【Survey results available】HAZOP is conducted every 3 years — most people got it wrong!

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This post was last edited by sinoeng on 2023-9-18 at 10:02. Someone in the forum asked about the frequency at which HAZOP studies should be conducted, and most people said it should be once every 3 years. This interpretation is one-sided and harmful. I. Laws require that risks must be under control. The Work Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China (2021 edition) mentions “risks” 10 times, covering 8 requirements: 1. Prevent and mitigate major safety risks at the source ； 2. Establish a hierarchical management system for safety risks ； 3. Improve the mechanism for preventing and resolving risks ； 4. Establish and improve the safety risk assessment and validation mechanism ； 5. In accordance with the requirements for safety risk management and control… implement joint prevention and control of major safety risks ； 6. Organize the establishment and implementation of hierarchical control for safety risks ； 7. Production and operation units shall establish a system for hierarchical control of safety risks, and take corresponding control measures in accordance with the classification of those risks ； 8. Failing to establish a system for hierarchical control of safety risks, or failing to take corresponding control measures in accordance with the hierarchical classification of such risks ； Orders to make corrections, suspension of operations, or fines may be imposed; if a crime is involved, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the relevant provisions of the criminal law. To achieve risk management objectives and ensure compliance with laws and regulations (referred to as “Safety, Law, and 8 Risks”), HAZOP is often utilized. II. Regulations are not the highest standard for safety objectives, but rather the minimum requirements for safe behavior. The \"Guidelines for Identifying and Addressing Safety Risks in Hazardous Chemical Enterprises\" [2019] No. 78 mentions HAZOP in 11 places, covering 5 requirements: 1. Enterprises should conduct HAZOP analyses regularly on production and storage facilities that fall under the category of \"two key areas and one major risk.\" 2. Enterprises shall use the HAZOP method to conduct safety risk identification and analysis for production and storage facilities involving \"two key aspects and one major issue\", generally once every 3 years ； For construction projects involving \"two key aspects, one major aspect\" and first-time industrial design, HAZOP analysis should be conducted during the basic design phase ； For the identification and analysis of safety risks associated with other production and storage facilities, the methods described in section 2.3 of these guidelines can be applied, depending on the complexity of each facility, and this should be carried out every 5 years. 3. Conduct comprehensive and thorough identification of safety risks in aspects such as production processes, equipment and facilities, operational activities, working environments, personnel behavior, and management systems; this primarily involves using the HAZOP method on a regular basis to identify safety risks related to production and storage facilities that fall under the category of “two key areas and one major hazard” ； 4. Enterprises should conduct Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) analyses during the basic design phase of construction projects and prepare analysis reports. 5. The safety control for hazardous chemical processes should be established in accordance with the requirements for safety control of such processes that are under strict supervision, the key parameters to be monitored, and the recommended control schemes, taking into account the results of HAZOP analysis. Article 2 is likely the origin of “once every 3 years”. However, the requirement of “conducting on a regular basis” as stipulated in Articles 1 and 3 is clear, generally once every 3 years; but what about special circumstances, emerging risks, and technical changes? Returning to the first part, the new safety law (the superior legislation) contains “9” instances of references to “periodic” testing and evaluation; it is essential to deeply understand what the purpose of safety management is. In fact, once employees truly master the HAZOP tool, they will come to like this method. Generating the report is just a casual action; the time cost is minimal. You can even produce a HAZOP report once a year, just like you download a health check report. In your opinion, it should be (points for a good answer): 1. Conduct it regularly based on the actual risk level; 2. At least once every 3 years; 3. Exactly once every 3 years; 4. It doesn’t matter