EGPC PSM GL 007 Safety Critical Element SCE Management Guideline
EGPC PSM GL 007 Safety Critical Element SCE Management Guideline
GUIDELINE
EGPC-PSM-GL-007
PSM GUIDELINES
Acknowledgments
This publication has been produced as a result of the comprehensive efforts carried out by
the PSM Technical Subcommittee on behalf of the Egypt PSM Steering Committee, formed
per the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Petroleum and
Mineral Resources and Methanex Egypt in February 2020 overseeing the design and
implementation of a detailed PSM program to promote and enhance PSM culture for
Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MOP) and its affiliated COMPANIES following
industry best practice, international codes and standards. The Egyptian Process Safety
Management Steering Committee comprises MOP, EGPC, ECHEM, EGAS, GANOPE, and
Methanex Egypt representatives.
PSM Technical Subcommittee team members during the project comprised:
Amr Moawad Hassan PSM Senior Consultant – Methanex Egypt Team leader
Mohamed Hamouda HSE Department Head – Pharaonic Pet. Co. Member
Ahmed Mostafa Operations Section Head – ELAB Member
Ahmed Roustom Risk Management and Loss Prevention Studies Member
Assistant General Manager – GASCO
Hany Tawfik OHS & PS General Manager – ETHYDCO Member
Mohamed Ashraf Safety Section Head for Upstream – EGPC Member
Aboul-Dahb
Mohamed Mesbah Operations Department Head – KPC Member
Mohammed Sabry Risk Management and Loss Prevention Studies Member
Executive General Manager – GASCO
Sayed Eid HSE A. General Manager – Agiba Pet. Co. Member
Tamer Abdel Fatah QHSE Senior – UGDC Member
All PSM technical subcommittee documents are subjected to a thorough technical peer-
review process during development and prior approval. The PSM technical subcommittee
gratefully appreciates the thoughtful comments and suggestions of the peer reviewers. Their
contributions enhanced the accuracy and clarity of the documents. The PSM Technical
Subcommittee acknowledges the following reviewers from major Process Safety consultants
as well as major operators & EPC contractors who provided valuable comments during the
technical peer reviews that resulted in an outstanding product structure and quality:
Process Safety Consultant (in alphabetical order):
Ahmed Omar, Commissioning and Startup Manager (Saipem).
Exida - By: Greg Chantler, Principal Consultant.
Process Safety & Reliability Group (PSRG)- By: Robert Weber, President / CEO.
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Emad Kilany OHS & Fire Fighting Technical Studies GM - EGAS Member
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TITLE
DOCUMENT NO. ISSUE DATE
SAFETY CRITICAL ELEMENT (SCE) MANAGEMENT
EGPC-PSM-GL-007 DEC-2022
GUIDELINE
Approval
NAME TITLE DATE SIGNATURE
Amr Moawad PSM Senior Consultant - Methanex Egypt
DEC-2022
Hassan PSM Technical Subcommittee TL
Endorsement
NAME TITLE DATE SIGNATURE
CEO - Egyptian General Petroleum
Alaa El Batal DEC-2022
Corporation (EGPC)
Copyright
The copyright and all other rights of a like nature of this document are vested in EGPC and
Egyptian Oil and Gas Holding COMPANIES – referred hereinafter as "ENTITIES" –.This
document is issued as part of the Process Safety Management (PSM) System Framework
establishing mandatory requirements for their operating company, subsidiary, affiliated, and
joint ventures – referred to hereinafter as COMPANIES –.Either ENTITIES or their COMPANIES
may give copies of the entire document or selected parts thereof to their contractors
implementing PSM standards or guidelines to qualify for the award of contract or execution
of awarded contracts. Such copies should carry a statement that they are reproduced with
permission relevant ENTITY or COMPANY. This document cannot be used except for the
purposes it is issued for.
Disclaimer
No liability whatsoever in contract, tort, or otherwise is accepted by ENTITIES or its
COMPANIES, their respective shareholders, directors, officers, and employees, whether or
not involved in the preparation of the document for any consequences whatsoever resulting
directly or indirectly from reliance on or from the use of the document or for any error or
omission therein even if such error or omission is caused by a failure to exercise reasonable
care.
Controlled Intranet Copy
The intranet copy of this document is the only controlled document. Copies or extracts of this
document, downloaded from the intranet, are uncontrolled copies and cannot be guaranteed
to be the latest version. All printed paper copies should be treated as uncontrolled copies of
this document.
