Independent Protection Layers, a New CCPS Guideline Book

Layer of protection analysis (LOPA) is a semiquantitative tool for analyzing and assessing process risk. The tool has grown greatly in popularity and usefulness since the publication of the first CCPS/AIChE guidebook on the subject, Layer of Protection Analysis, Simplified Process Risk Assessment. CCPS chartered a committee to develop a new text on initiating events failures and independent protection layers. This paper will discuss the additional guidance provided by this new book including:

• Additional choices and examples of initiating events (IEs).

• Additional choices and examples of independent protection layers (IPLs).

• More complete criteria of how to determine the value of each prospective IE and prospective IPL.

• More elaboration on the practices that an organization should comply with to qualify an IE or IPL at a given value.

• Example IE and IPL data tables.

This book will be a necessary reference for those applying the LOPA methodology.

This paper will summarize this upcoming textbook, highlight some of the new IPLs and IEs, and highlight some of the chief concerns the subcommittee wrestled with.