Whitepapers

Decoding SIS: Are You Doing What’s Necessary to Prevent Disasters?

What is hiding under the radar of a plant SIS? Risk assessments define hazard consequences with assumed initiating event frequencies.

Detection and Mitigation of Hydrogen Releases

Advances in hydrogen safety are forthcoming and continue to evolve. A selection of case studies will be shared in which hypothetical indoor

Ten Fingers and Ten Toes: Applying Machinery Safety Principles in a Process Plant

When performing risk assessments on process equipment, are you reviewing machinery as well?

Using Small Data to Support Decision Making When LOPA Fails

Data is needed to confidently claim a parameter value, starting with an assumed or generic value, and periodically updating that value with

Understanding Flammable Mist Explosion Hazards

While there is extensive testing and validation of hazards from flammable vapors, less information is available regarding flammable...

A Tale of Two BPCS Credits, A Bayesian Case Study

Have you ever had the problem of having a perfectly functional BPCS* interlock that you know is highly failure immune, yet when it comes...

Using the STAMP Systems-Based Approach to Identify Hazards for the Transient Operating State

STAMP (Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes) is a relatively new accident causality model based on systems theory. It draws its...

How Can I Effectively Place My Gas Detectors

Instrumentation, Reduction of Risk, Risk Assessment, Protection, Detection System, Alarms and Operator Interventions, Detector, Gas Detecti

Does Your Facility Have the Flu? Use Bayes Rule to Treat the Problem Instead of the Symptom

Is our industry addressing the problems facing it today? We idealize infinitesimally small event rates for highly catastrophic hazards,...

Designing Operator Tasks to Minimize the Impact of Heuristics and Biases

This paper proposes a combined approach of discussing the cognitive psychology behind System 1 and System 2 thinking, the types of heuristic

Improving Human Factors Review in PHA and LOPA

Having a working knowledge of these five tools will improve a PHA‐LOPA facilitator’s awareness and ability to better evaluate human error re

Improving the Safety Instrumented System (SIS) Design Process with Graphic Diagrams

Examples of the different types of graphic diagrams, methods in which the diagrams were utilized, and the benefits that each provided in th

FGS 1400 MK II - Evolution of the traditional Fire panel

To develop the Fire and Gas system requirements needed by industry, we first needed to understand the regulatory requirements, applicable in

Lessons Learned on SIL Verification and SIS Conceptual Design

by Richard E. Hanner & Ravneet Singh There are many critical activities and decisions that take place prior to and during the Safety...

Methodologies in Reducing Systematic Failures of Wired IPLs

Common sources of systematic failures and preventative or mitigative measures to prevent their occurrence are presented.

Reverend Bayes, Meet Process Safety-Use Bayes’ Theorem to Establish Site Specific Confidence in LOPA

Bayes’ Theorem is sorely missing from the toolbox of Process Safety practitioners. This paper will introduce Bayes’ Theorem to the reader an

SIL ratings and certification for fire & gas system hardware | Is industry barking up the wrong tree?

There are many devices (sensors, logic solvers and final elements) used in safety instrumented systems that are independently certified...

The use of Bayesian Networks in Functional Safety - Whitepaper

Functional safety engineers follow the ISA/IEC 61511 standard and perform calculations based on random hardware failures. These result in...

Burner Management System Safety Integrity Level Selection

by Michael D. Scott, P.E., aeSolutions Founder This paper will discuss how quantitative methods can be utilized to select the appropriate...

Identifying Required Safety Instrumented Functions for HIGH-TECH & SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING

This paper will discuss the issues, decisions, and challenges encountered when attempting to initially apply the concepts of the Safety Life

IPL/CMS- Integrity Management of Non-SIS Independent Protection Layers after the LOPA

This paper discusses the identification, selection, implementation and management of Non-SIF IPLs through the process lifecycle.

Implementing Safety Instrumented BMS: Challenges and Opportunities

Implementing a Safety Instrumented Burner Management (SI‐BMS) can be challenging, costly, and time consuming. Simply identifying design shor

How Taking Credit for Planned and Unplanned Shutdowns Can Help You Achieve Your SIL Targets

Achieving Safety Integrity Level (SIL) targets can be difficult when proof test intervals approach turnaround intervals of five years or mor

Case Study of a Safety Instrumented Burner Management System (SI-BMS)

This paper will cover: the development of a SIS front end loading package the project cost savings realized attributed to following the saf

Burner Management System Upgrade Challenges and Opportunities in Brownfield Installations

by Mike Scott, P.E., CFSE, aeSolutions Founder A two‐prong templatized approach to multiple brownfield burner management system...

Breathing Life into the Alarm Management Lifecycle

‘Evergreen’ and ‘lifecycle’ have become two common buzz words in our industry. They are thrown around in a variety of topics, processes, and

Can we achieve Safety Integrity Level 3 (SIL 3) without analyzing Human Factors?

Incorporate quantitative Human Factors into a SIL analysis. Representative operating units at various stages of maturity in human factors an

Stopping the Swirl: Facilitation Tools that Improve PHA Results and Efficiency

Effective Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) facilitators combine soft skills with technical knowledge to guide PHA teams through a thorough iden

Understanding Overpressure Scenarios and RAGAGEP

Introduction to Using RAGAGEP for Overpressure Risk Mitigation

A Database Approach to the Safety Life Cycle

A systematic database approach can be used to design, develop and test a Safety Instrumented System (SIS) using methodologies that are in co

What is Truth? Do SIL Calculations Reflect Reality?

Are random hardware failures the only thing that cause a safety instrumented function (SIF) to fail? What if our assumptions are wrong? What

aeSolutions, applied engineering solutions, technical whitepapers based on our various service lines in industrial engineering consulting. Most of these papers have been presented an industry conferences and trade shows. We understand that the industry is constantly evolving. We also understand that, because of this, communication is more important than ever. That’s why it’s our goal to regularly publish technical whitepapers that keep our colleagues and clients informed. If you have any questions about the content of these whitepapers feel free to contact info@aesolutions.com and we will get you in touch with the right subject matter expert.

We offer technical papers on process safety, process safety management, maritime, the water industry, chemicals and specialty chemicals, Fired Equipment, BMS or Burner Management Systems, Boiler Safety, Safety Instrumented Systems, System Integration or Automation, as well as HMU Human Machine Interface. Fire and Gas Panels.

aeSolutions uses technical whitepapers to both record expertise and to market themselves. They almost all have been exhibited at industry trade shows on process safety