HAZOP is becoming the worst technique ever. What? You better read on.

2022-10-31

HAZOP is now over 60 years in business and is one of the best techniques to apply. If done well, it gives you a wealth of information. With this information, you can improve your processes from a safety and operability point of view. A win-win for companies that focus on long-term sustainable profitability.

Today though, HAZOP has become a checkbox item. Comments like “The client wanted us to do this, so we have to do it.” Or “It is in our lump sum contract, and it costs us money.” or, “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, we are performing HAZOPs not because it is an excellent technique but because “we have to”. It is still a required technique in many companies, but the professionals involved do not understand anymore what HAZOP is, why we do it in the first place, and what true value it adds to the business.

Because it is mandatory many professionals see it as an opportunity to become a HAZOP leader. Not necessarily because they like it, but because they see it as a source of income, as job security. Which makes sense.

HAZOP meetings take a long time, there are many professionals involved, and thus they are costly. If managers and management do not understand the true value of HAZOP anymore, then 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 completely is a real problem for the industry. Not during the design stage of course, and not tomorrow either. But one day during the 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 everybody 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. Training is good, but the experience is better. Hence our HAZOP Leader certification program.