All administrative queries must be directed to the Egyptian Process Safety Technical Subcommittee.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6
2. Purpose ........................................................................................................................... 6
3. Scope ............................................................................................................................... 6
4. Definitions ....................................................................................................................... 7
5. Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 8
6. Safety Critical Element Management Flowchart ............................................................ 9
7. Identify Safety Critical Elements ................................................................................... 10
8. Develop Safety Critical Element Performance Standards ............................................ 11
9. Identify Safety Critical Equipment– Tag Level .............................................................. 11
10. Develop Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Requirements ................................... 13
11. Develop Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Procedures ........................................ 14
12. Plan and Schedule Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing ........................................... 14
13. Execute Required Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing ............................................ 15
14. Review Feedback from Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing .................................... 16
15. SCE Impairment Management ...................................................................................... 17
16. Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) ............................................................................. 18
17. Cumulative Risk Profile and Barriers Health Model ..................................................... 20
17.1 Design and Build Integrity ............................................................................................. 21
17.2 Sustain Integrity ............................................................................................................ 22
17.3 Operate with Integrity .................................................................................................. 22
18. Managing Temporary Equipment ................................................................................. 24
19. Safety Critical Equipment Criticality ............................................................................. 25
20. References .................................................................................................................... 26
21. List of Annexes .............................................................................................................. 26
Annex A - SCE Management Through the Asset Life Cycle ...................................................... 27
Annex B - Performance Standard ............................................................................................ 29
B.1. Performance Standard FARSI ........................................................................................ 29
B.2 Defining Performance Standard (PS) Criteria ................................................................. 31
B.3 Performance Standard Assurance Activities .................................................................. 32
B.4. Performance Standard Verification Activities ............................................................... 33
Annex C - Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) Development Steps ....................................... 38
Annex D - Example for the ORA and Cumulative Barrier Model ............................................. 43
D.1. Means of Identification of The Deficient/Degraded Barrier ......................................... 43
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1. Introduction
This guideline establishes good practices for managing critical safety elements (SCEs). This
includes the identification, operation, maintenance, inspection, and testing of the SCEs to
assure their operational integrity and to maintain the required protection level of the
industrial facilities as per the design specifications or Performance standards. Management
should ensure that SCEs are identified and appropriately managed to be in
service/operational, healthy, and functioning properly.
In addition to assuring and verifying the initial suitability of the SCEs, all facilities shall have a
program of maintenance, inspection, and testing to ensure the ongoing suitability of safety-
critical equipment and their respective barriers. A documented process shall also be in place
describing the course of actions to be followed in case of one or more barrier impairments.
The documented process shall address the risk assessment process required to demonstrate
the ability to continue operations, the additional safeguards that may require to be put in
place, and how this change in the facility operations will be approved and regularly reviewed.
2. Purpose
The purpose of this document is to define the requirements for managing SCE. This includes
the identification of SCE on the system and tag level, defining and ensuring both initial and
ongoing suitability of the SCE through the development of SCE performance standards, and
the implementation of assurance and verification activities. The document also describes a
proposed method to manage SCE impairment, including the development of Operational Risk
Assessment (ORA) and cumulative barriers model health status.
3. Scope
This document stipulates the requirements applicable to the Egyptian General Petroleum
Corporation (EGPC) and Oil and Gas Holding Companies, including the Egyptian Natural Gas
Holding Company (EGAS), the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), and the
South Valley Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) covering all of their operational
subsidiaries, state-owned companies, affiliates, and joint ventures. ENTITIES and their
COMPANIES and contractors shall ensure that all requirements listed herein are fully
understood, implemented, complied with, and always monitored, including current
operations and existing and future projects during the whole projects' lifecycle from feasibility
to decommissioning.
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4. Definitions
ASSET REGISTER: An inventory of tangible assets such as buildings, structures, machinery,
plant, and equipment.
ASSURANCE: Activities performed by the operating company (1st party) to demonstrate that
an SCE meets its Performance Standard. This includes activities in all asset life cycle phases,
i.e., to demonstrate initial and ongoing suitability.
CUMULATIVE RISK MANAGEMENT: Proactive management of multiple deviations in
Performance and the risks from/associated with them, including their interactions.
DEFERMENT: Delay in carrying out/performing SCE assurance tasks. A type of SCE
impairment.
IMPAIRED SAFETY CRITICAL ELEMENT: A critical safety element (SCE) that does not fully meet
or may not meet one or more of its performance standard criteria. Impairment includes:
• SCE overdue maintenance, inspection, and testing.
• Failed SCE (not meeting the performance standard criteria).
• Degraded SCE (partial failure to meet its functionality).
• Unavailable SCE (i.e., Inhibits or overrides).
MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: Administrative, financial, and technical framework
for assessing and planning maintenance operations on a scheduled basis. Often these are
computer-based systems integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and called
Computer-Based Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).
MEAN TIME BETWEEN FAILURE (MTBF): Anticipated lapsed time between two consecutive
system failures when in operation. Relates to the reliability aspect of the performance
standard.
MEAN TIME TO REPAIR (MTTR): Mean time before the item is repaired. This relates to the
availability aspect of the performance standard.
OPERATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT (ORA): Risk assessment carried out for an impaired SCE
that aims to identify, if possible, the conditions under which operation of a facility may
continue at an elevated MAH risk (such as by implementing additional or different risk
reduction measures), and for what period. The scope of the risk assessment should also
consider the impacts of the impaired SCE on other dependent SCEs.
SAFETY CRITICAL ELEMENT BACKLOG: List of maintenance, Inspection or Testing work orders
of SCE that have passed their planned execution date.
SAFETY CRITICAL EQUIPMENT: Equipment forming part of a broader system that is safety
critical, e.g., portable fire-fighting equipment that is part of an active fire protection SCE or
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one of many gas detectors that is part of a gas detection SCE that also comprises a control
system.
VERIFICATION: Activities that seek to confirm by independent examination, testing, and
review of evidence that specified requirements have been fulfilled. In the context of SCEs,
these activities seek to confirm whether SCEs will be, and are, suitable or not. These activities
are in addition to the operating company's (1st party) assurance processes. They are
performed by an independent verifier (often an organization such as a classification society,
inspection company (a 3rd party), or an independent person (a 2nd party) within the
operating company's organization appointed by the operating company. A verification
scheme defines how these verification activities are carried out.
