, including hazards and undesirable consequences.
5. Assessing the hazards and risks associated with each identified deviation.

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