Safety Instrumented Interlock Management
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Dear seniors. I would like to ask how interlocks are managed in various factories? Who applied? Who approves? Who is operating it? Who fills out the form? It’s necessary to distinguish whether it’s maintenance, operation, or a fault, as well as consider time limits. Our factory has many interlocks, and even minor repairs to the equipment require approval from company management, which is quite troublesome
The chain of relationships is related to safe production; it is proposed by the applicant, who then applies for approval at each level
If you are the instrument, the more complicated the procedures, the better for you, because apart from any problems, you won’t have to take on any responsibility. In many places, interlocking management is not standardized. The process involves bypassing the instruments or modifying the interlocks, and they deny responsibility when problems occur.
Interlock management is carried out at different levels, with approvals given by personnel at various levels; the process department is responsible for handling it, while the instrumentation or process teams carry out the actual execution
Different situations require different approaches: if instrument calibration or maintenance necessitates the shutdown of interlocks, the instrumentation team shall submit a request; if abnormal process operations require the shutdown of interlocks, the process team shall submit the request.
Personally, I think the more approvals there are, the better, as it involves responsibilities. The HRS sulfuric acid system that our door factory just installed has hundreds of interlocks alone. Many things are still in the research phase; the company that originally designed them went bankrupt, and all the designers left. It can only rely on us, the construction party, after all, interlocks are designed in line with the process requirements. Find a more reliable person to handle the craftsmanship aspect
Here it is: application by the instrumentation team – signature by the instrumentation technician – signature by the process team leader – signature by the process technician – signature by DCS
A few additional approval procedures are necessary; don’t be afraid of the hassle, as this can reduce many of the responsibilities associated with the instruments. Especially when it comes to safety-related interlocks for parking, at the very least, the chief engineer must sign off before any operations can be carried out or the systems disabled.