An integrated approach for risk management : case study-supercritical boilers of an oil refinery

Abstract EN

In the present work an integrated methodology is proposed combining several methods and tools of risk identification, analysis and estimate.

First, the approach uses the Preliminary Risk Analysis (PRA) to identify hazards on the human health/safety, then a "what if ?" questionnaire is conducted in order to engage the facility's operators and make use of their background knowledge in identifying potential hazards related to the malfunctioning of an installation.

After that, a Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) is performed to analyze the likely causes and consequences of 'all' deviations and to recommend safety measures to limit their impact on humans, the environment and the property.

This task is assisted by the software PHA-Pro in order to organize the project and provide a step by step progression for a typical HAZOP study.

Furthermore, in order to examine the propagation of the system's deviations, a dynamic simulation software (AZprocede) was used.

The application of this methodology is illustrated with an example of a supercritical boiler from an oil refinery.