Facility Siting and Occupied Buildings Risk Assessments (OBRA)

Major hazard installations such as gas terminals and refineries will typically have several buildings located within their boundaries. Often this is to support workers being located close to the hazards that they are managing without exposing them to undue risk.  As such, it is important that operators recognise their responsibility and ensure these buildings – normally referred to as ‘occupied buildings’ – are designed considering the hazards within their vicinity. These buildings should provide the necessary protection to their occupants should an accident occur. On the other hand, it is important to note that if the building did not exist, the case for their workers being located on the facility – typically for up to 12 hours at a time – may not have been supported from a risk tolerability perspective.

An occupied buildings risk assessment (OBRA) is a natural input in the process of specifying buildings and demonstrating that risks to workers are as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).

Safeti™ – DNV’s solution for consequence and risk modelling of loss of containment events – is tailored for safety professionals responsible for performing OBRA.

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Define occupant vulnerability based on a building's design

Safeti supports multiple building types*, enabling users to determine risks for existing buildings or perform sensitivities for a range of building designs in your project.

Support for TNO multi-energy and BST explosion methods

Safeti supports the popular TNO multi-energy (ME) and Baker-Strehlow-Tang (BST) explosions methods, as well as import of your own explosion modelling data for use in risk calculations.

Comply with industry guidance

Whether you’re adopting a consequence-based or a risk-based approach, Safeti allows you to comply the industry guidance such as:

• API 752: Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Permanent Buildings
• API 753: Management of Hazards Associated with Location of Process Plant Portable Buildings
• Chemical Industries Association: Guidance for the location and design of occupied buildings on chemical manufacturing sites (“CIA guidance”)

With outputs such as location-specific individual risk (LSIR) contours, potential loss of life (PLL), individual risk (IR) at specific locations, frequency contours for given effects*, and excedance curves*, Safeti gives you the metrics you need to meet your obligations.

Locate or specify your buildings

Whether it is to decide on a location for a new building, specify its required blast resistance or review the risks of an existing building, Safeti makes this easy. 

Thermal radiation and overpressure excedance curves, frequency contours and risk contours allow you to plan ahead and make the right decisions.

 

*Safeti Explosions add-on required. Click here for more details.