Developing an Algorithm to Determine the Frequency of Inspection of Safety Devices based on Qualitative Risk Analysis

The most crucial aspect of the safe operation of a hazardous production facility is compliance with the industrial safety requirements established by the Federal Law № 116-FZ «On industrial safety of hazardous production facilities», federal norms and rules for industrial safety, and other documents that regulate ensuring industrial safety. Therefore, different types of devices, whose integrity and reliability must also be ensured, are used at hazardous production facilities. The matters of determination of inter-inspectional intervals are considered; Russian and international regulatory documents as to the inspection of safety devices are reviewed. The algorithm takes into account the following factors of safety device operation: working environment, corrosiveness, exposure of a safety device to vibration and pulsation, and the criticality of a safety device for personnel’s and production safety. The frequency of inspection of safety devices in accordance with the proposed algorithm does not contradict the maximum permissible intervals stipulated in API 510, API 576, and NBIC-2015; at the same time, conservatism and objectivity are preserved when determining the criticality. A direct-acting spring safety valve of direct action DN 25/50, PN20, used at hazardous production facilities of oil and gas refinery plants has been selected as an object of research. According to the calculations, the inter-inspectional interval under IPKM—2005 is 36 months (3 years), under API 510/576 is 120 months (10 years), and under the proposed algorithm is 48 months (4 years). Therefore, the proposed algorithm implies qualitative risk analysis that considers operating conditions of safety devices, which requires a high level of expertise and skills from inspecting persons. It is based on the risk assessment, which does not contradict the effective regulatory documents of the Russian Federation and therefore can be applied at hazardous production facilities. Determining frequency in accordance with the proposed algorithm will help improve the economic efficiency of operating companies and ensure an acceptable level of industrial safety.