7.3 Scope, System Definition, and Data Collection (Step 1)
165
As process risk management is a proactive and preventive approach for ensuring
process safety, it involves dealing with uncertainty. Correct modeling, recognition
of relevant event scenarios, as well as reliability of the data used should always be
critically reviewed (see also Crowl and Louvar (1990)).
7.3
Scope, System Definition, and Data Collection (Step 1)
7.3.1 Scope and System Definition
The scope of the process risk assessment and management needs to be defined considering societal, environmental, and economic aspects. This involves identifying
and selecting the best methods and evaluation criteria to support the risk assessment,
as well as assigning responsibilities and the necessary resources.
The scope also depends on the stage of process development. During the early
stages of process development, the scope of assessment could be to compare
different chemical synthesis routes and aspects of safety at different potential
production sites, with the aim of promoting inherent process safety. At later stages,
the aim could be instead to update a previous risk assessment to account for new
knowledge. The selection of the exact analysis tools and evaluation criteria also
depends on the defined scope of analysis and will be introduced in Sects. 7.5–7.7.
The system boundaries of the assessment also need to be defined and may limit
the exercise to a specific location of a plant, piece of equipment, or single process.
Decisions about whether to include connected utilities or adjacent processes also
need to be taken. This might depend, for example, on the operation mode of
a process being reviewed, namely, being batch or continuous. Batch processes
follow a chronological execution of process steps according to a standard operating
procedure and are produced in a specified amount within a set time frame.
Continuous processes follow a location-dependent approach where the material flow
is continuously in motion (without interruption) as it advances toward becoming the
end product.
7.3.2 Data Collection
As mentioned previously, the required information for process risk assessment
increases along the development pathway from research and development (R&D)
toward the design, scale-up, and implementation of full-scale processes. Identifying
which data should be collected at which point in time is a central task within
integrated process development.
The data required for risk assessment of chemical processes can be classified
as follows: (1) physicochemical properties and chemical hazard data for raw materials, intermediates, products, by-products, wastes, etc., (2) reaction and process
conditions, (3) design specifications, (4) site data, and (5) management system data.
Examples of these data types are presented below.
165
As process risk management is a proactive and preventive approach for ensuring
process safety, it involves dealing with uncertainty. Correct modeling, recognition
of relevant event scenarios, as well as reliability of the data used should always be
critically reviewed (see also Crowl and Louvar (1990)).
7.3
Scope, System Definition, and Data Collection (Step 1)
7.3.1 Scope and System Definition
The scope of the process risk assessment and management needs to be defined considering societal, environmental, and economic aspects. This involves identifying
and selecting the best methods and evaluation criteria to support the risk assessment,
as well as assigning responsibilities and the necessary resources.
The scope also depends on the stage of process development. During the early
stages of process development, the scope of assessment could be to compare
different chemical synthesis routes and aspects of safety at different potential
production sites, with the aim of promoting inherent process safety. At later stages,
the aim could be instead to update a previous risk assessment to account for new
knowledge. The selection of the exact analysis tools and evaluation criteria also
depends on the defined scope of analysis and will be introduced in Sects. 7.5–7.7.
The system boundaries of the assessment also need to be defined and may limit
the exercise to a specific location of a plant, piece of equipment, or single process.
Decisions about whether to include connected utilities or adjacent processes also
need to be taken. This might depend, for example, on the operation mode of
a process being reviewed, namely, being batch or continuous. Batch processes
follow a chronological execution of process steps according to a standard operating
procedure and are produced in a specified amount within a set time frame.
Continuous processes follow a location-dependent approach where the material flow
is continuously in motion (without interruption) as it advances toward becoming the
end product.
7.3.2 Data Collection
As mentioned previously, the required information for process risk assessment
increases along the development pathway from research and development (R&D)
toward the design, scale-up, and implementation of full-scale processes. Identifying
which data should be collected at which point in time is a central task within
integrated process development.
The data required for risk assessment of chemical processes can be classified
as follows: (1) physicochemical properties and chemical hazard data for raw materials, intermediates, products, by-products, wastes, etc., (2) reaction and process
conditions, (3) design specifications, (4) site data, and (5) management system data.
Examples of these data types are presented below.