ADIS: P-6 [4-03]

HAZAN Process:
Basic Concepts
By
A.K. Gupta
 Hazard Analysis (HAZAN)
 Hazard Analysis (HAZAN) is simply the application of
qualitative or quantitative (numerical) methods to
obtain an understanding of hazards in terms of:
 How often a hazard will manifest itself
 With what consequences for people, process and plant.
 HAZAN is, therefore, the essential prerequisite for the
complete risk assessment process, i.e.:
 first analyse the hazards;
 then go on to assess the risks they present; and
 determine what, if any, ameliorating measures should be
taken.

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 Hazan Process – What it Does
 It identifies and analyses accidents with potential for –
(1) harmful consequences to public; or
(2) extreme harm to workers.
 Hazard analysis is the activity that –
 thoroughly evaluates facility and process hazards
 requires a full understanding of facility activities
 Identifies important engineering and administrative
controls

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 Objective of HAZAN
• Document safety controls
• The real value in HAZAN performance stems from:
– Comprehensive and systematic evaluation of hazards
– Coverage of a complete spectrum of accidents for both
normal and abnormal conditions and events
– Assessing the effectiveness and adequacy of controls
– Recommending additional controls as needed

• Bottom line: A better understanding of the spectrum of

controls that makes any facility or job safe.
– Construction and processing facilities
– Environmental restoration activities
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Information Derived from HAZAN
• Independent of the method, the HAZAN should:
– Identify facility or process hazards
– Identify potential accident scenarios involving the
hazards and initiating events
– Qualitatively estimate the uncontrolled consequences
of potential accident scenarios
– Qualitatively estimate the frequency that a potential
accident scenario may occur
– Rank the accident scenario according to its relative
risk
– Identify potential preventive and mitigative controls
– Recommend actions to reduce facility or process risk
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 Selecting the
Hazard Analysis Method
• Fit the hazard analysis method to the
complexity of the operations and magnitude
of the hazards
• Typical hazard analysis methods include:
– Hazard Identification Checklist
– What-If Analysis
– Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Study
– Process Hazard Analysis (PrHA)

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Overview of Various Methods
METHOD CHARACTERISTICS
- Less rigid and fewer rules
- Less documentation
PHA* - Focuses on hazards that have
surfaced in the past
- A defined method with rules
- Brainstorming
What-If - Focuses on hazards that are
unforeseen
- More documentation
- Very structured approach using
guideword/parameter
HAZOP combinations
- Focuses on all deviations from
normal operations
- Equipment failures
FMEA
- Organized to develop scenarios
from hazards and process/
PrHA** activity
- Identifies controls for each
process/accident
*PHA = Preliminary Hazard Analysis
** PrHA = Process Hazard Analysis
ADVANTAGES
- Simple processes
- Simple procedures
- Shorter meetings;
reduced HAZAN effort
- Simple to moderately
complicated processes or
procedures
- Very simple method to
lead
- Complicated process or
procedures
- Complete/thorough
- Less reliance on “experts”
- Complicated systems
- Systematic evaluation of
component failures
- Comprehensive/graded
- Presents rationale for risk
control
DISADVANTAGES
- Simplistic process
- Requires a very high
level of experience-base
- Usually used only for
collection of information
and screening
- Time consuming
- May spend time
discussing operability
issues rather than safety
- Single failure modes only
- Machine-oriented
- Expert-dependent
- Experience necessary
- Subjective
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 Recommended Approach
 The steps to perform HAZAN include:
 Preparation activities—get ready
 Hazard identification and screening
 Scenario analysis
 What-If Analysis and Screening
 Process Hazards Analysis (PrHA)
or
 HAZOP Study (for process parameter analysis)

 Selection of major accidents (for more detailed

analysis)

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 Hazard Identification
Baseline
Information

Hazards are part of

components and have
many direct human
interactions
Which Hazard What-If Process
Technique? Hazards
Identification Analysis Analysis

Standard Low
Industrial Screened Consequence
Hazards, etc. Out Scenarios, etc. Accident
Hazards are contained Analysis
within a "system"
with a variety of
changing equipment/
parameters/effects Hazard and
Operability (HAZOP)
Study

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 Risk Assessment
 Risk assessment can be a very straightforward
process based on judgement requiring no
specialist skills or complicated techniques.
 This approach is commonly known as
qualitative (or subjective) risk assessment.
 Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) is a more
sophisticated technique involving complex
mathematical calculations.

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 Qualitative Hazard Analysis and
Risk Assessment Process

Hazard Identification
Hazard Analysis

Likelihood Consequences

Compare

Risk Assessment
Calculate Risk against
Criteria

Consider Risk Mitigation and

Management Options
Risk
Assessment
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 Quantitative Risk Assessment
(QRA)
• Major hazards associated with complex
chemical or nuclear plants may warrant the
need of a Quantitative Risk Assessment
(QRA).
• In QRA, a numerical estimate is made of the
probability that a defined harm will result
from the occurrence of a particular identified
event.
• QRA is commonly used in the high-technology
industries.
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Quantitative Hazard Analysis and
Risk Assessment Process

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 Framework for
Consequence, Frequency and Risk
 Consequences  Frequency
 Level of harm  Conservative estimate
• Dose of HOW OFTEN a
• Degree of
scenario may occur
injury/harm
To
 Receptors  Risk
 Immediate Workers  Relative ranking based
 Off-site public on consequences and
frequency of incident
 Environment  Possibility of a loss, injury
and/or environmental
damage

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 ALARP
• Legislation requires employers to reduce risks
to a level that is “as low as is reasonably
practicable” (abbreviated as ALARP).
• To carry out a duty so far as is reasonably
practicable means that the degree of risk in
a particular activity or workplace can be
balanced against the time, trouble, cost and
physical difficulty of taking measures to avoid
the risk.

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 Management of Risk
 Risk management may be defined as the
eradication or minimisation of the adverse
affects of risks to which an organisation is
exposed.
 Stages of risk management:
 Identifying the hazards
 Evaluating the associated risks
 Controlling the risks
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 Management of Risk
RISK MANAGEMENT

RISK REDUCTION
RISK ASSESSMENT
Activity Implementation
Characterisation Option
Analysis 

Monitoring
Hazard 
Identification 
Decision Audit or

Risk Estimation
Making Review

RISK ANALYSIS RISK

EVALUATION

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 Benefits of this HAZAN Approach
• It is too costly to comprehensively analyse each
hazard/scenario, especially in complex facilities.
• Hence, we need to –
– focus only on significant hazards
– screen out standard industrial hazards
and the low-consequence scenarios
• This method progressively selects concerns or
events that require additional analysis, using
– Hazard screening
– Scenario screening
– Bounding accident selection (worst probable scenarios)

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 Benefits of this HAZAN Approach
• Comprehensive coverage of significant
hazards and scenarios
– It results in a cost-effective (efficient)
analysis of important safety concerns of a
facility/process.

• Methods can be applied to a variety of

facilities/processes.

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 Benefits of this HAZAN Approach
• Comprehensive coverage of hazards and
scenarios
– Cost-effective (efficient) analysis of important
facility and process safety concerns

• Methods can be applied to a variety of

facilities/processes

* * * * *
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Thank you for your attention

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