Process Safety Management

Process Hazard Analysis (PHA)

PHA studies are the core of process safety and risk management programs. They help companies identify hazard scenarios that could lead to a release of highly hazardous chemicals that can cause negative impact on people, the environment, and property. PHA is required by OSHA's PSM (29 CFR 1910.119) and EPA's RMP (40 CFR 68) regulations in the US and process safety and risk management regulations around the world. Companies that handle or process highly hazardous chemicals have a responsibility to protect employees, the public and the environment from exposure to accidental releases. aeSolutions specializes in various PHA methodologies, such as Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP), Control Hazard and Operability Studies (CHAZOP), Hazard Identification (HAZID), What-If, Checklist, Bowtie, and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to meet regulatory and client requirements. Our experienced, trained facilitators specialize in the process safety lifecycle to fully integrate assessment, design, and operation of the facility. aeSolutions has conducted PHAs for a wide variety of industries, including Oil and Gas, Refinery, Petrochemical, Specialty Chemical, Automotive, Fertilizer, Paint, Pharmaceuticals, Plastics, and Pulp and Paper Products.

Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA)

LOPA is a semi-quantitative method of evaluating process safety risk to a facility. The LOPA methodology considers higher consequence scenarios identified in the Process Hazard Analysis to ensure proper safeguards, or Independent Protection Layers (IPLs), are in place to reduce risk to a tolerable level. aeSolutions will lead your LOPA team through this evaluation and provide final deliverables including LOPA study worksheets, IPL list, and Safety Integrity Level (SIL) target assignments.

Independent Protection Layer (IPL) and Safety Integrity Level (SIL) Selection

In certain cases, an additional and separate study beyond a LOPA is required to further define and refine selected IPLs. This may be the case when PHA/ LOPA are performed together, not providing adequate time for IPL discussion. If a process or Unit has never undergone a LOPA, then the IPL Select and Define activity may be required. In any case, aeSolutions will facilitate the IPL Select Team meeting and provide deliverables including IPL list and SIL target assignments. IPL Select and Define requires a unique skill set encompassing PHA facilitation experience coupled with IPL and SIS knowledge. aeSolutions has the experts to handle this task.

Facility Siting Analysis

A Facility Siting Analysis is intended to evaluate the potential hazards and consequences of uncontrolled releases of flammable and toxic substances; to assess their potential for injuring the occupants of fixed and temporary structures on or offsite; to identify existing safeguards; and to determine measures to reduce the risk posed by these potential events. aeSolutions has trained facilitators to execute the hazard recognition and risk reduction process and experienced modelers that apply the appropriate methodology in line with API 752/753 and industry best management practices for Facility Siting. We provide results that allow your site leadership team to allocate resources more effectively to minimize facility siting risks.

Dispersion & Consequence Modeling

Consequence modeling is used to predict the toxic, flammable, or explosive impacts from the release of chemicals and their dispersion to the environment. aeSolutions has expertise in performing consequence modeling for a variety of industries and uses this base of knowledge to provide guidance on how to select release scenarios and determine appropriate endpoints. Our project execution includes data collection, modeling, interpretation of the model output, and presentation of meaningful results in a format our clients can use to better understand their identified risks.

Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA)

A QRA is a specialized approach to assess high consequence LOPA scenarios with large risk gaps to close. Further "pencil-sharpening" in the QRA will verify the severity of the scenario through consequence modeling, as well as the frequency of the scenario through fault tree modelling. Often conservative assumptions made in LOPA are revealed in QRA, which makes the solution to gap closure more practical. QRA will handle conditional dependence among IPL(s) and the initiating cause(s). aeSolutions utilizes commercially available software tools, along with in-house expertise, to facilitate QRAs.

Human Factors & Human Error Analysis

For a Quantitative Risk Assessment involving a significant human error component as an input, a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) may be needed to bring the analysis of the input in-line with the level of rigor required for a QRA. HRA will provide qualitative insight to the human factors issues related to the error, and also provide a more accurate quantitative assessment than is found in standard LOPA tables for human performance credits. The ability to model conditional dependence among operator tasks, as well as model potential human recovery factors from errors, makes the HRA a valuable tool. For a typical HRA, a standard operating procedure (SOP) is broken down into discrete tasks. Interviews with Operations are conducted, known as a "talk-through," as well as a plant "walk-through" which covers the equipment of concern from the SOP. PSFs (Performance Shaping Factors) related to each task are discovered. Dependencies among tasks are estimated. Each of these will influence the HEP (Human Error Probability) for each task. Each task is to be modelled as a success or failure. An HRA Event Tree is constructed, each identified task being a branch in the tree, and then solved; the output of which is typically an input to a QRA. aeSolutions has the Human Factors Reliability Experts to handle this task.

