In the process industries, handling hazardous materials and operating under potentially risky conditions necessitates a strong focus on regulatory compliance. It ensures safe and responsible operations, protecting both people and the environment. 

Compliance goes beyond mere adherence to regulations; it offers a strategic advantage rather than a burdensome obligation.

The role of regulations on the management of safety

In many jurisdictions, safety reports are mandatory for operators and undergo regular review. For example, in the UK, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) imposes Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulations.

Establishments are classified as upper or lower tier based on the volume of hazardous substances stored, with upper-tier facilities required to provide detailed safety reports. In France, the government mandates two types of analyses - "Etudes de dangers" for industrial risks and "Etudes d'impact" for environmental issues.

Safety reports serve the purpose of showcasing preventive measures against Major Accident Hazards (MAHs), validating the effectiveness of safety measures, and providing essential information for internal and external emergency response planning.

Utilitising Phast™ and Safeti™ for regulatory compliance

Our Phast and Safeti software, recognised by health, safety, and environmental authorities globally, serve as dependable tools for the evaluation of potential hazards, their consequences, and associated risks. 

By helping operators grasp potential outcomes of Major Accident Hazards (MAHs) such as fires, explosions and toxic releases, they assist in formulating and enhancing risk mitigation strategies.

The Phast and Safeti software enable the completion of comprehensive QRA studies, producing a range of risk measures that are compared against established criteria. These measures include the individual risk (IR), which calculates the risk to an individual based on their duration at different site locations and time away from the facility. Additionally, the location-specific individual risk (LSIR) evaluates the risk assuming an individual remains at a specific location for an entire year. Finally, the potential loss of life (PLL) provides a quantified average number of fatalities per year. By leveraging the Phast and Safeti software for regulatory compliance, organizations can effectively assess and manage risks, ensuring the safety of personnel and meeting compliance standards. 

Acceptable risks are those that have been reduced to the ALARP level or considered insignificant within a broadly acceptable region. Consequently, a safety report serves as an affirmation that identified risks lie within the ALARP region and have been effectively minimised.

Verification and Validation of the software

The Phast and Safeti software integrate the best available methods for modelling the behaviour of hazardous materials. The reliability of the software's predictions stems from rigorous testing, verification of mathematical accuracy, and comparison against experimental data. This validation process ensures that the software's predictions align well with real-world data.

Modelling validation in Phast software against experimental data

Explore our software solutions:

Phast

Phast

Control your hazards by modelling discharge, dispersion, fires, explosions and toxic effects.

Safeti

Safeti

Make cost-effective decisions and manage risk throughout the asset lifecycle.

Discover other applications of our software:

Consequence estimation

Perform comprehensive consequence analysis and visualization for safety studies such as HAZOP, HAZID, PHA, and LOPA using the Phast software.

Emergency response

Simulate consequences from loss of containment scenarios to aid in the development of effective emergency response plans using the Phast software.

Phast is used to model the behaviour of hazardous materials and predict the consequences of accidental releases. Safeti , on the other hand, combines consequence modelling with frequency analysis to calculate riskand risk modelling software. 

Major Accident Hazards (MAHs) refer to events or incidents that have the potential to cause significant harm to people, property, or the environment. These hazards typically involve the release of hazardous substances, such as toxic chemicals, flammable materials, or explosive compounds, which can result in serious consequences if not properly managed.

ALARP stands for “as low as reasonably practicable” and is a risk management principle used to ensure that risks are reduced to the lowest possible level that is both practical and feasible. 

ALARP considers factors such as cost, time, and effort required to implement risk reduction measures, balancing them against the potential benefits and the severity of the risk.

A QRA is a quantitative risk assessment, or a quantitative risk analysis. It is a formal and systematic method used to assess the likelihood and consequence of hazardous events, and to identify the measures that can be taken to reduce risks to ALARP. 

Learn more about QRA.