Functional Safety 2016

ABB Limited

Please reply to:

Tel: +44(0)1642 372000

Website:

Registration no:

Registered Office:

Pavilion 9, Byland Way

3780764 England

Daresbury Park

Belasis Hall Business Park

Fax: +44(0)1642 372111

E-mail:

Daresbury, Warrington

Billingham TS23 4EB

VAT Reg No:

Cheshire WA4 4BT

United Kingdom

668 1364 13

United Kingdom

Findings of common weaknesses in FSM

At ABB Consulting, we strongly support the HSE view that any person responsible for process safety

in an operating company needs to be able to answer ‘yes’ to the following three questions:

Do we understand what can go wrong?

Do we know what systems we have to prevent this happening?

Do we have information to assure us these systems are working effectively?

These 3 questions, were posed by Gordon MacDonald of the HSE following the court’s decision to

fine those companies involved in the 2005 Buncefield incident. The IEC61511 Lifecycle provides a

robust approach to be able to answer ‘yes’ to all three questions, with respect to Functional Safety:-

Yet through our analysis* of over 500 recommendations from 16 site process safety risk assessments

carried out over recent years. We have identified that many operators cannot answer yes to the above

due to inconsistencies and in some cases a complete lack of information sharing.

Do we

understand what

can go wrong?

Do we know what

systems we have

to prevent this

happening?

Do we have

information to

assure us these

systems are