MANAGEMENT OF SAFETY CRITICAL ELEMENTS AS A BASE FOR RISK MANAGEMENT OF MAJOR ACCIDENT HAZARDS

摘要

Considering the already established relevance of barriers to avoid Major Accidents, the objective of this paper is to present a methodology for management of Safety Critical Elements (SCE), from the identification of them, definition of relevant importance to each activity performed by the installation and establishing alternatives and contingencies for the failure or absence of the SCE. The proposed methodology, adapted from common use methodologies from Offshore Industry to Process Industries, is developed in 5 steps, being Step 1 the use of a Hazard Identification technique and indication of Major Accident Hazards. Following on Step 2 bowtie diagrams are developed for the MAH and SCE are identified. The SOOB - Summary of Operational Boundaries on Step 3 identifies the activities that may or may not proceed or caution is applied in the case the SCE is defeat and on Step 4 a Contingency Plan is develop to maintain operation for the cases indicated on the SOOB that operation may not proceed or proceed with caution. Finally, on Step 5, definition of prioritization of maintenance and inspection activities shall be in place for each SCE, including preventive maintenance routines, inspections routines and definition of spares, where applicable. This methodology can help on the identification of gaps and management of critical elements and consequently improving the performance of safety systems increasing their availability.