Workflow

Process (computing)

Engineering

Reliability engineering

Process safety

Inherent safety

Computer security

Systems engineering

Work in process

Operating system

Computer science

Risk analysis (engineering)

Business

Biochemical engineering

Waste management

Mechanical engineering

Organic chemistry

Process management

SAFER

Database

Hazard

Conceptual design

Operations management

Process safety management

Chemistry

Hazard analysis

Hazardous waste

Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries

This paper reviews principal concepts, tools, and metrics for risk management and Inherently Safer Design (ISD) during the conceptual stage of process design. Even though there has been a profusion of papers regarding ISD, the targeted audience has typically been safety engineers, not process engineers. Thus, the goal of this paper is to enable process engineers to use all the available design degrees of freedom to mitigate risk early enough in the design process. Mainly, this paper analyzes ISD and inherent safety assessment tools (ISATs) from the perspective of inclusion in conceptual process design. The paper also highlights the need to consider safety as a major component of process sustainability. In this paper, 73 ISATs were selected, and these tools were categorized into three groups: hazard-based inherent safety assessment tools (H-ISATs) for 22 tools, risk-based inherent safety assessment tools (R-ISATs) for 33 tools, and cost-optimal inherent safety assessment tools (CO-ISATs) for 18 tools. This paper also introduces an integrated framework for coordinating the conventional process design workflow with safety analysis at various levels of detail.

Incorporating inherent safety during the conceptual process design stage: A literature review