Making a case for safety

The Safety Case framework emerged as a response to a catastrophic event that shook the offshore oil and gas industry to its core. In 1988, the Piper Alpha platform in the North Sea exploded, resulting in the deaths of 165 workers. The aftermath of this tragedy brought to light significant flaws in the safety and integrity management practices of the oil and gas sector. An official inquiry into the disaster recommended a new approach that emphasised systematic risk assessment and evidence-based safety arguments. This led to the development of the Safety Case framework, which has since become a critical tool for safety management in complex industrial settings.

Over time, Safety Case gained traction in Europe and Australia, becoming a standard practice in many offshore operations. However, its adoption in North America has been slower, with many operators relying on traditional safety assessments. This article explores the Safety Case framework, its unique features, and why it could play a more significant role in pipeline integrity management programmes across North America.

What is Safety Case?

Safety Case is more than just a safety assessment; it’s a structured argument supported by data and evidence to prove that an operator can effectively manage and mitigate risks associated with industrial operations. Unlike traditional assessments, which often assume safety based on compliance with standards or codes, Safety Case requires operators to demonstrate safety through a comprehensive analysis of potential risks, hazards, and mitigation measures.

In the context of pipeline integrity management, Safety Case encompasses a detailed examination of all risks, specifically addressing those with low probabilities but high consequences. It involves avoidance of assumptions regarding safety and creating a living document that is continuously updated as new information becomes available. This dynamic nature allows operators to adapt to changing conditions, ensuring that safety measures remain relevant and effective.

Safety Case versus traditional pipeline integrity assessments

Traditional pipeline integrity assessments, such as Fitness for Service (FFS) and Engineering Critical Assessments (ECA), offer a static snapshot of a pipeline’s condition at a specific point in time. These assessments are typically conducted periodically or in response to specific events, providing a limited view of the pipeline’s overall safety. FFS assessments evaluate whether a pipeline can continue to operate safely under current conditions by examining its physical state and identifying any existing defects or signs of degradation. ECAs delve deeper into the structural integrity of the pipeline by assessing the criticality of identified flaws and predicting their impact on the pipeline’s performance over time, often using advanced computational methods to model potential failure scenarios.

Both methodologies focus on the present condition of the pipeline, rather than continuously updating with new data and operational changes.

As such, while these and related assessments are invaluable for ensuring safety at specific intervals, they may not capture emerging risks or changes in pipeline conditions that occur between assessment intervals. This periodic nature means they can miss evolving threats or new data that may indicate deteriorating conditions, thereby providing a more limited and static view of pipeline integrity compared to the continuous, dynamic Safety Case approach.

The Safety Case framework takes a holistic and ongoing approach. It emphasises continuous monitoring and feedback, incorporating operational data, incident responses, industry data, and other relevant information to maintain an accurate assessment of risks. This continual process helps ensure that safety measures evolve, adapting to new risks and operational changes.

One key aspect of Safety Case is its focus on ‘what if’ scenarios. By considering low-probability, high-consequence events, Safety Case provides a more robust risk management strategy that is often lacking in traditional assessments. This approach can help operators...

To access the full version of this article and get a free trial subscription to World Pipelines, sign up here!

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/special-reports/11092024/making-a-case-for-safety/