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Inherent Safer Design

Project Level Inherent Safer Design Review

We run a multidisciplinary inherent safer design review at concept and FEED that examines the whole design for inherent hazard reduction before the design freezes

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Technical overview

Project Level Inherent
Safer Design Review

Inherent safer design is the most economical risk reduction strategy available, but only when it is applied before the design freezes. Once your P and IDs are issued for construction, eliminating a hazard by substituting or minimising it costs ten to a hundred times more than it would have at concept. The CCPS Guidelines for Inherently Safer Chemical Processes and the IChemE inherent safer design guide set out the substitute, minimise, moderate and simplify hierarchy, where you substitute a hazardous material or reaction for a safer one, minimise inventory to only what the process needs, moderate by using lower temperature, pressure or concentration and simplify to strip out complexity and failure modes. Inherent safer design is also the only risk reduction measure that carries no reliability requirement, because a substituted chemical cannot fail to be safer. Our team brings quantitative inherent safety index scoring to compare design alternatives, evaluates process intensification through microreactors, flow chemistry and distributed production and integrates the work directly with LOPA so we can show you where the SIL target falls because a hazard has been removed at source.

Project Level Inherent Safer Design Review Overview
Engineering process

Project Level Inherent Safer Design Review workflow

Design Stage Entry & Scope Definition

Engage at conceptual design or FEED, review process description, block flow diagrams, technology selection, and chemical inventory to define ISD scope, objectives, and review boundaries.

SMMS Index Assessment

Apply Substitute / Minimise / Moderate / Simplify screening to each major chemical, reaction, and process step, score inherent hazard index (ISI / ISHI) for each design option.

Technology Alternative Evaluation

Compare batch vs. continuous, solvent vs. solventless, open vs. closed systems, evaluate process intensification (microreactors, flow chemistry, distributed processing) opportunities.

ISD Multidiscipline Workshop

Facilitate structured SMMS review with process, safety, and engineering disciplines, document findings, feasibility assessment, and cost benefit for each hazard reduction recommendation.

HAZOP & LOPA Integration

Map ISD findings to P&ID nodes, identify hazard elimination credits in LOPA, update SIL targets where hazards have been eliminated or inventories reduced through ISD.

Basis of Safety & FEED Update

Issue ISD study report, design alternatives evaluation matrix, inherent safety index scores, ISD recommendations register, and updated FEED design basis with ISD rationale.

Project Level Inherent Safer Design Review Scope
Scope of work

Every deliverable from basis to handover

Complete Project Level Inherent Safer Design Review scope covering every calculation, drawing, specification, and construction support activity.

Substitute, minimise, moderate and simplify screening that we apply to each chemical, reaction and process step
Inherent safety index scoring that quantifies and compares hazard reduction across your design alternatives
Technology selection review weighing batch against continuous, open against closed, solvent against solventless and distributed against centralised
Process intensification evaluation covering microreactors, flow chemistry, reactive distillation and in situ generation
Integration with HAZOP so we map the design findings to your P and ID nodes and deviation scenarios
Integration with LOPA so we can show a lower SIL target where the design removes or substantially reduces hazard inventory
A basis of safety that documents the design rationale for both the options you keep and the ones you reject
A FEED design basis update carrying our recommendations, a design alternatives matrix and the index scores
Engineering outcomes

Outcomes of Project Level Inherent Safer Design Review

Inherent Hazard Elimination
  • You eliminate hazards rather than control them, which is the most effective safety strategy there is
  • Minimising inventory shrinks the size of your emergency planning zones
  • Simplifying the design cuts the number of failure modes that need safeguards
  • These measures stay reliable because they do not depend on maintenance or human action
CCPS and IChemE ISD Review Defence
  • Our work aligns with the OSHA PSM Process Design and Technology element
  • It meets the European Process Safety Centre inherent safer design guidance
  • It shows COMAH and Seveso authorities that you put prevention first
  • It supports a lower SIL through hazard elimination at source
ISD Option Evaluation and FEED Discipline
  • Simpler designs are easier for your team to operate and maintain
  • Reduced inventory lowers the severity of any incident that remains
  • Milder process conditions reduce equipment maintenance
  • Process intensification can cut both your capital and your operating cost
Hazard Reduction at Minimum Capex
  • You need fewer safety layers and lower SIL levels
  • Reduced inherent hazard inventory lowers your insurance premiums
  • Smaller vessels, fewer relief devices and a simpler safety instrumented system save capital
  • A simplified process design saves operating cost
Standards & references

Codes & standards we work to

CCPS ISD Guidelines 3rd Ed 2009IChemE Inherently Safer Design GuideCEFIC ISD GuidelinesAPI RP 750OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119(d) PSISeveso III and COMAH Prevention PrincipleIEC 61511 SIL reduction through ISDDow Fire and Explosion Index baseline hazard indexMSIHC Rules 1989 IndiaFactories Act 1948 Section 41B IndiaCCPS ISD 3rd Ed 2019EPSC ISD Guide
When to engage

Triggers that signal the need

Concept and FEED design for a new plantA technology selection decision pointA HAZOP finding that calls for an inherently safer solutionRedesigning a process after an incidentA reactive chemistry scale up safety reviewPreparing a COMAH or Seveso safety report
Industries served

Where Project Level Inherent Safer Design Review applies

Oil & Gas, Upstream

Wellheads, separators, gas compression, FPSO topsides, produced water systems.

UpstreamOffshoreFPSO
Refineries & Petrochemicals

Distillation columns, reactors, heat exchangers, storage spheres, LPG handling.

RefiningPetrochemical
LNG & Gas Processing

Cryogenic exchangers, liquefaction trains, BOG compressors, storage and sendout.

LNGCryogenic
Specialty Chemicals

Reactive systems, batch reactors, solvent handling, runaway reaction scenarios.

ReactiveBatch
Power Generation

Boilers, HRSGs, steam headers, hydrogen systems, ammonia SCR units.

PowerHydrogen
Pharma & Food

Sterile vessels, CIP/SIP, pressure fermenters, solvent recovery, spray dryers.

PharmaFood & Bev
What we deliver

Tangible deliverables

  • A study report with the substitute, minimise, moderate and simplify findings
  • A design alternatives evaluation matrix
  • Index scoring for each design option
  • Inherent safety improvement recommendations
  • HAZOP integration with our findings mapped to your P and ID nodes
  • A process intensification opportunity register
  • A basis of safety document
  • A FEED design basis update carrying our recommendations
Get Started

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Speak with our team to scope an engagement tailored to your facility, regulatory context, and lifecycle stage.

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