Features
61508 and 61511; What Is an Operations Company Supposed to Do?
The typical first reaction from the process operations side of the table when confronted with a new standard is, “How much will this cost and how much extra paperwork will it involve?” Depending on the organisation, the answers to these questions can vary dramatically. Unfortunately, the further question, “How can this save money?” is rarely asked, if ever. Even if it is asked, the hope of implementing a new regulation and actually saving money immediately is dismissed as an impossible dream. IEC/AS 61508 and 61511, the standards covering the design and use of safety instrumented systems to reduce process plant accidents, are no exception to this initial reaction.
However, with the 61508 and 61511 standards, there are several additional factors that come into play. The first is that the process industries in Europe, North America, and Australia are already largely required to comply with these standards, and many Asian counties are generally moving in the same direction. The second is that New Zealand law requires all reasonable measures be taken to insure worker safety. The operating company is then left with the need to show that it is unreasonable to apply these standards, despite what the other industrialised nations are doing. Even worse, this need to show that 61508 and 61511 are unreasonable usually comes after a serious accident.