5. Abbreviations
CM Corrective Maintenance
PM Preventive Maintenance
PS Performance Standard
For other definitions and abbreviations, refer to the PSM Glossary of Definitions and
Abbreviations Guideline (EGPC-PSM-GL-011).
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Identification of SCE at the tag level is not simple. Typically, an item of Safety Critical
Equipment could be the 'child' of a system already identified as an SCE, but it does not follow
that it is an SCE itself. The failure of an individual item (Equipment) within a system will not
necessarily stop the SCE from performing its functional role. The following decision-making
principles (see Figure 2) could be applied to ascertain whether an item or equipment is a
safety critical itself:
Does the Safety Critical Equipment/component item belong to an SCE system (i.e., as
a child of an SCE)?
Will the failure of the Safety Critical Equipment/component item prevent the SCE from
meeting its performance standard?
The facility should ensure a common understanding of which equipment should be
considered safety critical. The decisions for the inclusion and/or exclusion of equipment as
"safety critical" should be suitably and formally documented inside the facility.
If this analysis is not done, there will be far too many or too few Safety Critical Equipment. If
there are too many, some may not strictly meet the criteria of being safety-critical, and this
may mean that some receive unnecessary assurance effort causing potential detriment to
those that are safety critical.
Every Safety Critical Equipment belongs to at least one SCE group/system, all to be identified
in the company's asset register along with the relevant SCE group/system reference. In cases
where more than one SCE group may be relevant to a single Safety Critical Equipment, only
one can be assigned to the asset register. In these cases, a judgment must be made on
selecting the most appropriate SCE group. For example, a certified junction box within a fire
and gas system loop could be assigned fire and gas detection. However, as it is passive in its
fire and gas functionality, its most likely failure mode would be related to its EX-design.
Therefore, assigning it to certified electrical equipment would be more appropriate. Assigning
an SCE group in the asset register is used only for reporting purposes. It should not preclude
any other relevant performance assurance tasks from being assigned to the SCE. Effective SCE
assurance during the operating phase depends on the alignment between the asset register
and the Performance Standards.
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Critical Equipment, it may be possible to differentiate the likelihood of failure. This will allow
ACPs to be optimized for each identified Safety Critical Equipment.
It is important to ensure that the ACP complies with legislative requirements and
requirements from the company and industry standards. SCE Performance standard
documents shall be considered while the development of the ACPs to ensure that
maintenance and testing meet the requirements of the SCE performance standards.
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Sometimes, Safety Critical Equipment maintenance, inspection, and testing activities address
the frequency of testing and the type of test to be carried out (e.g., proof, function) but not
how that testing should be done. The result is that technicians may only have their standard
competence to do the testing (e.g., electrical), but there is no recognition of its limitations
when applied to SCEs.
The planning and scheduling of the maintenance, inspection, and testing of Safety Critical
Equipment should be coordinated with other activities which may be planned on the same
assets or using the same resource groups. It should be ensured that the work plans and
schedules are reviewed and agreed upon with the line managers/supervisors/technicians
who will be required to execute them.
Any amendments to job plan or work order scheduling frequency shall be controlled to ensure
that any effects of extending or increasing maintenance intervals are fully understood and
risk assessed. The maintenance management system should be configured with the SCE
assurance activities before implementing SCE integrity assurance activities, during the
Construction/ Commissioning / Start-Up phase, and before the operate phase.
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It should be ensured that the equipment history is updated and reviewed to incorporate the
feedback from execution. Some active SCEs may have insufficient recorded data to
demonstrate whether the PS criterion is being met. For this reason, operations personnel
should record the 'as found' condition and any details of SCE repairs needed to achieve the
required PS. For example, if an ESDV had to be stroked (and greased) several times during
routine testing to close it properly, but it did not close properly several times during routine
testing, and this wasn't recorded and acted upon by the implementation of a long-term
remedy, the fault could recur and potentially impair the SCE's functionality.
Responsibility for maintaining and updating records should be clearly defined inside the
facility. The records and information should be held in a defined and agreed place(s) to ensure
they are easily accessible.
In cases where it is necessary to delay scheduled maintenance, inspection, and testing of
Safety Critical Equipment, this should be formally deferred using a risk-managed approach,
tracked appropriately, and approved by personnel with the required level of authority.
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The requirement to perform a risk assessment is prompted by any scenario in which a barrier
is identified as unavailable, degraded, or failed or where assurance activities are deferred.
These scenarios maybe:
Overrides or inhibits on Safety Critical Equipment:
Suppose any Safety Critical Equipment is inhibited or over-ridden. In that case, it will
fail to perform some/full part of its safety-critical function, e.g., the Safety Critical
control loop is inhibited for testing purposes. A risk assessment should be performed
to assess the risks where any Safety Critical Equipment is over-ridden or inhibited, and
suitable risk mitigation measures should be established.
Deferral of SCE assurance:
Maintenance, inspection, and testing activities provide assurance of SCE and hence
the barrier effectiveness. All backlog (deferral) of planned assurance activities on SCEs
should be risk assessed. Based on the associated risk level the related maintenance,
inspection, or testing activity may be authorized for deferral for a specified interval. In
all cases, a request for deferral must be issued and present adequate justification for
deferment. Where it is agreed that the risks and implications of the deferral are
acceptable, the deferral request form shall be circulated to the relevant level for
endorsement. The new execution date should be reflected in the maintenance
planning program and hence the assurance activity will not be counted in the SCE
backlog. All approved deferrals should be recorded on a deferral register. In the case
that the maintenance deferral is deemed unacceptable, the request form shall be
rejected.
