Why HAZOP Studies Fail — and How to Fix Them

HAZOP is over 60 years old and remains one of the best techniques available. Done well, it gives you a wealth of information to improve your processes from both a safety and operability perspective. But today, HAZOP has become a checkbox item — and that is a problem.

HAZOP has become a checkbox

Comments like these are increasingly common:

• "The client wanted us to do this, so we have to do it."
• "It is in our lump sum contract, and it costs us money."
• "Our procedure tells us we have to do a HAZOP at this stage, so we have to do it because for sure we will get an audit."

In other words, HAZOPs are being performed not because it is an excellent technique — but because "we have to." It is still required in many companies, but the professionals involved no longer understand what HAZOP is, why it exists, and what true value it adds to the business.

The key question is: does your organisation do HAZOP because it adds value — or because someone said it had to be done?

What happens when HAZOP loses its value

Because HAZOP is mandatory, many professionals see it as an opportunity to become a HAZOP leader — not necessarily because they understand the technique, but because they see it as a source of income and job security. Which makes sense from their perspective.

HAZOP meetings take a long time, involve many professionals, and are costly. If managers and management no longer understand the true value of HAZOP, one day they will say "let us scrap the HAZOP meeting" or "can this not be done cheaper." And that is happening more and more.

Hiring unqualified HAZOP leaders or cancelling the HAZOP entirely is a real problem for the industry. Not during the design stage, of course, and not tomorrow. But one day during operation — when it goes wrong.

What to do about it

We need to re-educate corporate management about the true value of HAZOP and how it improves their business and creates sustainability over the long run. We also need to educate everyone that HAZOP is not a checkbox item to fulfil a contract or a procedure.

We need to hire dedicated HAZOP leaders with experience, and we need to give them the appropriate time to conduct a HAZOP properly. Training is good, but experience is better. That is why Risknowlogy offers a HAZOP Leader certification programme — because the industry needs leaders who understand the technique, not just people who can fill in a worksheet.