Electrical Area Classification

Facilities often have process or equipment changes which result in inaccurate drawings or the drawings may have been lost since the process was first built. aeSolutions provides electrical area classification studies for process facilities after equipment installation to document the following:

• Equipment identification
• Equipment location
• Electrical area classification drawings
• Site General Arrangements (G&As) compliant to API 500 and NEC article 500
• Equipment drawings

Combustible Dust Assessment

In facilities that generate or handle combustible dusts, an effective management program is essential. A combustible dust risk assessment is utilized to identify scenarios with unacceptable consequences and to develop corrective action plans to reduce the likelihood of unacceptable consequences. Improved controls for limiting the likelihood of combustible dust include but is not limited to the following:

• Appropriate effective housekeeping
• Proper application and use of PPE
• Installation of proper electrically classified equipment
• Properly designed engineering controls for explosion venting on dust collection equipment
• Critical relief devices properly maintained
• Adequate maintenance
• Adequate Hot Work permitting
• Means to dissipate static electricity such as bonding and grounding
• Employee training and awareness of risks associated with combustible dust

aeShield Software

aeShield® automatically maintains the complex relationships among the risk reduction performance, design verification calculations, inspection and test plans for integrity management, and actual plant historical data. aeShield® provides real time alerts and reporting on the process safety health of a single safety loop, a full process area or across an entire multi-site enterprise.

aeSolutions is a licensed reseller of aeShield® Safety Lifecycle Management software suite, a comprehensive platform for automating the safety lifecycle in compliance with ISA84.00.01/IEC 61511 and the related requirements of OSHA 1910.119.

Learn more

Process Hazard Analysis (PHA)

PHA studies are the core of process safety and risk management programs. They help companies identify hazard scenarios that could lead to a release of highly hazardous chemicals that can cause negative impact on people, the environment, and property. PHA is required by OSHA's PSM (29 CFR 1910.119) and EPA's RMP (40 CFR 68) regulations in the US and process safety and risk management regulations around the world. Companies that handle or process highly hazardous chemicals have a responsibility to protect employees, the public and the environment from exposure to accidental releases. aeSolutions specializes in various PHA methodologies, such as Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP), Control Hazard and Operability Studies (CHAZOP), Hazard Identification (HAZID), What-If, Checklist, Bowtie, and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to meet regulatory and client requirements. Our experienced, trained facilitators specialize in the process safety lifecycle to fully integrate assessment, design, and operation of the facility. aeSolutions has conducted PHAs for a wide variety of industries, including Oil and Gas, Refinery, Petrochemical, Specialty Chemical, Automotive, Fertilizer, Paint, Pharmaceuticals, Plastics, and Pulp and Paper Products.

Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA)

LOPA is a semi-quantitative method of evaluating process safety risk to a facility. The LOPA methodology considers higher consequence scenarios identified in the Process Hazard Analysis to ensure proper safeguards, or Independent Protection Layers (IPLs), are in place to reduce risk to a tolerable level. aeSolutions will lead your LOPA team through this evaluation and provide final deliverables including LOPA study worksheets, IPL list, and Safety Integrity Level (SIL) target assignments.

Independent Protection Layer (IPL) and Safety Integrity Level (SIL) Selection

In certain cases, an additional and separate study beyond a LOPA is required to further define and refine selected IPLs. This may be the case when PHA/ LOPA are performed together, not providing adequate time for IPL discussion. If a process or Unit has never undergone a LOPA, then the IPL Select and Define activity may be required. In any case, aeSolutions will facilitate the IPL Select Team meeting and provide deliverables including IPL list and SIL target assignments. IPL Select and Define requires a unique skill set encompassing PHA facilitation experience coupled with IPL and SIS knowledge. aeSolutions has the experts to handle this task.

