Retrieval and Reuse of Design Rationale for Supporting Safer Plant Activities

Abstract

Safety problems of the chemical process plants are discussed at the plant design stage, and are embodied through process hazard analysis (PHA), instrumentation design, design of countermeasures for abnormal situation. There are some scattering results at contents or levels of information considered and some missing record itself, because design rationale (DR), that is design basis such as the design intent, constraints and designer’s thinking process remain implicitly in the memory of some designers and such design information are usually not documented completely. This will entail the problem which other designers, plant operators and maintenance personnel cannot understand the DR by each design result alone. In order to accomplish integrated process safety engineering through plant life cycle, it is necessary to manage effectively safety-related design information including the DR. This paper proposes methods of retrieval of the DR from PHA result and effective reuse of the DR for supporting safer plant life cycle activities.