Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Contents
1 Method
1.1 Outline
1.2 Guide words and parameters
2 Team
3 History
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 Further reading
Method
Outline
The method applies to processes (existing or planned) for which design information is available. [a] For continuous processes, this
commonly includes a piping and instrumentation diagram and process flow diagram which is examined in sections, chosen so that
for each a meaningful design intent (the desired, or specified range of behaviour for that item, not just its design duty point ) can
be specified. For example, in a chemical plant, a pipe may be intended to transport 2.3 kg/s of 96% sulfuric acid at 20 C and a
pressure of 2 bar from a pump to a heat exchanger but a prudent designer will have allowed for foreseeable variations
hotter/stronger acid, pump no-flow pressure on the line - before the design reaches detailed HAZOP and (where possible) that
wider design envelope should be explicitly identified and taken as the design intent basis for HAZOP study . [b] The intended
duty of the heat exchanger may be to heat 2.3 kg/s of 96% sulfuric acid from 20 C to 80 C but its full design intent will also
include glimpse of the obvious functions; e.g. maintaining containment of hot acid (and of the heating fluid,and preventing
leakage of one into the other). The size of sections should be appropriate to the complexity of the system and the magnitude of
the hazards it might pose. The HAZOP team then determines what are the possible significant Deviations from each intent,
feasible Causes and likely Consequences. It can then be decided (at the HAZOP, or by subsequent analysis) whether existing,
designed safeguards are sufficient, or whether additional actions are necessary to reduce risk to an acceptable level. For batch
and other sequential operations a logic flow diagram should be available for HAZOP study as well: equipment may have different
design intents at different points in the operation (all should be considered) and hazards may arise from performing operations out
of sequence. When HAZOP meetings were recorded by hand they were generally scheduled for three to four hours per day. [c]
For a medium-sized chemical plant where the total number of items to be considered is 1200 (items of equipment and pipes or
other transfers between them) about 40 such meetings would be needed. [2] Various software programs are now available to assist
in meetings.
as follows:
Guide Word
Meaning
NO OR NOT
MORE
Quantitative increase
LESS
Quantitative decrease
AS WELL AS
Qualitative modification/increase
PART OF
Qualitative modification/decrease
REVERSE
OTHER THAN
Complete substitution
EARLY
LATE
BEFORE
AFTER
(The last four guide words are applied to batch or sequential operations.) Where a guide word is meaningfully applicable to a
parameter e.g. NO FLOW, MORE TEMPERATURE, their combination should be recorded as a credible potential deviation. The
distinction between some guide words may not always be remembered by the team (LESS COMPOSITION should suggest less
than 96% sulfuric acid, AS WELL AS COMPOSITION should suggest a contaminant whereas OTHER THAN COMPOSITION
should suggest something else such as oil) or be well observed by the plant (if a 60% sulphuric/ 15% nitric acid mixture could be
fed instead, the possibility could be flagged up against LESS, AS WELL AS, OTHER THAN).
HAZOP-type studies may also be carried out by considering applicable guide words and identifying elements to which they are
applicable[1] or by considering the parameters associated with plant elements and systematically applying guide words to them;
although this last approach is not mentioned in the relevant standard, its examples of output include a study (B3) recorded in this
way.[1] The following table gives an overview of commonly used guide word - parameter pairs and common interpretations of
them.
Parameter /
Guide
Word
More
Less
None
Flow
high flow
low flow
no flow
Pressure
high
pressure
low
pressure
vacuum
delta-p
Temperature
high
low
temperature temperature
Level
high level
low level
no level
different
level
Time
too long /
too late
too short /
too soon
sequence
missing
step
backwards
actions
skipped
Agitation
no
mixing
Reaction
fast
reaction /
runaway
slow
reaction
no
reaction
Start-up /
Shut-down
too fast
too slow
Draining /
Venting
too long
too short
none
Inertising
high
pressure
low
pressure
none
Utility
failure
(instrument
air, power)
reverse
flow
As well as
Part of
Other
than
deviating
deviating
contamination
concentration
material
explosion
extra actions
wrong
time
unwanted
reaction
actions
missed
deviating
pressure
wrong
recipe
wrong timing
contamination
wrong
material
failure
DCS failure
[e]
failure
Maintenance
none
Vibrations
Reverse
too low
too high
none
wrong
frequency
Once the causes and effects of any potential hazards have been established, the system being studied can then be modified to
improve its safety. The modified design should then be subject to another HAZOP, to ensure that no new problems have been
added. [f]
Team
A HAZOP study is a team effort. The team should be as small as possible consistent with their having relevant skills and
experience [g] A minimum team size of 4[1]-5 [3] is recommended. In a large process there will be many HAZOP meetings and the
team may change as different specialists and possibly different members of the design team are brought in, but the Study Leader
and Recorder will usually be fixed. As many as 20 individuals may be involved[4] but is recommended that no more than 7[1]-8[3]
are involved at any one time (a larger team will make slower progress): each team member should have a definite role as follows
[1] (with alternative names from other sources):
Name
Alternative
Role
Study leader
Chairman
Recorder
Secretary or scribe
Designer
(or representative of
the team which has
To explain any design details or provide further information
designed the process)
User
(or representative of
those who will use it
[i])
Specialist
according to
specialism; e.g.