Deviation from the Performance Standard (Failure or Degradation):
The failure of an SCE to meet the specified performance standard may be disclosed by
planned assurance activities (i.e., testing) or by an actual demand on the system (such
as a shutdown event). All requirements for corrective maintenance of the element to
restore full effectiveness should be considered in a formal risk assessment.
In some cases, impairment of the SCE will trigger a MOC, so the companies should define the
situations where the MOC process shall be followed, i.e., long-term isolation of an SCE longer
than six months. Isolation of safety-critical equipment shall be managed through the
company's safe work practices, including using an isolation certificate, even during
turnarounds.
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approach to risk management takes several forms and has various titles applied to the
processes. In this guideline, the term Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) will be used.
The application of the ORA process commences at facility start-up and continues throughout
the Operate and Decommission stages. The most common trigger for ORA is the identification
of impaired SCE. Other triggers include the up-normal operational situations and changes to
the organizational capability that may compromise the facility's safe operation.
Each company should develop, maintain and implement ORA procedures that guarantee a
systematic and effective approach to operational risk management such that:
A thorough assessment of Major Accident Hazards associated with SCE impairment or
other abnormal operational situations is carried out. Risks are identified and
evaluated; effective risk control and mitigation measures to manage risks arising from
impaired SCE are properly identified, documented, implemented, and monitored.
Steps are taken to ensure that interdependent SCE or other control measures
associated with or affected by the ORA are adequate, available, and fully functional or
being managed/controlled under a separate ORA.
The assessment and documented outputs are reviewed, endorsed, and approved by
relevant technically competent personnel.
Awareness of the abnormal conditions and changes arising from an ORA is maintained
and monitored until permanent remediation/ restoration of SCE performance is
completed.
There is a reliable basis / good reasoning for operational control and decision-making.
Permanent remediation of impaired SCE or recovery actions from the abnormal
situation is identified, prioritized, and tracked to closure in an appropriate time scale.
Operational risk management processes are managed and executed by suitably
competent personnel.
All ORAs is presented and reflected in the facility cumulative barriers health model.
Operational risk assessment is one element of a wider suite of management system elements,
processes, and practices to manage Major Accident Hazards. As an example of
interdependence, impaired SCE may be revealed by integrity management activities, and
remediation of the impairment will become part of the maintenance management or action
management systems.
It is particularly important to stress that the application of task risk assessment procedures,
criteria, and guidewords focusing on personal injury outcomes only is inappropriate in
Operational Risk Assessment (ORA).
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Clear routes and levels of authority must be specified and adhered to for the review,
endorsement, and approval of documented operational risk assessments. Levels of authority
should reflect and align with the assessed risk levels of the impaired SCE.
Relevant personnel must be aware of operational risk assessments and associated changes to
SCE Performance. Personnel such as Process Operators, Control Room Operators, and
Emergency Response Team members should be made aware of changes and any new or
additional actions that may be required by them or others as part of ORA mitigation measures.
Annex C includes more details on the ORA development process.
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When the specific barriers have been identified and agreed upon, they can be represented in
a visual model similar to that shown above. This can provide the basis for a visual
representation of the overall barrier effectiveness for a facility.
Barriers' integrity is assured based on three key elements:
Design and build integrity.
Sustain integrity.
Operate with integrity.
Each of these three elements should be considered in determining the overall effectiveness
of the barriers; however, the three elements may not all be reviewed on the same timescale.
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residual risk ratings being attributed to the quality (e.g., effectiveness, reliability,
assurability/robustness) of the agreed interim risk mitigation measures that are applied.
Based on risk ranking, where the initial risk shows a significant increase above the design
baseline level and where the mitigation measures are only partially effective in reducing the
risk (such that there is only a small difference between the initial and residual risk rating) then
this may be the basis for the barrier to be classified as red.
For the same scenario, if the mitigation measures are effective at reducing the risk (creating
a significant reduction between the initial and residual risk rating) and where the mitigation
measures can be readily assured, then this may be the basis for the barrier to be classified in
the amber category.
Figure 4 illustrates the barrier model showing hypothetical barriers' health status, considering
the initial risk figure and residual risk figure, after applying the mitigation measure. This
barrier model could be presented to the senior management and site management on a
suggested monthly basis.
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Everyone involved in the review process is responsible for intervening and challenging the
information and decisions made. Using a cumulative risk barrier model correctly should allow
the early identification of potential threats, prompting the correct conversations and timely
intervention to ensure that developing risks are effectively managed.
Facilities should consider the following frequencies and drivers for assessing the barrier
conditions using the cumulative risk model:
In the event of significant change, as deemed by a technical expert and technical
support functions.
Weekly as part of ORA reviews conducted by the facility-based team.
Biweekly through functional support roles, including technical experts and technical
asset authorities.
Monthly through a combination of asset senior management and site management as
part of process safety and asset integrity governance review.
Figure 5 shows the relation between cumulative risk and ORA.
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20. References
[1] Energy Institute, “Element 16: Management of Safety Critical Devices”, Energy Institute,
2015.
[2] British Gas, “Cumulative operational risk assessment”, British Gas, 2012.
[3] Energy Institute, “Guidelines for management of safety critical elements, Energy
Institute”, 2020.
[4] Egyptian General Petroleum Corporaton (EGPC), “Major Accident Hazard Management
Guideline (EGPC-PSM-GL-006)”, EGPC, 2021.
