Enabling Sustainable Relief System Management Programs through Independent Reviews

Overpressure protection and flare systems usually represent the last line of protection for personnel and the environment in industrial facilities operating under high temperatures and pressures. During the design phase of either Greenfield or Brownfield projects, assessing the basis for major relief systems and making clear recommendations to reduce the risks associated with each system has helped companies realize substantial safety and economic benefits. Independent and safety focused reviews, with an emphasis on value added solutions has enabled organizations to set the right foundation for a sustainable relief system management program. This, in turn, has helped enable the facilities in meeting the ever-changing regulatory needs in a timely manner.

This paper will give a typical breakdown of the workflow process for each of the entities involved in the project – the client, the contractor, and the independent reviewer. Four distinct work activities are typically identified for such a review – development of preliminary overpressure protection, engineering design of relief systems, validation of the design, and validation of as-built documentation. After each stage, the output from the independent analysis is compared with the contractor’s work and updates are performed before continuing to the next stage. This paper will also give an overview of these stages and discuss the various steps and value added for each stage of the project.