The Importance of Preliminary Hazard Analysis in Risk Assessment

Brief History of PHA

The US Department of Defense, perhaps driven by the risks of nuclear energy, required safety studies in all stages of any system development in 1966. While government agencies across the globe immediately acted accordingly, many private companies in high-risk industries failed to follow suit. That decision proved ominous for Italy’s Seveso and the UK’s Flixborough chemical plants in the 1970s.

Some historians believe those two disasters compelled regulators to mandate comprehensive safety systems, which include extensive risk assessments. More importantly, any project or planned modification should undergo thorough PHA.

Benefits

The ultimate goal of preliminary hazard analysis is to ensure the health and safety of employees and the community that the company serves and belongs to. However, conducting a sweeping PHA is also advantageous for the company in the following ways:

• Improved product design and service – Developers, engineers, and relevant managers can proactively implement appropriate hazard controls when they conduct PHA. This ensures that their offerings meet customer needs, subsequently boosting their competitiveness and revenues.
• Guaranteed regulatory compliance – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies have strict regulations and impose severe penalties when directives are neglected or violated. Companies that perform PHA processes carefully can operate continuously and protect their bottom line.
• Increased stakeholder confidence – Operational failures, employee accidents, and environmental incidents can gravely damage a business’s reputation with customers and investors. The general public trusts companies that can demonstrate robust risk management and find long-term success in the industry.

How to Perform a Preliminary Hazard Analysis

EHS teams should be thorough when doing a preliminary hazard analysis. Identifying and evaluating all potential hazards aid in developing and implementing the most suitable mitigation strategies.

Here’s a fool-proof guide to conducting an effective PHA:

Step 1: Define the scope and objectives.

It’s vital to establish clear boundaries and specific goals for the PHA. Aside from ensuring that relevant personnel understand their tasks, this step helps focus the efforts and prevent scope creep.

• Engage all stakeholders to ensure everyone grasps the project’s scope and objectives. For instance, project managers, engineers, and site supervisors should be included in the discussion when planning a high-rise structure.
• Utilize scope of work templates to clearly define goals, ensuring the team works within the boundaries.

Step 2: Gather relevant information and data.

Collecting data on processes, materials, and environmental factors helps in understanding the context in which the system operates. It also provides a solid foundation for identifying hazards.

• Gather information from various sources (e.g., equipment specifications, incident reports, expert interviews, industry standards) for a well-rounded review.
• Systematically organize data by using digital databases.
• Verify the accuracy and reliability of the information by conducting inspections and walkthroughs.

Step 3: Identify potential hazards.

From the information gathered, teams can begin brainstorming sessions to review current practices and past incidents and pinpoint specific areas of concern. For example, security threats like data breaches, turn-cloaks, and phishing attacks are common hazards that banks and financial institutions should be wary of.

• Consider both internal and external incidents, such as problems experienced by competitors in the past, to determine if similar hazards may apply.
• Utilize industry-specific digital checklists to ensure nothing is overlooked. These also help with efficient reporting and documentation.

Step 4: Assess risks associated with identified hazards.

Each hazard identified should undergo qualitative and quantitative evaluation to determine severity, likelihood, and impact. By undergoing this phase, EHS teams can prioritize effectively and focus on immediate needs.

• Utilize a risk matrix to systematically determine the risk and better understand their exposure with visual representation.
• Document assumptions made during the process to provide context and rationale for the evaluation.

Step 5: Develop and test mitigation measures.

Apart from creating strategies to reduce or eliminate risks, it’s even more important to ensure the effectiveness of these mitigation measures through comprehensive testing. This also makes it easier to integrate safety recommendations into operational processes.

• Conduct simulations and drills regularly to verify effectiveness.
• Incorporate feedback to refine and improve mitigation measures.
• Implement redundant safety measures for backup, in case the primary measure fails.

Step 6: Review and update the PHA regularly.

Periodically revisit the PHA to ensure relevance and effectiveness over time. New information, process changes, and regulatory updates should be integrated into the company’s continuous improvement efforts.

• Schedule regular reviews. This may be annually or biannually, depending on the likelihood and severity of the hazards.
• Continuously monitor changes in processes or regulations that may impact the PHA.

PHA Tools and Techniques

One of the biggest challenges in conducting preliminary hazard analysis is subjectivity. This could lead to inconsistencies, resulting in erratic results and overlooked hazards. The following preliminary hazard analysis examples of tools and techniques help prevent that problem and several other issues.

• Predefined checklists of potential hazards guide the PHA team in systematically identifying potential risks. These ensure thorough coverage, speed up hazard identification, and promote consistency across projects and departments.
• Brainstorming sessions that involve different experts and stakeholders leverage diverse knowledge and experience, encouraging collaboration and innovation.
• Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) studies detail the system or process, identifying potential deviations that may result in safety incidents. Because this is a structured approach, developers and engineers systematically irregularities and their impacts.
• Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) identifies failure points before they occur and prioritizes risks so teams can focus resources on the most critical area.
• What-if Analysis explores potential scenarios and impacts. This is extremely useful as it considers a broad range of hazards, enabling the team to prepare for the unexpected.