The Ineffable Sil and Process Risk Reduction
CCPS Latin American Conference on Process Safety
2011
3rd Latin American Process Safety Conference and Expo
General Program
Safety Instrumented Systems
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 - 9:00am to 9:30am
THE INEFFABLE SIL AND PROCESS RISK REDUCTION
CLEAR AND SIMPLE!
Presentation by:
Presented by:
Eng. Roberto Fernández Blanco
SISTEMAS DACS SA
ABSTRACT
(For the Risk Assessment session)
(Please insert the uploaded JPG image entitled "The Ineffable SIL and Process Risk Reduction")
This presentation has three basic purposes: 1) to reintroduce the SIL/RRF Graph I developed in 2005 as substitute for the conventional SIL Categories Table, 2) to use this graph to provide a simple clarification of the meaning of the concepts “Risk Reduction” and “SIL”; and, finally, 3) to try to induce the management to deepen – with greater basic knowledge and competence – the cultural evolution the CCPS is promoting in favor of a decisive and responsible Process Safety Management (“PSM”).
For Industrial Plants having Processes with inherent Hazards, requirements have increased drastically in order to provide such Processes with proper Operating Procedures and Protection Platforms (Passive and Active) to achieve the appropriate Prevention of harmful and destructive Incidents as well as an adequate Reduction of Risks to guarantee the adequate Protection of Individuals, Environment and Production Assets.
This implies new and great challenges for the Process Industries as well as the need to have a qualified management team capable of ensuring adequate, rigorous and sustained compliance with these safety requirements, incorporating the new criteria of Risk Analysis and Risk Quantification, developing and establishing the Tolerable Risk Criteria, and encouraging a culture characterized for being highly responsible for the care, prevention and implementation of a sustainable process safety level.
The quickness with which this ethical and legal requirement has become more demanding and evolved technologically has surprised the management that nowadays urgently need to understand Process Safety concepts in order to be capable of participating in the new implementations with greater knowledge, awareness, competence, firm criteria, enough ability for management decision-making and able to approve – with more accuracy and responsibility – the necessary investments to guarantee the continuity in production and the safety in their Hazardous (Risky) Processes, as well as developing an effective Process Safety Management (“PSM”) culture.
It is frequent to see in Managers an expression revealing a disturbed and uncomfortable feeling of lack of knowledge that makes them feel the understanding of the new demands of Process Safety as something unattainable which, consequently, exposes them to serious ethical and legal risks.
The usual goal of “no accidents, no harm to people” should go further than an aspiration, it must be enforced as a firm commitment effectively implemented in everyday practice.
The purpose of this presentation (in particular SIL/RRF Graph) is to provide colleagues in Management positions and Heads of Technical Departments with a simple means to clarify the most basic concepts of Process Safety, to be able to take a more active role in its implementation and, in particular, make it easier to understand the concept that seems elusive, mythical and unattainable for them.
I am referring to the SIL concept and its tight connection with Process Risk Reduction.
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Keywords: Process Risk Reduction (PRR), Risk Reduction Factor (RRF), Probability of Failure on Demand (PFD), SafetyPLC (SPLC), Risk Criteria (RC), Process Safety Management (PSM).
Eng. Roberto Fernández Blanco
AIChE Member # 90143640
SISTEMAS DACS SA
Movil (54-9) 11-6605.5786
Buenos Aires
Argentina