Chemist ; Human
Factors Specialist
Maintainer
(if appropriate)
In earlier publications it was suggested that the Study Leader could also be the Recorder [4] but separate roles are now generally
recommended. Software is now available from several suppliers to aid the Study Leader and the Recorder.
History
The technique originated in the Heavy Organic Chemicals Division of ICI, which was then a major British and international
chemical company. The history has been described by Trevor Kletz[4][5] who was the company's safety advisor from 1968 to
1982, from which the following is abstracted.
In 1963 a team of 3 people met for 3 days a week for 4 months to study the design of a new phenol plant. They started with a
technique called critical examination which asked for alternatives, but changed this to look for deviations. The method was
further refined within the company, under the name operability studies, and became the third stage of its hazard analysis
procedure (the first two being done at the conceptual and specification stages) when the first detailed design was produced.
In 1974 a one-week safety course including this procedure was offered by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) at
Teesside Polytechnic. Coming shortly after the Flixborough disaster, the course was fully booked, as were ones in the next few
years. In the same year the first paper in the open literature was also published. [6] In 1977 the Chemical Industries Association
published a guide.[7] Up to this time the term HAZOP had not been used in formal publications. The first to do this was Kletz in
1983, with what were essentially the course notes (revised and updated) from the IChemE courses. [4] By this time, hazard and
operability studies had become an expected part of chemical engineering degree courses in the UK.[4]
See also
Cybersecurity HAZOP (CS-HAZOP)
Hazard analysis
Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points
Safety engineering
HAZID
Notes
a. The HAZOP technique can also be applied where design information is not fully available - and doing so may be useful in knocking
bad ideas on the head before too much time is wasted upon them - but a meeting carried out on that basis is not a 'HAZOP' within the
meaning of the standard which notes its restrictive redefinition of the term "The term HAZOP has been often associated, in a generic
sense, with some other hazard identification techniques (e.g. checklist HAZOP, HAZOP 1 or 2, knowledge-based HAZOP). The use of
the term with such techniques is considered to be inappropriate and is specifically excluded from this document." [1]
References
1. British Standard BS: IEC61882:2002 Hazard and operability studies (HAZOP studies)- Application Guide British Standards
Institution. This British Standard reproduces verbatim IEC 61882:2001 and implements it as the UK national standard.
2. Swann, C. D., & Preston, M. L., (1995) Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, vol 8, no 6, pp349-353 "Twenty-five
years of HAZOPs"
3. Nolan, D.P. (1994) Application of HAZOP and What-If Safety Reviews to the Petroleum, Petrochemical and Chemical Industries.
William Andrew Publishing/Noyes. ISBN 978-0-8155-1353-7
4. Kletz, T. A., (1983) HAZOP & HAZAN Notes on the Identification and Assessment of Hazards IChemE Rugby
5. Kletz, T., (2000) By Accident - a life preventing them in industry PVF Publications ISBN 0-9538440-0-5
6. Lawley, H. G.,(1974) Chemical Engineering Progress, vol 70, no 4 page 45 "Operability studies and hazard analysis" AIChE
7. Chemical Industries Association (1977) A Guide to Hazard and Operability Studies
Further reading
Kletz, Trevor (2006). Hazop and Hazan (4th ed.). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0852955065.
Tyler, Brian, Crawley, Frank & Preston, Malcolm (2008). HAZOP: Guide to Best Practice (2nd ed.). IChemE, Rugby.
ISBN 978-0-85295-525-3.
Gould, J., (2000) Review of Hazard Identification Techniques, HSE (http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/hsl_pdf
/2005/hsl0558.pdf)
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg5211/docs/RBDM_Files/PDF/RBDM_Guidelines/Volume%203/Volume%203Chapter%2010.pdf
Hazard and Operability Studies (http://www.lihoutech.com/hzp1frm.htm) Explanation by a software supplier
http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/plansforaction/pdf/hazards/haz_hipap8_rev2008.pdf
Whitty, Steve; Foord, Tony. "Is HAZOP worth all the effort it takes?". Retrieved 5 March 2015. Potential problems with
HAZOPs (authors sell HAZOP expertise, so presumably some promotional intent, but the issues described are
genuine/recognisable)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hazard_and_operability_study&oldid=675571923"
Categories: Process safety Safety Safety engineering
This page was last modified on 11 August 2015, at 12:12.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc., a non-profit organization.