Risk Management
- Risk Analysis / Assessment
- FMECA
- HAZID
- HAZOP
Operational assurance is the process of ensuring that a system, project, or organization runs as intended—reliably, safely, and efficiently—throughout its operational life. It’s about confirming that everything works in practice, not just on paper, by proactively managing risks, monitoring performance, and verifying that objectives are met. Think of it as a continuous reality check for operations.
- Don’t make this a check-the-box activity. The minds in the room performing this work know the possible pitfalls. Capture them and follow through on closure of actions.
- The payoff? It minimizes surprises, reduces costs by decreasing the frequency of unplanned events, and builds confidence that the operation will deliver, whether that’s designing a well, developing a new service or inventing a new piece of equipment. It’s less about planning (that’s design assurance) and more about execution, making sure the operation continues running once it is commissioned.
Risk Analysis & Assessments
- What it is: A broad, overarching process to quickly identify, assess, and prioritize risks in any system or project.
- Focus: Looks at risks across the board—safety, financial, operational, environmental—without diving deep into technical details.
- How it’s done: Typically involves brainstorming of possible risks and qualitative / quantitative methods of evaluation (e.g., likelihood vs. impact matrices).
- When it’s used: All stages of the project - from as early as sales risks all the way through operations and decommissioning.
Severity
Likelihood
| Negligible | Minor | Moderate | Significant | Severe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Very Likely |
Low Med |
Medium |
Med Hi |
High |
High |
|
Likely |
Low |
Low Med |
Medium |
Medium Hi |
High |
|
Possible |
Low |
Low Med |
Medium |
Med Hi |
Med Hi |
|
Unlikely |
Low |
Low Med |
Low Med |
Medium |
Med Hi |
|
Very Likely |
Low |
Low |
Low Med |
Medium |
Medium |
FMECA
- What it is: A detailed, systematic method to evaluate how individual components of a system might fail, what effects those failures would have, and how critical they are.
- Focus: Component-level failures and their ripple effects—think mechanical, electrical, or software systems.
- How it’s done: Breaks down a system into parts, lists possible failure modes (e.g., a motor overheating), assesses consequences, and ranks them by severity and likelihood (often with a criticality score).
- When it’s used: Typically in the design phase, especially in engineering-heavy fields like aerospace, energy, automotive, or defense.
HAZID
- What it is: A high-level, early-stage exercise to spot major hazards in a project or system before diving into specifics.
- Focus: Big-picture risks—think explosions, fires, or environmental spills—rather than detailed failure modes or process deviations.
- How it’s done: Often a workshop or checklist approach, relying on experience and broad categories (e.g., physical, chemical, human factors).
- When it’s used: It depends on the project. For new technology these should be done at the concept or pre-design phase. However, for existing technology being used with a new client or at a new location, this can be done later in the project so long as time is left to address unacceptable risks that are identified with the new application.
HAZOP
- What it is: A structured, team-based approach to identify hazards and operational issues in process systems (e.g., drilling rigs, production facilities, chemical plants, pipelines).
- Focus: Deviations from normal operation. For instance what happens if process parameters (flow, pressure, temperature) or a control system go off-script.
- How it’s done: Uses guidewords (e.g., “more,” “less,” “none”) to explore “what if” scenarios, guided by process flow diagrams or piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs).
- When it’s used: typically executed during design phase, for commissioning, operations or modification of continuous processes, especially in industries like oil and gas or pharmaceuticals.
