For many years both designers and facility owners have carried out Safety Studies during the design phase of projects including HAZOP, CHAZOP and SIL. In addition to these studies, two important studies; HAZID (Hazard Identification) and Fire Safety are considered to be key in reducing the risk of hazards and improving safety at an intrinsic level. Where the studies are carried out at an early stage of the design, while it is still malleable, their recommendations can be relatively inexpensive to implement.

Unlike the other safety studies, both the HAZID and Fire Safety studies’ have a particular focus on the combination of plant layout (including buildings) and process design. These studies look for both preventative and mitigating control measures and consider inherent safety measures. They can provide risk based safety design which looks beyond blanket code requirements.

The Studies’ recommendations and implementation can be tracked in a HSE risk register. The risk register is set up to show the direct link between the hazard and control measure. This risk register can be passed onto the facility owners who then through training can provide operators and line management with the knowledge of “What keeps them safe”. The studies could also form the basis of Emergency response plans.

This presentation outlines Aker Kvaerner Australia's experience in conducting both HAZID and Fire Safety studies’ in a recent project in the natural gas industry, and how the implementation of the study recommendations into the design was achieved, and tracked via a HSE risk register.