[5] Oil & Gas UK, “Guidance on the Conduct and Management of Operational Risk
Assessment for UKCS Offshore Oil and Gas Operations”, Oil & Gas UK, 2012.
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The wide verification process could be carried out through the facility's life cycle. The
verification part inside the standard performance document does not cover the whole
verification process to verify the initial and ongoing suitability of the SCE. Table A1 presents
some other verification activities, including the performance standard verification activities.
An Independent competent person shall carry out verification activities. During the project
phase to verify the initial suitability of the SCE, verifications are carried out by an independent
person from outside the company. During the operation phase, verification of the assurance
activities carried out on the SCE could be done by personal from inside the company
independent from those carried out the assurance activities.
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Performance Standards goals should be taken as the starting point for building the PS in terms
of functionality, availability, reliability, survivability, and independency (FARSI) criteria:
1. Functionality:
What the SCE is required to do concerning MAH management.
The SCE functionality aspect of the PS should define the appropriate performance
to enable management of the pertinent MAH safety risks such that they meet a
defined risk criterion, such as ALARP.
Functionality criteria may cover a wide range of performance requirements, e.g.,
the functionality of a firewater system SCE may cover the delivery rate, the
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quantity of fire-fighting water, and the response time to deploying the fire-fighting
water.
Functionality criteria may have associated limits (e.g., for temperature or
pressure) under which the required Performance should be able to be delivered
with confidence. Outside such criteria, the functionality may be undermined.
2. Availability:
The proportion of time that the SCE is required to be capable of performing its
function on demand.
Availability is affected by the need to maintain the equipment, either planned or
unplanned. This may be stated as, e.g., unavailability of [number] hours per
annum, indicating whether the SCE will be ready to function when required. Most
SCEs should always be available. Availability typically is described in terms of mean
time to repair (MTTR).
If an SCE is being maintained and is out of use, an operational risk assessment
(ORA) should be raised if this is for a significant period.
3. Reliability
The allowable failure rate of the SCE (or conversely, the likelihood of the SCE
performing on demand).
In the operating phase, reliability targets should apply to active SCEs operating on
demand in direct response to a MAH through either automatic or manual
initiation, e.g., an ESDV actuation. As well as initiating, the SCE may need to
function for a further period.
Reliability targets should cover all aspects of detecting, deciding, and acting, which
may necessitate consideration of human reliability (e.g., whether a control room
operator will correctly diagnose a plant deviation) before the operation of the SCE.
Typically, reliability targets should be defined for SCEs such as ESDVs, F&G
detection systems (including individual detectors), firewater pumps, emergency
lighting systems (and individual luminaires), safety-critical systems such as
instrumentation and temporary refuge heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
(HVAC) systems (e.g., for dampers to close and fans to stop). For system-based
SCEs, there may be different reliability targets for the SCE and individual
equipment items.
Reliability targets should be measurable such that corrective action can be taken
if the target is not achieved. Reliability is typically described as the mean time
between failure (MTBF).
4. Survivability
The MAHs that the SCE can survive and still perform its functionality.
The survivability criterion should only apply to SCEs that need to function after a
major accident (by providing mitigation and reducing the effects of the event).
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The SCE may need to survive events such as fire, blast, collision (e.g., ship impact),
adverse weather, dropped objects, etc.
Examples of survivability include:
- Support structures that enable escape and evacuation routes to remain in use.
- Firewater deluge system withstanding a defined blast overpressure.
- The pressurized enclosure that protects people from toxic gas ingress is
defined as blast overpressure and thermal radiation.
- Pressure relief system that reduces the hydrocarbon inventory that otherwise
provides fuel for a jet fire.
5. Independency
Interfaces with other systems (usually also SCEs) required to function at the same
time or those upon which the functions directly depend.
The independency criterion considers both the Interactions and dependencies.
'Interactions' refers to interfaces of an SCE with other systems, which usually are
also SCEs.
Examples of interactions for an emergency power supply SCE are:
- Active Fire Protection – emergency power supply SCE provides power to the
fire pumps, and
- Emergency shutdown and blowdown system – emergency power supply SCE
provides power to the ESD system.
'Dependencies' refers to the degree of reliance of the SCE on other systems
(usually SCEs) to perform its function. A common cause failure (CCF) is where
several SCEs are impaired due to one failure mechanism – these are not
independent and should be considered a combined system. The diversity of SCEs
(passive and active) should reduce the risk of common mode failure.
Examples of dependencies for an emergency power supply SCE are:
- Hydrocarbon containment – to provide fuel for the emergency power supply's
generator.
- Temporary Refuge – to house the essential equipment of the emergency
power supply.
B.2 Defining Performance Standard (PS) Criteria
To establish PS criteria, a clear hierarchy of preference should be used, such as:
Applying national and international design and construction technical publications
(e.g., codes, standards, and good industry practice) where risk is relatively well
understood. A good practice is a minimum requirement in demonstrating ALARP for
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new facilities, and it should be considered with existing facilities to enable compliance
with EGPC requirements.
Risk assessment is when no appropriate technical publications are available, a good
practice is not well defined, and there is uncertainty or complexity, so there should be
a specific study or analysis.
Precautionary approach, where there is excessive uncertainty or complexity, even
after completing a risk assessment. The application may be innovative.
