Over recent years we have been asked by a variety of clients to either update their sites P&IDs or completely develop them from scratch. The size of this challenge can be daunting for clients, we can help to make this process simple and prepare your P&IDs and process safety activities.
We thought we should share the importance of why having up-to-date P&IDs is crucial for any process or site. This helps to show the alignment between P&IDs and process safety for our clients.
P&IDs are a site’s process on paper. They outline the routing of materials, vessels and any safety related equipment present. They give an accurate picture of the sites operations for anyone who looks at the drawings.
The drawings are used during maintenance activities on site to allow maintenance personnel to accurately identify pieces of equipment which may need to be isolated. Having up-to-date drawings ensures this is done safely.
The Backbone of Process Safety
P&IDs are also the backbone of HAZOP and LOPA studies, where the drawings are used in workshops to identify any hazardous scenarios which could develop in a process.
If the drawings are not kept up to date, there is a risk that hazardous scenarios are missed / not fully developed and as a result a process’ might not be compliant with relevant regulations.
Or alternatively, safeguards which are not physically present on site but are present on P&IDs may be taken credit for during studies, which may result in incorrect risk ranking in a HAZOP or event likelihoods in a LOPA.
Having up-to-date P&IDs ensures any process can accurately be assessed from a safety perspective as well as allowing maintenance personnel to effectively and safely carry out maintenance activities.
If you need support on this, reach out to Ryan Roche or any of the rest of the team to find out how we can work together to update your site drawings.