Search this site

A process that evalutes equipment and/or the logic solver and associated software together during and after the assembly process to ensure it satisfies the requirements of the design specifications and safety requirement specification (SRS). FAT is typically conducted to assess for any deviations or abnormalities during testing. The ISA/IEC 61511 standard (Clause 13) requires that the need for a FAT should be identified during safety planning for a project, and also provides guidance on how a FAT should be planned and conducted. aeSolutions SIS engineers have the experience to develop these plans, oversee their execution as an independent 3rd party, or execute these tests. aeSolutions operates its own FAT lab -- a 10,000 square foot FM approved and UL 508a certified panel fabrication and testing facility -- to ensure any potential panel issues are resolved prior to shipping the system. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) A process that evalutes equipment and/or the logic solver and associated software together during and after the assembly process to ensure it satisfies the requirements of the design specifications and safety requirement specification (SRS). FAT is typically conducted to assess for any deviations or abnormalities during testing. The ISA/IEC 61511 standard (Clause 13) requires that the need for a FAT should be identified during safety planning for a project, and also provides guidance on how a FAT should be planned and conducted. aeSolutions SIS engineers have the experience to develop these plans, oversee their execution as an independent 3rd party, or execute these tests. aeSolutions operates its own FAT lab -- a 10,000 square foot FM approved and UL 508a certified panel fabrication and testing facility -- to ensure any potential panel issues are resolved prior to shipping the system. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Facility siting studies are used to ascertain location based risks for a plant and ensure that occupied buildings are located at a safe distance from process units. 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. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Facility Siting Study Facility siting studies are used to ascertain location based risks for a plant and ensure that occupied buildings are located at a safe distance from process units. 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. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

A Safety Critical Element (SCE) is a component or system whose failure could lead to a major accident or significantly impact safety. SCEs are subject to rigorous monitoring, maintenance, and testing to ensure their integrity and reliability. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Safety Critical Element (SCE) A Safety Critical Element (SCE) is a component or system whose failure could lead to a major accident or significantly impact safety. SCEs are subject to rigorous monitoring, maintenance, and testing to ensure their integrity and reliability. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Note: ISA 84 was a previous edition of the standard. Please see ANSI ISA-16511 (IEC 61511) ANSI/ISA-16511 (IEC 61511) is an industry standard for best practices related to safety instrumented systems (SIS), Covering over the activities involved in the design, operation and maintenance of instrumented systems, from sensor through final element, used to achieve functional safety in the process industries. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions IEC 61511 - ISA 84 Note: ISA 84 was a previous edition of the standard. Please see ANSI ISA-16511 (IEC 61511) ANSI/ISA-16511 (IEC 61511) is an industry standard for best practices related to safety instrumented systems (SIS), Covering over the activities involved in the design, operation and maintenance of instrumented systems, from sensor through final element, used to achieve functional safety in the process industries. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

The likelihood of occurrence of an event or an event sequence during an interval of time. Probability is expressed as a dimensionless number ranging from 0 to 1. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Probability The likelihood of occurrence of an event or an event sequence during an interval of time. Probability is expressed as a dimensionless number ranging from 0 to 1. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

A failure that occurs at a random time is called a random failure. Random failures are non-deterministic by nature but they follow a probability distribution for failure, which is used to calculate probability for such a failure from historical data and testing. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Random Failure A failure that occurs at a random time is called a random failure. Random failures are non-deterministic by nature but they follow a probability distribution for failure, which is used to calculate probability for such a failure from historical data and testing. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Common Mode Failure is a Failure causing coincident failures in multiple systems on two or more separate channels in a redundancy system, leading to system failure. This state may result from one or more failure events. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Common Mode Failure Common Mode Failure is a Failure causing coincident failures in multiple systems on two or more separate channels in a redundancy system, leading to system failure. This state may result from one or more failure events. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dispersion modeling is a mathematical simulation used to predict how pollutants, chemicals, or other particles spread and disperse in the air or water. It helps assess the environmental impact of emissions and guides regulatory compliance by predicting concentrations in specific areas. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Dispersion Modeling Dispersion modeling is a mathematical simulation used to predict how pollutants, chemicals, or other particles spread and disperse in the air or water. It helps assess the environmental impact of emissions and guides regulatory compliance by predicting concentrations in specific areas. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) is a semi quantitative method of risk assessment analyzing the frequency of occurrence of events that can produce a hazard associated with handling of hazardous chemicals. To ensure safety, a LOPA considers the applicability of safeguards, the potential for individual layers of protection to fail, and the potential consequences that are consistent with the organization's risk tolerance Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions What is LOPA in safety Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA) is a semi quantitative method of risk assessment analyzing the frequency of occurrence of events that can produce a hazard associated with handling of hazardous chemicals. To ensure safety, a LOPA considers the applicability of safeguards, the potential for individual layers of protection to fail, and the potential consequences that are consistent with the organization's risk tolerance Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dormant or standby operation where the IPL takes action only when a process demand occurs and is otherwise inactive. Low demand mode occurs when the process demand frequency (i.e., when the IPL is challenged) is less than once per year. Low demand mode of an IPL is considered during Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) conducted by aeSolutions' trained facilitators. PHAs 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. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Low Demand Mode Dormant or standby operation where the IPL takes action only when a process demand occurs and is otherwise inactive. Low demand mode occurs when the process demand frequency (i.e., when the IPL is challenged) is less than once per year. Low demand mode of an IPL is considered during Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs) conducted by aeSolutions' trained facilitators. PHAs 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. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

A Quantitative Risk Assessment is a systematic approach to determining the likelihood and consequences of hazardous events and expressing the results quantitatively as risk to personnel, the site being studied, the overall environment, and/or a company. Risk is a function of consequence and likelihood and aeSolutions has the experience and tools to evaluate both for a 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. For example we can use the PHAST and SAFETI software to model chemical releases in evaluating consequences of an incident. QRA can be a valuable decision support tool when evaluating complex hazard scenarios. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) A Quantitative Risk Assessment is a systematic approach to determining the likelihood and consequences of hazardous events and expressing the results quantitatively as risk to personnel, the site being studied, the overall environment, and/or a company. Risk is a function of consequence and likelihood and aeSolutions has the experience and tools to evaluate both for a 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. For example we can use the PHAST and SAFETI software to model chemical releases in evaluating consequences of an incident. QRA can be a valuable decision support tool when evaluating complex hazard scenarios. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

A structured approach used to identify potential human failure events and to systematically estimate the probability of those events using data, models, or expert judgment. Human Factor Analyses 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. Acronyms & Terms Glossary <- More Definitions Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) A structured approach used to identify potential human failure events and to systematically estimate the probability of those events using data, models, or expert judgment. Human Factor Analyses 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. Our Services What Are Tomorrow's Leaders Learning From Us Today? A Lesson in Ethical Leadership Leaders face constant pressure to move fast and hit targets. The risk isn't a single bad decision, it's the small compromises that start to look reasonable. What are tomorrow's leaders learning from watching how we handle that pressure today? Whitepaper: The Courage to Intervene | Developing Ethical Leadership in the Next Generation of Process Safety Professionals As the process industries experience the “great shift change,” developing the next generation of leaders requires more than technical competence. It demands ethical courage and the ability to influence others to uphold process safety under pressure. This paper explores how ethical decision-making and leadership behaviors can be intentionally developed through structured case-based learning derived from real engineering failures. aeSolutions Recognized with 2026 CSIA Social Responsibility Award aeSolutions is proud to share that we were recognized with the 2026 Social Responsibility Award at the 2026 CSIA Awards, held during the Control System Integrators Association Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.