Safe Case : Safety Assurance for Process Industry
Functional Safety Explained in Two Minutes
For many years, Process Safety has been a constant challenge to all stakeholders of Process Industry, including plant owners, regulators and social communities. One particular global trend is the adoption of Safety Case Regime in numerous countries, including Singapore. To support with the implementation of Safety Case Regime, TÜV Rheinland provides a “full package” safety assurance solution for process industry. This includes from planning and development to auditing and assessment on safety case. In addition, with reference to international standards and European directives, TÜV Rheinland is supporting clients on Functional Safety (IEC 61511 and IEC 61508), Explosion Protection (ATEX and IECEx), and also Industrial Cybersecurity (IEC 62443).
Technologies
Since the Safety Case Regime was established in the UK, the regulators of various countries (e.g. Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Brunei, and Singapore) have adopted similar regimes for their Major Accident Hazard Facilities. In Singapore’s context, the Safety Case Regime is the core feature of the Workplace Safety and Health (Major Hazard Installations) Regulations, which has been effective since 1st Sep 2017. It allows flexibility for MHIs to tailor their risk mitigating measures, enabling MHIs to address their risk in a more holistic manner.
Under the Safety Case Regime, MHIs are expected to:
- 1) take on greater responsibilities;
- 2) proactively identify and manage Safety Health and Environment (SHE)risks through integration of all SHE protocols and;
- 3) demonstrate to regulators that their risks are as low as reasonably practicable.
Accreditation
TÜV Rheinland has significant experience developing a vast range of safety cases. To date, we have completed about 400 safety case projects for more than 100 clients in In Europe, Americas, Middle East, Asia, Australia and Africa. TÜV Rheinland Singapore is an accredited Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) consultant by National Environmental Agency (NEA). We are able to support all aspects of safety case development, including co-ordination, planning, preparation and technical support, with technical expertise in the fields of QRA, HAZOP, ERP, PSM, Functional Safety, Exposition Protection and Industrial Cyber Security.
Safety Case Symposium
TÜV Rheinland is also the initiator the International Safety Case Symposium. It is a dedicated platform where global industry players and experts come forth to share, learn and discuss Safety Case related topics. The first symposium was hosted in Singapore on 14-15 March 2018 which focused on the themes of Technologies, Methodologies and Regulations. TÜV Rheinland is also leading efforts in the region to establish the Safety Case Alliance.
Expert Profile
Mr. Chen Zhenkang heads the department for Industrial Services at TÜV Rheinland based in Singapore and is focused on providing safety assurance for process industry in the Asia Pacific. This includes Functional Safety, Exposition Protection, Safety Case and Industrial Cybersecurity. Mr. Chen is also a Functional Safety Expert specializing in Safety Instrumented Systems, Safety Lifecycle Management and Functional Safety Management according to the IEC61511 and IEC61508 standards and had vast experience leading local and global projects in these arenas. Mr Chen is the key Functional Safety Assessor for Process Industry of TÜV Rheinland in the Asia Pacific region and is currently stationed in Singapore.