Facility Siting Analysis

A Facility Siting Analysis is intended to evaluate the potential hazards and consequences of uncontrolled releases of flammable and toxic substances; to assess their potential for injuring the occupants of fixed and temporary structures on or offsite; to identify existing safeguards; and to determine measures to reduce the risk posed by these potential events. aeSolutions has trained facilitators to execute the hazard recognition and risk reduction process and experienced modelers that apply the appropriate methodology in line with API 752/753 and industry best management practices for Facility Siting. We provide results that allow your site leadership team to allocate resources more effectively to minimize facility siting risks.

Dispersion & Consequence Modeling

Consequence modeling is used to predict the toxic, flammable, or explosive impacts from the release of chemicals and their dispersion to the environment. aeSolutions has expertise in performing consequence modeling for a variety of industries and uses this base of knowledge to provide guidance on how to select release scenarios and determine appropriate endpoints. Our project execution includes data collection, modeling, interpretation of the model output, and presentation of meaningful results in a format our clients can use to better understand their identified risks.

Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA)

A QRA is a specialized approach to assess high consequence LOPA scenarios with large risk gaps to close. Further "pencil-sharpening" in the QRA will verify the severity of the scenario through consequence modeling, as well as the frequency of the scenario through fault tree modelling. Often conservative assumptions made in LOPA are revealed in QRA, which makes the solution to gap closure more practical. QRA will handle conditional dependence among IPL(s) and the initiating cause(s). aeSolutions utilizes commercially available software tools, along with in-house expertise, to facilitate QRAs.

Human Factors & Human Error Analysis

For a Quantitative Risk Assessment involving a significant human error component as an input, a Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) may be needed to bring the analysis of the input in-line with the level of rigor required for a QRA. HRA will provide qualitative insight to the human factors issues related to the error, and also provide a more accurate quantitative assessment than is found in standard LOPA tables for human performance credits. The ability to model conditional dependence among operator tasks, as well as model potential human recovery factors from errors, makes the HRA a valuable tool. For a typical HRA, a standard operating procedure (SOP) is broken down into discrete tasks. Interviews with Operations are conducted, known as a "talk-through," as well as a plant "walk-through" which covers the equipment of concern from the SOP. PSFs (Performance Shaping Factors) related to each task are discovered. Dependencies among tasks are estimated. Each of these will influence the HEP (Human Error Probability) for each task. Each task is to be modelled as a success or failure. An HRA Event Tree is constructed, each identified task being a branch in the tree, and then solved; the output of which is typically an input to a QRA. aeSolutions has the Human Factors Reliability Experts to handle this task.

Electrical Area Classification

Facilities often have process or equipment changes which result in inaccurate drawings or the drawings may have been lost since the process was first built. aeSolutions provides electrical area classification studies for process facilities after equipment installation to document the following:

• Equipment identification
• Equipment location
• Electrical area classification drawings
• Site General Arrangements (G&As) compliant to API 500 and NEC article 500
• Equipment drawings

Combustible Dust Assessment

In facilities that generate or handle combustible dusts, an effective management program is essential. A combustible dust risk assessment is utilized to identify scenarios with unacceptable consequences and to develop corrective action plans to reduce the likelihood of unacceptable consequences. Improved controls for limiting the likelihood of combustible dust include but is not limited to the following:

• Appropriate effective housekeeping
• Proper application and use of PPE
• Installation of proper electrically classified equipment
• Properly designed engineering controls for explosion venting on dust collection equipment
• Critical relief devices properly maintained
• Adequate maintenance
• Adequate Hot Work permitting
• Means to dissipate static electricity such as bonding and grounding
• Employee training and awareness of risks associated with combustible dust

aeShield Software

aeShield® automatically maintains the complex relationships among the risk reduction performance, design verification calculations, inspection and test plans for integrity management, and actual plant historical data. aeShield® provides real time alerts and reporting on the process safety health of a single safety loop, a full process area or across an entire multi-site enterprise.

aeSolutions is a licensed reseller of aeShield® Safety Lifecycle Management software suite, a comprehensive platform for automating the safety lifecycle in compliance with ISA84.00.01/IEC 61511 and the related requirements of OSHA 1910.119.

Learn more