PS criteria should identify the source information (e.g., a specific standard). PS criteria should
be quantitative (e.g., time, pressure, temperature) so that the performance criteria are
unambiguous as regards whether SCEs pass/fail (e.g., not 'no excessive corrosion') and they
facilitate measurement of actual SCE performance (e.g., creeping degradation)
Quantitative PS criteria should include the pertinent units, e.g., a quantitative functionality
criterion for firewater pumps in an Active Fire Protection system may be: each firewater pump
shall deliver a minimum acceptance flow of [volume] m3/hour at [pressure] barg within
[number] minutes of actuation at [location].
However, other functionality criteria may be qualitative, e.g., firewater pumps shall be
capable of being started by two independent means – manually from the local control panel
or automatically via the emergency control system per relevant cause and effect (C&E)
analysis.
For a passive SCE system, qualitative criteria only may be appropriate in the operating phase;
e.g., a firewall may have a design-based duration (e.g. [value] minutes), but this cannot be
measured in the operating phase. Instead, a visual degradation criterion may be all that can
be declared (e.g., no visible cracks of size greater than [value] dimension).
The setting of reliability performance should be based on robust and achievable data. This
should be based on the actual achieved reliability performance of the SCE for the pertinent
facility using data in the maintenance management system if the facility is operational or,
more generally, from a database within the operating company for similar facilities. In the
absence of a representative data population (e.g., facility not yet operational, infrequently
tested SCEs or small population), other means should be considered to define the reliability
performance, such as using industry reliability databases, e.g., OREDA. Reliability
performance targets are inappropriate for passive systems such as sub-structures or Passive
Fire Protection.
B.3 Performance Standard Assurance Activities
SCE management typically comprises desk-based and facility-based assurance activities.
Assurance requirements shall be stated in the performance standard for each SCE. Those
requirements differ for the initial and ongoing suitability of the SCE.
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Performance Standard assurance requirements in the design phase should focus on the
design quality and adequate design specifications, procurement, fabrication/construction,
and commissioning. These SCE assurance activities should be carried out to ensure the initial
suitability of SCEs.
During the operating phase, SCE assurance activities should focus on ensuring the ongoing
suitability of SCEs through maintenance, inspection, and testing.
The performance standards should not be confused with the preventive maintenance
strategy required for the maintenance of equipment, e.g., lubrication. They specifically cover
only the tasks necessary to validate that SCEs perform the function necessary for the barrier
to be effective.
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The verification methods for SCEs in the operation phase usually comprise one or more of the
following generic activities to assess whether they are suitable:
Review assurance records to assess the robustness of assurance processes.
Witness and review critical function tests.
Visual physical 'as found' examination of SCE hardware condition vs. that stated in
maintenance management system records.
Operations phase verification activities could be done by the second or third part, from inside
the company, independent from the department carrying out the assurance activities.
The frequency of verification activities during the operation phase should depend on factors
such as:
The overall risks of the facility's operation.
The extent and frequency of the operating company's inspection and maintenance of
different SCEs.
The relative risk associated with failure of each SCE on MAH risks.
The findings of previous verification activities.
Confidence in the operating company's assurance processes.
Below is an example of the firewater SCE in the operation phase for a company (x), including
the minimum requirements for the firewater pump operations performance standard. The
performance standard is facility-specific, so this example is only for illustration purposes.
Reference: NFPA25 Fire pump's Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing requirement.
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Functionality
Function Criteria Assurance Verification
Fire Pump The fire pumps shall Fire Pump Weekly Per the maintenance
Capacity: provide a flow rate of 681 Inspection(s). plan, confirm by review
m3/hr. at a discharge Do weekly inspections. of assurance records that
About
pressure of 11 barg. The inspection shall cover the firewater pump
NFPA20:2022
the following: support systems have
section 4.10.1, a
1. Pump house been checked. (6
centrifugal fire
conditions. Months)
pump for fire
2. Pump system
protection shall be
conditions.
selected so that the
3. Electrical system
greatest demand
conditions.
for any fire
4. Diesel engine system
protection system
conditions.
connected to the
Reference:
pump is less than
NFPA25:2020
or equal to 150
Section 8.2.2
percent of the
Fire Pump Flow Testing(s): Witness the annual
rated capacity
Conduct Annual test of pump flow test. Ensure
(flow) of the pump.
each constant speed that the test is
pump assembly. conducted by qualified
Reference: NFPA25:2020 personnel and the
Section 8.3.3 results are satisfactory.
(Annual)
Carry out maintenance, Ensure that CMMS's
inspection, and testing for maintenance plan covers
the fire pump per NFPA 25 all NFPA requirements
and manufacturer stated in appendix A.
recommendation. (Annual)
Reference: NFPA25:2020
Per the maintenance
Section 8
plan, confirm by review
of assurance records that
the firewater pump
support systems have
been checked. (Annual)
Each fire pump The fire pumps shall start Weekly run test to the Witness the weekly
shall start on upon receipt of the start pump: pump run test. Ensure
demand from signal from: start options are
It is not necessary to test
Initiation signals. - Local Panel Pushbutton included in the test
all three during each test
- F&G Panel, Pushbutton instructions. (Annual)
performance, but the
/Confirmed Fire detection testing regime shall ensure
- Fire Main Pressure all start signals are tested
Switch equally.
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Functionality
Function Criteria Assurance Verification
Pump's Engine: Diesel engines for fire Weekly Run test for fire Witness the weekly pump
Diesel engines for pump drives shall be listed pump (no flow): run test. Ensure
fire pump drives for fire pump service. Engines shall be designed compliance with the test
shall be listed for and installed so they can steps, including the
fire pump service. be started no less than minimum run time for the
once a week and run for engine.
no less than 30 minutes to (6 Months)
attain normal running
temperature.
