Hydrocarbon Processing - April 2021 - 84

Environment and Safety
TABLE 3. KPI proposal
KPI description

KPI

Level of acceptability

No. of alarms/5 min

All elements

Reliability of control system

No. of fails registered/5 min

1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20

Operational discipline

No. of bypasses or overriden alarms

1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20

Readiness for emergency response

% of operative alarms or interlock devices
during tests

100%

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15,
16, 18, 19, 20

Standards compliance

% of alarms or interlock devices that
comply with codes or standards

100%

1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 18, 19, 20

MoC

% of process changes (alarms, signs, etc.)
analyzed and registered

100%

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Management of operating procedures

% of updated or reviewed procedures/yr

100%

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20

Competencies certification

% of trained staff in process control

100%

1, 3, 4, 6, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20

an operational discipline in the
staff and achieve a link to the
operational philosophy with the
safety culture of the organization.
This is the critical moment that
organizations face to succeed in
this implementation.
Identifying the elements of PSM. According to the elements established for
PSM1, during alarm management implementation stages, specific elements are
developed that facilitate the development
of process management or complement
the existing ones.
To identify and interrelate the stages
of the development of alarm management
with the main elements of PSM, TABLE 2
proposes a conceptual guide scheme. The
scheme in TABLE 2 shows that the implementation of alarm management covers
all elements of PSM, making it easier for
the organization to implement it, upgrading the organization's operational and
safety standards.
From diagnosis as a baseline and then
analysis, implementation and sustainable
operation, several elements develop during stages of implementation. Other elements are developed as their need is determined and incorporated or improved.
For example, the revision of the control philosophy during the diagnostics
stage serves as the basis for the analysis
of the process and validates the strategy
or philosophy of alarms, as well as for
the review and elaboration of better staff
training plans and position profiles for the
incorporation of new talents. Finally, this
document must be updated each time a
change is made, which must be properly
84 APRIL 2021 | HydrocarbonProcessing.com

Goal

managed and be part of the continuous
improvement of the organization.
Another example is how the criteria for
incident investigation are established or
determined. This is one of the most important elements of PSM and where alarm
management takes a very important role.
Success of its management constitutes a
source of predictive information to analyze deviations in operational discipline,
equipment reliability and staff competence, among others. In addition, during
the diagnostic and analysis stages, it can be
determined whether it is necessary to implement a certain research methodology
according to the new requirements of the
process and policies of the organization.
Establishing management indicators. Two large groups of management

indicators exist: lagging and leading. This
analysis will focus on the latter since it
is more aligned to the objective of PSM,
which is to ensure the reliability of anticipating failures in processes based on the
continuous analysis of deviations and on
a solid management of information.
TABLE 3 details a list of indicators related to alarm management that can be
incorporated into PSM dashboards in
organizations that have implemented it.
It is important to note that these indicators-all related to alarm management-
are geared with the elements of PSM and
could facilitate performance measurement and be integrated into the organization's PSM scheme.
General recommendations. The following are general recommendations to
establishing alarm management:

PSM elements linked

* Consider the implementation
of alarm management as a
pillar for strengthening or
consolidating PSM, involving
the resources needed to
achieve the desired results.
* The alarm management makes
PSM assurance easier due to
its aspects being linked to
PSM elements.
* Consider a project approach
to its implementation, especially
for organizations that have a
PMO and can establish
management under project
management guidelines.
This action will speed up and
facilitate its implementation.
* Put a lot of emphasis on
validations or approvals during
deployment. It is advisable
to apply an appropriate transition
plan to avoid uncoordinated
actions during the implementation
of a certain stage.
LITERATURE CITED
1 Center for Chemical Process Safety, Guidelines for
Implementing Process Safety Management, 2nd Ed.,
Wiley-AiChE, July 2016
CARLOS GARCÍA MORENO is a
Senior Consultant with more than
18 yr of experience in the oil and gas
industry. He started his career as
a Production Supervisor in an NGL
fractionation plant with Pluspetrol
Peru Co. Recently, he developed
his career in marine terminals with Oiltanking
Peru S.A. and Solgas S.A. He earned a BS degree
in petrochemical engineering from the National
University of Engineering (Peru), an MBA from
Centrum Católica Business School and an MS degree
in project management from ESAN Business School.

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Hydrocarbon Processing - April 2021

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