Each month at exida, we strive to spotlight one of our products that makes the job easier for today's industry professional.  In this blog, I wanted to talk about the PHAx module as part of our exSIlentia Safety Lifecycle Suite.

Process Hazards Analysis (PHA)

Process Hazards Analysis is the first step in the functional safety lifecycle with the objective to identify potential hazards posed by the process and associated equipment. The step is critical, as adequate risk reduction measures cannot be implemented for hazards that are not identified or not identified correctly.

The exSILentia® - PHAx™ tool is based on the Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) methodology, allowing users to identify cause-consequence pairs that lead to hazard scenarios. The software easily allows users to assign multiple cause-consequence pairs to a single hazard scenario.

The exSILentia® - PHAx™ tool allows the definition of units within a plant and nodes within units. Deviations which are the cornerstone of the HAZOP methodology can be pre-defined for each node type. Subsequently a cause with associated consequence, safeguards, and recommendations can be defined for each deviation. As part of this, Hazard Scenarios can be documented to facility subsequent phases in the lifecycle including the layer of protection analysis.

exSILentia® - PHAx™ supports compliance with industry regulations (e.g. OSHA PSM, Seveso III Directive, SA OSHA, etc.) and best practices, forming the foundation of a robust process safety management system.

• Ability to group nodes within units for better access to information
• Smart deviations based upon node type eliminates parameters and guidewords that do not apply
• Corporate risk customization capability
• Navigation tree enhances information accessibility
• Data entered can be managed and used in one location, while available for multiple lifecycle tools
• Advanced automated report generation capabilities facilitate process safety management (e.g. Corporate, OSHA, Seveso) compliance on a global basis
• Integration with all exSILentia® v4 suite of tools

All in all, PHAx™ is a Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) tool that can be used by engineering personnel in project, process, process safety, and control, as well as plant management, and operations personnel.

PHAx™ guides users through the PHA process, effectively focusing the user on the task at hand, identifying hazards, hazardous events, and associated sequence of events, allowing the user to easily document the relevant and important facts for process hazards.