Reference: NFPA25:2020
Sections 8.3.1.1/8.3.2
Carry out maintenance, Ensure that the CMMS
inspection, and testing for maintenance plan
the Diesel engine system covers all manufacturer
as per manufacturer recommendations and
recommendations and NFPA requirements
NFPA requirements. stated in appendix A.
(Annual)
Reference: NFPA25:2020
Sections 8.5/Table 8.1.1.2
Fuel supply tank: Fuel supply tank(s) shall be Weekly inspection: Reviewing assurance
About NFPA sized for a minimum of 12 Ensure that the fuel tanks records confirms that the
20:2022 Section hours of engine run time are kept as full as practical pump's diesel fuel tank
11.4.1.3.1, Fuel based on the fuel supply but never below 66 capacity has been
supply tank(s) rate requirements of the percent (two-thirds) of checked per the weekly
shall be sized for a engine, plus 5 percent tank capacity. inspection plan.
minimum of 12 volume for expansion and 5 (Annual)
Reference: NFPA25:2020
hours of engine percent volume for a sump.
Section 8.2.2(4)
run time-based
on the fuel supply Diesel Annual degradation Ensure the CMMS
rate test: maintenance plan covers
requirements of Carryout degradation test the annual degradation
the engine, plus 5 for diesel fuel no less than test and confirm its
percent volume annually. implementation.
for expansion and (Annual)
Reference: NFPA25:2020
5 percent volume Section 8.3.4.1
for a sump.
Engine's Batteries: Each engine shall be Batteries Annual check: Ensure that CMMS's
Refer to NFPA20, provided with two storage Carry out the annual check maintenance plan covers
sections 11.2.7.2.1 battery units. for batteries. the annual battery check
and 11.2.7.2.5: Two means for recharging and that the work
Reference:
storage batteries shall be instructions cover the
Each engine NFPA25:2020 Section
provided. One method NFPA requirements.
shall be 8.1.1.2.15
shall be the generator or (Annual)
provided with
two storage alternator furnished with
battery units the engine. The other
Two means method shall be an
for recharging automatically controlled
storage batter).' charger taking
batteries shall power from an ac power
be provided. source.
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Availability
No single pump shall exceed the downtime limit of 400 hours in 365 days.
Reliability
Failures of firewater pumps to start shall not exceed one failure in 25 tests/demands.
Survivability
The fire pump, driver, controller, water supply, and power supply shall be protected against possible
interruption of service through damage caused by the explosion, fire, flood, earthquake, rodents, insects,
windstorm, freezing, vandalism, and other adverse conditions.
Reference: NFPA20:2022 Section 4.14. 1
Interdependency
PS Criteria
Firewater tank and Ring main (PS 15) The firewater tank supplies the fire pump and provides
firewater storage capacity.
The firewater ring main supplies the end users with
firewater from the firewater pumps.
Deluge & Foam Systems (PS 17) Firewater Pumps supply firewater to the Deluge & Foam
Systems
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2. Likelihood:
The second aspect of risk evaluation involves an assessment of the likelihood of the
identified consequences of the SCE failure being realized. Again, this determination
relates to the SCE failure without any mitigation measures. In most ORA
circumstances, this will be a qualitative or semi-quantitative assessment, and the
company's procedures should provide clear guidance on likelihood criteria specific to
Major Accident Hazards. The assessment of likelihood is most relevant where the
impaired SCE is preventive, e.g., ignition prevention. It should be emphasized that a
determination of Low likelihood cannot be used to support continued operations
without effective mitigation measures.
3. Risk Estimation:
The properly executed assessment of the consequence and likelihood described above
enables the assessment team to arrive at a risk estimate in qualitative or semi-
quantitative terms. The consequence and likelihood criteria must be relevant to Major
Accident Assessment rather than task-related personal injury outcomes. Risk ranking
is used to:
Drive the requirement to shut down or limit activities or operations.
Drive the identification and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures.
Ensure appropriate levels of review, endorsement, and approval of the ORA.
Identify and prioritize remedial or recovery actions (i.e., SCE time to repair).
Specify timelines for review, revalidation, and/or closure of the ORA.
4. Impact on other SCE:
In considering the risks of SCE failure, assessors must be mindful of any
interrelationships or dependencies between SCEs. These interrelationships and
dependencies should be shown in the SCE Performance Standard, so reference should
be made to that as a starting point. A simple example is that a failure of gas detection
could affect alarm systems, ventilation trips, and ESD initiation.
Step 3: Identification of Mitigation Measures:
Having estimated the risk associated with the impaired SCE, the team should systematically
identify and consider control measures designed to mitigate such risk. In making this
determination, the team should consider the recognized hierarchy of controls and adopt the
highest reasonably practicable standard of control.
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Concerning SCE failure, this hierarchy can be illustrated in descending order as follows:
1. Hazard elimination by shutting down the affected plant or equipment.
2. Providing an engineering solution to replace or supplement the impaired SCE.
3. Implementing procedural controls such as prohibiting certain work activities or tasks
in an affected area (e.g., stopping hot work).
4. Human intervention in the form of operator monitoring of a normally automated
control function, for example.
Strict adherence to the hierarchy should be observed, and in particular, reliance on human
intervention should always be the last resort. The risk assessment team should answer some
specific questions along the following lines:
Should the plant or process be shut down?
