Within the lifecycle of a capital project, it is common to conduct process safety reviews once the design and site layout have reached a mature state. This can often lead to frustrations for the project team because at this advanced stage of design, mitigating hazards and risks is either difficult or costly. There is a high level of rework associated with moving hazards and/or populations to safer locations, adding layers of protection to design systems, and ensuring buildings are robust enough to protect personnel from identified hazards. One way to mitigate late-stage changes is to introduce process safety reviews early in the capital project cycle and use the stage-gate process to effectively manage these reviews. It is critical that stage-gate process safety reviews align with the overall project schedule so they can provide timely recommendations that flow into the current design process prior to the project team progressing to the next stage.
The process safety plan should be updated as needed throughout the projects lifecycle.
Introducing stage-gate process safety reviews early in the design phase has inherent challenges, most notably the lack of fully developed process design information and ongoing site layout changes. These challenges can be addressed through an application of "typical" unit hazards and layouts for a given process, leveraging existing company asset process data, initial facility layout information, and corporate standards/guidance with respect to layout and spacing. This strategy is most effective when used with a highly adaptive feasibility approach early in the process, when moving unit layouts and associated infrastructure requires minimal rework. As availability in design data improves as the project moves forward, scenario modeling and spacing can be improved upon with each iteration.
At the onset of the Appraise Front-End Loading (FEL)-1 phase, a safety plan in the form of a living document should be created and implemented that lays out the strategy and schedule of process safety activities over the project's lifecycle. Embedding the safety plan within the overall stage-gate review process achieves the goal of minimizing risk while controlling costs and scheduling impacts to ensure successful project implementation. This plan should be updated as needed throughout the project's lifecycle as project clarity increases. While risk-based process safety is designed for operations, the framework is easily adapted and can be implemented in the project safety plan.
Oil and gas, chemical and pharmaceutical companies typically have a standard that provides practical guidance on the types of technical safety studies required for capital projects. The intent of these standards is to ensure the correct studies are performed at the right time. However, without robust oversight, project teams may defer safety studies to later stages of the project, often resulting in expensive rework. Conducting technical safety studies early and throughout the capital project process enables changes in design to be more palatable and cost efficient. It is essential that technical safety studies are not performed in isolation by the project team, but also involve external and independent consultants as well as corporate review teams familiar with philosophy documents and company risk tolerance criteria. This prevents the introduction of bias into the review process and ensures the same amount of rigor is applied to different options and data reviews.
The stage-gate review process minimizes personnel exposure, asset damage and business interruption, while also controlling costs and ensuring ease of project implementation. Through the early application of process safety design reviews, capital projects can improve designs that meet geographic constraints and corporate safety goals to optimize risk reduction while also minimizing the lifetime financial impacts to projects and facilities.
For more information, contact Karen Vilas at (281) 822-3100 or KVilas@BakerRisk.com.