The risks from process-related hazards can be managed in a number of ways. The intrinsic risks can be reduced by minimising inventories of hazardous materials; process control systems can be implemented; process alarms provided; and mechanical equipment such as pressure relief devices can be implemented to limit the consequences of upsets. For some hazards, these measures need to be supplemented by a ‘functional safety’ system that detects when the process is outside its safe operating envelope, and takes an automatic executive action to maintain a safe state.
Functional safety systems have complex requirements, and need meticulous planning to ensure they achieve their risk reduction objective throughout the project life. xSeriCon has the knowhow and experience to support your functional safety management from project inception to final decommissioning, in compliance with international standards IEC 61508, 61511 and 62061.
The Functional Safety Management Plan (FSMP) is intended to ensure that functional safety is achieved within a major project. Developing and implementing a workable FSMP is the key to successful compliance with the IEC 61508 family of standards, and minimises the risk of human errors in the safety lifecycle.
xSeriCon’s widespread industry experience allows us to guide you through the development of an effective FSMP for your project.
The FSMP can be compared to industry best practice and to the international standards in order to verify that it is compliant and effective.
xSeriCon can utilise their experience in the area of FSMP to scrutinise and evaluate the FSMP of a client and make recommendations to address any aspects of the FSMP that are found to be lacking.
The Safety Requirements Specification (SRS) is at the heart of the functional safety lifecycle. It captures the output of the risk analysis phase to generate a detailed definition of the functional and safety requirements of each safety function within the Safety Instrumented System (SIS). Preparation of a detailed hardware and software SRS is a requirement of the IEC 61508 family of standards.
xSeriCon can utilise their experience to develop a SRS that is both compliant to the IEC standards and of the highest quality required from a core component of the safety lifecycle. Otherwise, xSeriCon can manifest its experience in SRS in the form a template if a client wishes to complete the essentials of the SRS development themselves. Additionally xSeriCon can provide a review service that will dissect a company’s SRS and make recommendations to address shortcomings that may be found.
A Functional Safety Assessment (FSA) is a formal, independent review of the functional safety activities in order to determine that the safety objectives are achieved.
xSeriCon's substantial experience in FSA supports your project to complete this critical step in a timely and efficient manner.
Formal audit of the adequacy of, and compliance with, the Functional Safety Management Plan (FSMP) is a requirement of the international standards.
xSeriCon can utilise their in-depth experience and intimate familiarity with each aspect of the safety lifecycle to perform a methodical audit.
Verification, a required activity within the safety lifecycle, involves confirming that each lifecycle phase has generated the expected outputs, given the inputs and procedures.
xSeriCon with our fluency with the Safety Lifecycle is well-equipped to provide verification services to ensure that the client’s implementation of the safety lifecycle is of the highest standard.
Validation is the task of confirming that the as-built Safety Instrumented System matches the requirements stated in the SRS. This involves extensive functional testing, inspection of the SIS field equipment, and review of documentation generated during the installation and commissioning phases.
xSeriCon with our widespread experience in Safety Instrumented Systems is well-suited to performing validation planning and execution on SIS.
During the operations phase of a process protected by a SIS, five activities must be carried out on an ongoing basis: testing and maintenance, training, auditing, management of change, and investigation of SIS failures. The O&M strategy provides a framework explaining the detailed requirements and methodology for ensuring these tasks meet their objectives.
xSeriCon can provide a workable and effective O&M Strategy, or perform Gap Analysis on a client's own O&M Strategy.
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