Hazard Identification
The Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) study technique is one of a number of techniques which may be used to undertake safety reviews. HAZOP is a widely recognised and well established method that is used as a technique for hazard identification in a wide range of industries, including process chemicals, oil and gas and nuclear.
The requirement to formally identify and assess hazards, identify control and protection features and demonstrate their suitability forms the basis of any safety justification. This concept originated in the nuclear industry and became incorporated in Health and Safety legislation via the Nuclear Installations Act (1965).
The Structured What-IF Technique (SWIFT) combines the use of checklists with a brainstorming ‘What if?’ approach and was originally developed for Hazard Identification (HAZID) in the chemical process industry.
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a “bottom-up” reliability analysis which considers the failure of component items (the causes) and then examines their effects on the system. Component failure modes are considered systematically, using a set of Guidewords to prompt thought on the possible modes / causes of failure.