OIL & GAS Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) Natural Gas Production and Refining Company, UK
Project Summary
Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) Natural Gas Production & Refining Company, UK
Key Project Elements Review of project documentation Agreement of the HIRA methodology with the Client Act as Chairperson for the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) Preparation of HIRA report, in conjunction with the HIRA Secretary
CRA is providing ongoing consultancy services to a gas production and refining company in the UK, including chairing Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) studies. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) provides a formal method for the identification of hazards and the assessments of risks that have the potential to adversely affect people, assets and the environment. The documented HIRA provides the Duty Holder with a means of assessing the hazards and risks associated with a particular installation or operation, sharing the information with personnel and demonstrating that the risks have been reduced to an acceptable level. CRA consultants chair their client’s HIRA study meetings, during which a systematic assessment of processes and/or operations and maintenance activities is carried out in order to:
Ensure all events with potential to cause harm are identified Identify possible causes and consequences Assess consequences and likelihoods to determine risk levels Identify all risk reduction measures Estimate the overall risk Assign corrective actions to responsible persons.
As HIRA Chairperson, CRA are also responsible for coordinating hazard identification (HazId) operations, including presenting an overview of the HazId methodology to the team; leading the HazId whilst keeping the assessment on track technically and to schedule; and ensuring that relevant information contained in the approved HazId list of Guidewords and risk matrix is covered. Documentation to be utilised during HazId is prepared in advance, to reduce the likelihood of interruptions to the session. Typical documentation includes:
Project objectives Criticality of the plant and individual sub elements Process flow schematics / P&ID’s Preliminary facility layout Operating / maintenance philosophy Cause and Effect tables Details of the local infrastructure Environmental sensitivities
Upon completion of the HIRA study CRA prepare a report with the client’s HIRA secretary. This contains an overview of the project / operation; a comprehensive record of the hazards identified and their risk ranking; individual action sheets assigned to responsible persons and HIRA Action Tracker, to enable the HIRA sponsor to track remedial actions to completion.
Ref: PS0108