1. Frequent Crisis and Modern Trends Associated with HAZOP Study in Plants and Industrial Units
- Author
-
Kunal Sharma and Rahul Lodha
- Subjects
Engineering ,020401 chemical engineering ,Hazard and operability study ,business.industry ,0502 economics and business ,05 social sciences ,Operations management ,02 engineering and technology ,050207 economics ,0204 chemical engineering ,business - Abstract
Hazard and operability (HAZOP) analysis has a well-deserved reputation for systematic and thorough evaluation of process hazards in industrial units. The method is now widely known and is in prevalent use in the chemical processing industries; so much so that in many industries performing a HAZOP has become a legal requirement for new or modified industrial units. A number of guides exist for conducting HAZOPs, the most recent being the IChemE guidelines on finest practice – second edition, published in the year 2008. In exercise however, following best practice is not that easy and many compromises have to be made in order to finish the task an added hurdle occurs when the HAZOP is led by a self-governing leader from an external company or third party as is increasingly the case. In this circumstance the person in charge also has to satisfy the customer or customer’s requirements which do not always match to the best custom. In addition there is a drift to lessen HAZOP study scope to safety health and environmental concerns only and to exclude operability and consistency issues. This has resulted from a observance mindset, possibly in an attempt to lessen liabilities. HAZOP is increasingly being seen as a conformity tool rather than as a tactic to ensure a secure, trustworthy and well designed plant. With the current financial environment we can expect these hitches to increase as project costs come under enhanced pressure and the extent of many projects is reduced. This paper discusses some of the more frequent crisis that occur during HAZOPs and some of the possible solutions in industrial units.
- Published
- 2020