Use risk analysis as a safety tool
- Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (Kuwait). Shuaiba Refinery
Safety managers of hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) facilities must use a yardstick to estimate potential losses from accidents and convert accident risk into a quantified value. Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) is a yardstick that places numeric values on losses such as fatalities to employees and the public, interruption of business during reconstruction, damage to buildings, equipment, etc. and departure from business areas. No realistic method can remove all risk from an operating facility. However, stricter environmental and worker protection regulations require HPI managers to evaluate their operations, find vulnerable or hot-spot areas and take action. Logical analysis methods such as fault tree, event tree or cause-consequence diagrams can use safety audit information to identify and rank high-risk areas. After finding hazardous situations, manpower and capital can be allocated to eliminate potential accidents and reduce risk. The paper discusses QRA as a management tool, underlying principles, yardsticks to quantify risk, event analysis, limitations of QRA, and setting-up of a QRA project.
- OSTI ID:
- 7090138
- Journal Information:
- Hydrocarbon Processing; (United States), Journal Name: Hydrocarbon Processing; (United States) Vol. 73:9; ISSN HYPRAX; ISSN 0018-8190
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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