Is an engineered solution necessary and possible to reduce risk?
Have all available risk reduction measures been identified and properly considered?
Where human intervention has been identified as mitigation, is there sufficient
capacity and no risk of overload to the facility personnel?
Is human intervention practical in the event of an emergency?
Finally, checks must be made to ensure that identified mitigation measures are available and
reliable. This may require an SCE assurance routine to be brought forward to gain or increase
confidence in the availability and reliability of that SCE in its additional mitigation role.
Step 4: Assessment of Residual Risk and Risk Determination:
The ORA team should assess residual risk by considering the risk reduction effect of identified
mitigation measures. This should involve each of the identified hazards in the ORA being
revisited and risks re-evaluated, taking credit for identified mitigation measures. This step
should assign new qualitative or semi-quantitative values and allow the team to determine
the acceptability of continued safe operation in the impaired state. The company's procedure
should provide direction regarding the tolerable levels of residual risk to enable the ORA team
to recommend shutdown or continued safe operation as appropriate. It should also be
emphasized that lowering residual risk below that assessed as the original risk level does not
necessarily mean that a proposal is acceptable. The focus on consequences should prompt
serious consideration of the residual risk level and drive efforts to reduce risk further.
The facility safety case includes a demonstration that control of Major Accident Hazards
complies with the relevant statutory provisions and to a level that is as low as reasonably
practicable (ALARP). That compliance and the ALARP demonstration will have taken credit for
existing SCE in their fully functional condition. It follows, therefore, that an impaired SCE
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condition will temporarily result in a level of risk that is higher than the ALARP level defined
in the Safety Case. The properly executed ORA will arrive at a position where all reasonably
practicable risk reduction measures have been implemented, allowing the ORA team to
determine if the residual risk is tolerable or intolerable and to make a suitably informed
judgment to continue operations or to shut down on that basis. Crucial to the ORA approach
is the need for a strong and continued focus on remedial actions so that the period of reliance
on mitigation controls is minimized and appropriate effort and resources are applied to
restore the impaired SCE effectively, as illustrated in Figure C1.
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the various hazards that apply. It is highly recommended that Bowtie diagrams are developed
for each hazardous event and that these are used to support the overall cumulative risk
model. Figure C2 diagram shows an example of a Bowtie diagram supporting an ORA
conducted for a defective level trip for a gasoline storage tank.
Figure C2. Bowtie analysis for one of the ORAs of defected storage tank's level trip.
The condition/current effectiveness of each barrier in the above example was determined
based on a simple criterion, Does the barrier function as intended or not? Hence color coding
was applied. In this example, the ignition control barrier was presented in red as some Ex-
equipment in the tank's dike area was found to defected and assessed under separate ORA.
Based on the ORA team assessment and considering the combined risk, if it is assumed that
the residual risk ranking of the above scenario was assessed as red, then, for the overall plant
barrier model, the effectiveness rating (health status) of the Shutdown System barrier will be
red, as this defected level trip is one of the systems under shutdown barrier.
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Figure D1 includes the bowtie developed for the LOPC scenario at the inlet facility and the
status of the interconnected barriers. The status of the interconnected barriers was verified
during the ORA session and the residual risk ranking was determined.
If the residual risk ranking, after considering the other interconnected barriers, was in the
ALARP zone, the facility’s barrier model should reflect the ORA outcome concerning this type
of anomaly. Hence, the “Shutdown system barrier” in the barrier model will initially be
presented in “Red color” and eventually, after considering mitigation, in “Amber color”.
Figure D2 includes the facility’s barrier model including the health status of all barrier
categories represented in colors.
Figure D1. ORA for the defective SCE at the inlet facility.
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Figure D2. Facility's cumulative barrier model showing the health status of the barriers.
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The scoring system for the consequence of failure (Cq) in Table E2 is based on the severity of
the consequences of SCE failure. The scope of the example method is safety only.
Table E2. Scoring system for SCE consequence of failure.
Severity of Consequences Description of Severity of Consequences Consequence of
of Failure of SCE Failure Score (Cq)
Multiple fatalities and/or extensive plant
Disastrous 3
damage.
Single fatality and/or many serious
Catastrophic 2
injuries and/or significant plant damage.
Major Many injuries and/or local plant damage. 1
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Notes
Data are for safety consequences only. Other risk drivers also may be applicable (e.g.,
business interruption).
Organizations should apply their corporate risk criteria.
Where the severity of consequences of failure of SCE is rated 1, the SCE should be re-
evaluated as to whether it meets the criteria for being an SCE; where the review
identifies that this is not the case, it should be downgraded to a conventional risk
reduction measure.
The scoring system for redundancy (Rn) in Table E3 is based on the extent to which an
alternative SCE can take over the function of the failed SCE or the extent to which the design
incorporates redundancy.
Table E3. Scoring system for SCE redundancy.
Redundancy of SCE Functional role score (Fn)
No other SCE that duplicates the full functionality of
3
the failed/unavailable SCE
SCE design has provision for redundancy 2
An alternative SCE can provide full functionality of the
1
failed/unavailable SCE
The criticality ranking for each SCE is determined using equation E.1, following the assessment
of Fn, Cq, and Rn. SCE criticality is graded into three ranks: high, medium, and low, as set out
in Table E4.
Table E4. SCE criticality ranking.
SCE Criticality Score SCE Criticality Rank
17-36 High
8-16 Medium
1-7 Low
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