The Safety Instrumented Systems are used to monitor the state of a plant's

values and parameters within the operating limits and, when hazard factors occur,
alarms must be activated and the plant put in a safe or even shutdown position.

In the case of an unusual situation, a safety instrumented system (SIS) takes

automated action to keep a plant in a safe state or to place it in a safe state. The SIS
can implement one or more functions to protect your plant from various process
hazards. There are many other names, such as safety critical system, that you can use
for this type of system. In most instances, as shown in the above diagram, each function
in an SIS consists of three components. Safety Instrumented System (SIS) is a system
consisting of sensors, logic solver, and final control elements designed and built to
protect personnel, equipment, and environment by making the process safe.

 A sensor which monitors the process to detect an upset or abnormal

condition. Sensor could be of switch or transmitter type. Transmitter
measures process variable while switch will actuate if process variable
reaches present value. Both provide information to logic solver hence it can
be detected whether process is in normal or abnormal condition. (For
example, a pressure sensor).

 A logic device which receives the signal from the sensor, determines if the
condition is hazardous, and if so, sends a signal to take action. Logic solver is
typically a controller. It receives signal from sensor as an input, performs pre-
implemented logic and program, and then provides output to final control
element. It consists of but not limited to input module, output module,
processor, power supply, communication module.

 A final control device, which receives the signal from the logic device and
implements the appropriate action in the plant (for example, opening or
closing a valve, shutting down a pump). Final control element is part or device
which performs the action as required by logic solver. It can be form of
actuated valve or output contact.
 The SIS is designed in the plant called the Safety Instrumented Function (SIF) for
individual functions. The logic solver takes inputs from the SIS and determines what the
SIS output status should be for the SIF. The design team must carry out a detailed risk
analysis when designing a safety instrumented system, identifying all the potential risks
and deciding which of the risks a safety instrumented function requires. Safety Integrity
is characterized as: the probability that a Safety Instrumented Function (SIF) will fulfill
the required safety functions within a specified period of time under all specified
conditions.
Safety Life Cycle
It is an engineering process with the specific aim of achieving and ensuring that
an SIS is effective and that risk levels can be reduced at an efficient cost throughout the
life of the system.

The Safety Life Cycle involves the probability analysis so as to ensure the safety
project integrity. In addition, it allows, by the calculations, reducing the risk at an
effective cost. Keeping a SIS integrity during the plant life cycle is extremely important
for the safety management. An effective management program should include strict
controls and procedures ensuring that:

 The identification of critical points, concepts and choice of sensors, technology,

logic solver and final equipment and elements and the redundancy need comply
with the safety levels and calculated risks reduction.
 The tests of each phase (project, installation, operation,
modification/maintenance) are conducted in compliance with the safety
requirements, safety procedures and standards.
 The SIS goes back to its normal operation after a maintenance.
 The system integrity is not compromised by non-authorized access to set up, trip
or bypasses points.
 Procedures of change management are always followed to any system change.
 The changes quality is verified and the system is revalidated before returning to
operation
Risk Analysis

The more risks a system has, the harder it is to fulfill a stable system's requirements.
In general, the hazard is the amount of the probability that something unexpected will
happen as a result of such event.
The design team will carry out a thorough risk analysis when designing a Safety
Instrumented System, identify all potential risks and determine which of the risks a
Safety Instrumented Function needs to be identified. A comprehensive risk matrix can
be used to determine the tolerable level of risk and where a feature needs to be
specified as a SIF. Through assigning numerical values to the predicted frequency and
severity of the hazard, this can be accomplished qualitatively or quantitatively.

Even a Safety Instrumented System has a probability to fail. The possibility that a
system, whether it is an input, output or logic solution, may fail to cause the SIF to fail
when requested is called the Probability of Failure on Demand or PFD. For instance, a
pressure regulator has approximately a 1 in 10, or 1 x 10 -1, probability of failure in a
years’ time. Failure of an isolation valve is about 1 in 100, or 1 x 10 -2.These values can
be obtained from vendor data for specific devices, or from industry databases of typical
PFD’s for each type of device.

In designing an overall safety instrumented device for each safety instrumented

function, we need to determine the overall probability of demand failure or PFD for each
necessary feature. If we determine the PFD should be less than 0.01, or 1 x 10 -2, then
our SIF needs to be designed to a Safety Integrity Level of 2. Similarly, a PFD of less
than 1 x 10-1 requires a safety integrity level of 1, and a PFD of less than 1 x 10 -3
requires a safety integrity level of 3.
We can look up the PFD values for each of the devices and logic solver elements we
would like to use,
A Safety Integrity Level of 4 is possible, or a PFD of 1 x 10 -4, but is usually not
practical or economically feasible.
REFERENCES
Process safety beacon 2009 -What is Safety Instrument system Retrieved from
http://sache.org/beacon/files/2009/07/en/read/2009-07-Beacon-s.pdf

Instrument and Control Engineering for Process Industries Retrieved from

http://instrumentationportal.com/2011/instrument-glossary/glossary-s/safety-
instrumented-system-sis/
César Cassiolato SIS - Safety Instrumented Systems - A practical view - Part 1
Retrieved from http://www.smar.com/en/technical-article/sis-safety-instrumented-
systems-a-practical-view-part-1