Hazard & Operability Study (HAZOP) for Team Members and Team Leaders

The HAZOP courses available are usually either for Team Members or for Team Leaders. The proposed course, however, is a combination of the two courses (Hazard & Operability Study for Team Members and HAZOP Study Leadership & Management) under the ground that most employees are team members in one project and team leaders in another project. Therefore, they need to understand the HAZOP methodology and why it works, understand the role of all individuals within a team, but they also need to be able to formulate a HAZOP study and understand the requirements of HAZOP leadership. Junior and experienced personnel will benefit from this course and become more efficient.

Who should Attend

This course is suitable for personnel who are to take part in HAZOP study meetings, are expected to interpret and implement the findings of a HAZOP study or personnel who are leading or are required to lead HAZOP studies.

Learning Objectives and Course Description

The program will cover all technical issues of the courses:

• Hazard & Operability Study for Team Members and
• HAZOP Study Leadership & Management

Throughout the workshops the tutor will comment to illustrate issues or guide the team members and the leaders. The participants will have the opportunity to fulfil both roles.

Hazard & Operability Study (HAZOP) for Team Members

The program will provide:

• Understanding of the HAZOP methodology and terminology.
• Ability to participate in HAZOP study meetings.
• Ability to follow the HAZOP Procedure.
• Understanding of how and why HAZOP works.
• Recognition of the requirement for clear records and recommendations, so that delegates can contribute effectively to such clarity during ‘real’ HAZOP studies.
• Understanding of the role of individuals within the HAZOP team. Delegates will learn to challenge the expertise of other members of the team, and to have their own expertise challenged, while continuing to behave appropriately.
• The ability to interpret a HAZOP Record to e.g. understand why a recommendation was made. This prepares the delegates to implement the findings of a HAZOP study.

Delegates will be given experience during tutor led exercises that simulate a HAZOP study meeting. Neutral examples will be employed for these exercises to ensure that the delegates can concentrate on understanding the HAZOP Procedure.
The course will ensure that the delegates understand the common causes of incidents and how a HAZOP study enables the pre-identification of such causes and their elimination from the design or procedure.

HAZOP Study Leadership and Management

A successful HAZOP study is only possible if the study is effectively led. Without good leadership studies ‘drift’ and become at best design reviews, at worst contractual arguments. The course will give further understanding of the HAZOP methodology and why it works (in particular by understanding a working definition of HAZOP), as well as key skills for the HAZOP Team Leader.
These key skills include all the activities outside and inside the HAZOP study meetings, i.e.:

• Preparation, including defining the scope of the study and choosing of the team.
• Choosing of nodes (sections of the drawing or operation for HAZOP study).
• Estimating the program requirements for the successful completion of a HAZOP study.
• Motivating the Team and keeping them on task.
• Avoiding common problems encountered during HAZOP study meetings.
• Formulating the HAZOP Study Report.
• Implementation of Recommendations (the management of this process is discussed and the HAZOP Team Leader’s role in this activity is explained and discussed).

Delegates will be given experience during initially tutor led exercises of these key skills and of leading a team during a HAZOP study meeting. Neutral examples will be employed for these exercises to ensure that the delegates can concentrate on understanding the requirements for HAZOP Leadership. All delegates will be given the opportunity to fulfil the roles of Leader and Scribe during these workshops and to practice guiding a team through the HAZOP meeting process.
As well as recording using ‘pen and paper’, WORD & EXCEL, a proprietary HAZOP software package (LIHOU HAZOP Manager) will be demonstrated and delegates will have the opportunity, if they wish, to ‘set up’ a study using this software.

The program is completed in 5 days (40hrs – 8hrs/day) and its outline is as follows:

Day 1
Team Leader key skills. Outline of workshops.
Day 2
Team Member introduction to HAZOP, including tutor led workshop.
Team Leaders preparation for the Workshops (producing a written Plan). Discussion and refining attendees’ plans with tutor’s assistance.
Day 3
Workshop. The Team Leaders will act as Leader and Scribe.
Interim feedback to Team Members and Leaders.
Day 4
Workshop. Feedback to Team Members.
Day 5
Review of Team Leader skills taking into account workshop experience.
Team Leadership within the meetings. Specific feedback to Team Leaders.

Throughout the workshops the tutor will comment to illustrate issues or guide the team and the Leaders.

Course Director

Stephen Whitty

Steve Whitty BSc(Hons) MSc MSc(Tech) MPhil MSaRS CertEd, a well-qualified and extensively experienced safety engineer and trainer, with formal teaching qualification has presented these courses many times and in worldwide locations.
His degrees range from Theoretical Chemistry to Process Safety & Loss Prevention. In addition, he holds qualified teacher status in the UK.
He has led multiple HAZOP, FME(C)A and similar studies of various diverse plant and operations, including:

• Chemical, oil and gas and nuclear plant (word-wide).
• Paper manufacture.
• Crowd control.
• Construction operations.
• Ship and submarine design, construction and operation.
• Warehousing operations and Security Services.

Employment History:
·1994 - present: Director & Principal Consultant; Safety & Assessment Services Ltd
·2010 - present: Director & Principal Consultant; JENBUL Ltd
·1993 to 1994: Development Programme Manager, Decommissioning Unit, British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL)Sellafield.
·1993 to 1994: Development Programme Manager, Decommissioning Unit, British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL)Sellafield.
·1990 to 1993: Lead Safety Assessor, Plant Safety Assessment, BNFL Sellafield.
·1989 to 1990: Senior Safety Assessor, Plant Safety Assessment, BNFL Sellafield.
·1987 to 1989: Technical Team Leader, Research and Development Department, BNFL Sellafield.
·1985 to 1987: Higher Scientific Officer, Special PIE Group, AGR Fuels, UK Atomic Energy AuthorityWindscale.
·1980 to 1985: Higher Scientific Officer, Microstructural Studies Section, AEA Springfields.

Qualifications:
·B.Sc.(Hons) M.Sc. M.Sc.(Tech) M.Phil. Cert. Ed.
·Member of the Safety and Reliability Society (MSaRS)
·French spoken, passable German, Italian and Russian
·Computer (PC) literate, including Windows and full Microsoft Office suite, Wordperfect and associatedsoftware, Lotus suite, Microsoft Project, BASIC and FORTRAN.

Education History:
·Numerous professional technical safety courses have been attended.
·March 1991 to October 1993 (part time): M.Sc.(Tech), Process Safety and Loss Prevention, University ofSheffield.
·1977 to 1980: M.Phil. Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, University of East Anglia (funded by British GasCorporation).
·1976 to 1977: M.Sc. Chemical Spectroscopy, University of East Anglia.
·1975 to 1976: (PGCE) Cert. Ed., University of Liverpool. (A qualification in communication and motivation).Hold Qualified Teacher Status: Registration Number 75/87736, QTS.
·1972 to 1975: B.Sc.(Hons) Theoretical Chemistry University of Sussex.

Note: English will be used in all lectures and course notes.