Semi-quantitative approach to prioritize risk in industrial chemical plants aggregating safety, economics and ageing: A case study
提出一种半定量方法，将安全、经济和老化指标整合到矩阵中，对化工设备进行风险排序，帮助工厂优先采取减险措施、优化资源分配和调整维护计划。
In the European Union, many of chemical plants are over 50 years old and more than half of the major accidents were caused by loss of technical integrity and ageing of equipment. Therefore, including ageing issues in the risk evaluation and prioritization is crucial. Literature and initiatives have focused on providing structured tools to evaluate the performance of systems based on three pillars: safety, economics and ageing. However, available strategies and practices tend to overlook a global view fostering specific strategies and resulting in controversial solutions. A knowledge gap is represented by the lack of rapid risk assessment tools that simultaneously embed safety, economics and ageing when assessing the risk. The present work develops a semi-quantitative methodology to prioritize risk based on unbiased and aggregated safety, economic and ageing indicators. The procedure builds on matrices where such indicators are systematically embedded. As a result, process equipment is ranked, and practical recommendations are provided, including periodicity and intensification of inspections. A case study discusses implementing the proposed methodology in a Major Accident establishment that produces agrochemicals. The implementation has facilitated the Company to prioritize risk reduction actions, improve resource allocation, and adjust the maintenance plan of equipment, while also pursuing legislation requirements.