(109a) The Pitfalls and Benefits of the Virtual Process Hazard Analysis

The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic took the world by storm from 2020 into 2021. The lingering effects could potentially even affect operations in 2022 around the globe. As part of these impacts, process safety facilities managing highly hazardous chemicals still need to meet their compliance and risk management obligations. One of these key elements is the Process Hazard Analysis (PHA). Federal regulations require that Process Hazard Analysis studies be revalidated at least every five years or when there is a significant change in the covered process. Due to the critical nature of this element, industry had to adapt to ensure that risk assessments could still be conducted, revalidated, and updated, for covered process units. To ensure the continuity of the risk assessment process, virtual PHA studies were held due to significant travel restrictions and site limitations for guests. This paper will highlight the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities that can come from what we have learned from facilitating virtual PHAs from 2020-2021 across multiple industry sectors and the ways we can use this new practice moving forward with evolving technology. Now that industry has adapted to the new normal, we need to ask ourselves when are virtual PHAs appropriate? How can we maximize the effectiveness of virtual sessions? What can we do to make this a useful tool for future risk assessments?