Process risk assessment. From the basics to new frontiers

Process risk assessment is a mature discipline that is based on consolidated techniques and tools for each phase of its cycle. Since process plants are usually complex socio-technical systems, the risk assessment process requires a procedure to control this complexity and to support risk-based decision making within the Total Safety Management framework. The phase of risk control requires a comparison of the risk value with the tolerability criteria provided by the regulations or chosen by the company. The chapter describes some common methods for “hazard identification” and identifies possible hazards and their possible consequences. The more commonly adopted method of hazard identification in the process industry is the Hazard and Operability Analysis (HAZOP). The basic concept of HAZOP analysis is the investigation, for each part of the process, on the possible types of deviations from design conditions, and on the possible causes and consequences. © 2019 selection and editorial matter, Maria Chiara Leva, Tom Kontogiannis, Marko Gerbec and Olga Aneziris.