A leading chemical supplier relocated their microbiology and environmental labs from one location to another one in 2008. A Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) was conducted when the labs were set up. The client wanted to have a revalidation of that PHA by conducting a new PHA to review the basic design and practices. Specifically, this new PHA study focused on conceptually identifying any hazards associated with the labs from the point of view of general housekeeping, emergency equipment, piping, electrical, and ergonomics which could have direct impacts on the people, environment, property, and/ or public relations.
Since the previous PHA in 2008 was based on the What-if methodology, ioMosaic proposed to use the Checklist technique, in addition to the What-if, to conceptually identify hazards. ioMosaic’s experts had developed dedicated What-if and Checklists templates to facilitate the brainstorming process during the PHA. These templates ensure a comprehensive identification of all possible hazards and are included in our software PHAGlobal®, a component of Process Safety Office®. In total, the PHA team was composed of seven client members, including ioMosaic’s team. In order to best ensure a successful PHA, ioMosaic always recommends a skilled team of no more than eight people.
A PHA is the analysis of the significance of hazardous situations associated with a process or activity. It uses qualitative techniques to pinpoint weaknesses in the design and operation of facilities that could lead to accidents and to judge risk qualitatively. PHAs focus on equipment, instrumentation, utilities, human factors, and external events that might impact the process.
During the PHA, the team performed a risk-ranking of identified scenarios to determine their criticality and need for further attention. For those scenarios that posed an unacceptable risk, recommendations were made to reduce risk to acceptable levels. We used the client’s risk matrix, which was included in PHAGlobal®.
ioMosaic provided a PHA Leader and a scribe, and the PHA was completed in one day. The PHA was documented and a report was issued initially for the client’s review and comments. Included with the PHA report were the PHA worksheets from PHAGlobal® and a summary of the recommendations in a format that allowed tracking action items to completion.