What-If Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) Automated Excel Spreadsheet

Please contact us today via email and request your free evaluation copy:

    sales@industrydocs.org

Features:

• Consistent framework to help improve the quality of your studies. View screenshots.
• Simplified Import feature of What-If Question and Equipment Information requiring minimal instruction, configuration, or mouse-clicks.
• Detailed equipment information (Tag No, EQPT Type, Area, and Process) is included in the Import feature.
• Take advantage of Excel's built-in reporting capability and save your What-If study information to PDF, HTML, and Office file formats.
• Organized Equipment and Question lookup data is stored within normalized Excel tables.
• Intuitive Dropdown lists for associating Equipment Tags with Type, Area, and Process.
• Manage an extensive list of What-If Questions via their Category and assigned EQPT Types.
  
• Simplified selection of questions for a new or existing What-If by filtering on Question Category and/or EQPT Type. 
• Convenient Dropdown lists for choosing Likelihood and Severity within the What-If study worksheets.
  
• Automated Risk calculation via formula within the What-If study worksheets.
• Integrity, trust, and protection from malware are ensured by our digitally signed VBA macro project.

What you get when you purchase:

• 30 days free technical support via phone, email, or text. If the What-If spreadsheet becomes inoperable, contact us.
• Complete access to the What-If spreadsheet's VBA code. You may customize the VBA code or re-use it within your own application. Your Excel guru may build on its model. 
• Extensive Process Hazard Review document in HTML format. This is an excellent reference for your What-If study group.
  
• Sample What-If PHA Questions in Excel format that were extracted from the Process Hazard Review document. This Excel file is useful for familiarizing yourself with the What-If spreadsheet's Import mechanism.
• Risk Assessment Matrix document in Excel and PDF format. This is a handy copy of the default Risk worksheet within the What-If spreadsheet. It is useful as a template for a reference document within your What-If study group. 
• Instructions in PDF format.

The included Process Hazard Review document is replete with questions encompassing:

• Process - Materials and Flowsheet
• Process - Unit Siting and Layout
• Equipment (piping and valves, pumps, compressors, reactors, vessels, heat exchangers, furnaces and boilers, instrumentation, and electrical power)
• Operations
• Maintenance
• Personnel Safety (building structures, operating areas, and yard)
• Fire Protection
• Environmental Protection
• Management and Policy Issues

Sample of included What-If Questions:

1. What if hazardous materials form vapor clouds in excess of exposure limits?
2. What if materials form acutely toxic vapor clouds?
3. What if materials form carcinogenic vapor clouds?
4. What if materials form flammable vapor clouds?
5. What if materials form combustible vapor clouds?
6. What if hazardous shock-sensitive materials are subject to heat or shock?
7. What if materials become unstable with age?
8. What if pyrophoric materials are exposed to air or water?
9. What if volatile materials are released in excess of specified law or regulation?
10. What if hazardous reactions or decompositions develop due to improper storage?
11. What if hazardous reactions or decompositions develop due to foreign materials?
12. What if hazardous reactions or decompositions develop due to abnormal process conditions (temp, press, eg.)?
13. What if hazardous reactions or decompositions develop due to abnormal flow rates?
14. What if hazardous reactions or decompositions develop due to missing or misproportioned ingredients, reactants or catalysts?
15. What if hazardous reactions or decompositions develop due to a reactive material being exposed to an incompatible material?
16. What if mechanical failures cause a hazardous reaction or decomposition?
17. What if improper operation causes a hazardous reaction or decomposition?
18. What if sudden or gradual blockage or buildup in equipment causes a hazardous reaction or decomposition?
19. What if overheating residual material in equipment causes a hazardous reaction or decomposition?
20. What if utility failure causes a hazardous reaction or decomposition?
21. What if equipment started out of sequence causes a hazardous reaction or decomposition?
22. What if a runaway hazardous reaction occurs?
23. What if quenching, shortstopping, dumping, or venting fail on an existing runaway reaction?
24. What if rapid passivation or disposal of reactants if required?
25. What if flow through one or more pathways stops in a heat-integrated unit and temperature becomes uncontrollable?
26. What if a polymerization reaction gets out of control and there is an uncontrolled buildup of heat or pressure?
27. What if inhibitors are missing or misproportioned in materials?
28. What if inhibitor levels decrease rapidly due to improper storage temperature?
29. What if inhibitors separate out of a material due to improper storage temperature?
30. What if the oxygen level is incorrect as required by a particular inhibitor?
31. What if vapors condense, forming polymers and blocking vents or flame arrestors?
32. What if there is a failure of refrigeration or cryogenic systems for storage tank pressure reduction?
33. What if potentially explosive dusts stored in large bins are ignited?
34. What if large inventories of flammables stored inside buildings suffer a release or ignition?
35. What if large inventories of toxics stored inside buildings suffer a release?
36. What if there is a release of hazardous or toxic materials stored above their atmospheric?
37. What if hazardous or toxic materials stored above their atmospheric are improperly handled?
38. What if hazardous or toxic materials above their atmospheric are improperly stored?
39. What if incompatible materials are stored in the same area and they come in contact?
40. What if raw materials are improperly identified?
41. What if raw materials may be easily mistaken for one another?
42. What if raw material quality is not as expected?
43. What if raw materials are contaminated with common materials such as water, air, rust, oil, cleaning agents, or metals?
44. What if an extreme weather condition adversely affects a raw or process material?
45. What if there is a failure to identify a hazardous material that could have been eliminated?
46. What if there is failure to evaluate alternative processes with less toxic/reactive/flammable raw materials, intermediates, or by-products?
47. What if hazardous material inventories are excessive?
48. What if hazardous material storage tank sizes or quantities are excessive?
49. What if processing equipment is not selected and designed for the minimization of hazardous material inventories?
50. What if hazardous material (for example, chlorine) is not minimized due to a feed unnecessarily in the form of a liquid instead of a gas?
51. What if processing equipment is not selected and designed for the elimination of hazardous intermediates?
52. What if process steps have not been examined for a reduction in complexity and the number of vessels, feed streams, utilities, and auxiliary systems?
53. What if the process in not being performed under the safest possible conditions?
54. What if the supply pressure of raw materials is unnecessarily above the working pressure of the vessels receiving them?
55. What if reaction conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure) are unnecessarily severe due to the use of a less than ideal catalyst or lack of recycle flows to compensate for lower yields?
56. What if hazardous wastes are not minimized?
57. What if waste streams are not recycled?
58. What if all solvents, diluents, or “carriers” are not recycled?
59. What if use of solvents, diluents, or “carriers” is not minimized?
60. What if useful by-products are not recovered from waste streams? 
61. What if hazardous byproducts are not extracted to reduce the overall volume of hazardous waste?
62. What if washing operations are not optimized to reduce the volume of wastewater?
63. What if hazardous wastes are not segregated from non-hazardous wastes?
64. What if materials of construction are not compatible with the process materials involved?
65. What if changes have been made in process equipment or operating parameters since the previous safety review?
66. What if changes have occurred in the composition of raw materials, intermediates, or products since the previous safety review?
67. What if the size of relief and flare systems is inadequate in view of process changes since the last hazard evaluation?
68. What if the size of vents and drains is inadequate in view of process changes since the last hazard evaluation?
69. What if the size of other process equipment is inadequate in view of process changes since the last hazard evaluation?
70. What if safety margins have been narrowed by design or operating changes (e.g., to reduce cost, increase capacity, improve quality, or change products)?
71. What if hazards are created by the loss of each feed, and by simultaneous loss of two or more feeds?
72. What if hazards result from loss of electricity?
73. What if hazards result from loss of cooling water?
74. What if hazards result from loss of high, medium, or low pressure steam?
75. What if hazards result from loss of refrigerant/brine?
76. What if hazards result from loss of instrument air?
77. What if hazards result from loss of instrument electric power?
78. What if hazards result from loss of process water?
79. What if hazards result from loss of inert gas?
80. What if hazards result from loss of deionized water?
81. What if hazards result from loss of fuel gas/oil gas?
82. What if hazards result from loss of ventilation?
83. What if hazards result from loss of natural gas pilot?
84. What if hazards result from loss of process drain sewer?
85. What if hazards result from loss of two or more utilities?
86. What if the most severe credible incident occurs as a reasonable combination of utility losses?
87. What if an external fire creates hazardous internal process conditions?
88. What if the facility and company have limited experience with the process?
89. What if the facility and company have limited experience with the process and there is not substantial industry experience?
90. What if the company is not a member of industry groups that share experience with particular chemicals or processes?
91. What if the unit is critical to overall facility operations?
92. What if shutdown of this unit requires other units to be shut down as well?
93. What if the unit is located; so that, intra-site transportation of hazardous materials is not minimized?
94. What if the unit is located; so that, off-site transportation of hazardous materials is not minimized?
95. What if the unit poses hazards to the workers in the control room or adjacent units from toxic, corrosive, or flammable sprays, fumes, mists, or vapors? 
96. What if the unit poses hazards to the public or to workers in nearby office or shop areas from toxic, corrosive, or flammable sprays, fumes, mists, or vapors? 
97. What if the unit poses hazards to the workers in the control room or adjacent units from thermal radiation from fires (including flares)?
98. What if the unit poses hazards to the public or to workers in nearby office or shop areas from thermal radiation from fires (including flares)?
99. What if the unit poses hazards to the workers in the control room or adjacent units from overpressure from explosions?
100. What if the unit poses hazards to the public or to workers in nearby office or shop areas from overpressure from explosions?

What is Risk?

Risk is defined as the possibility of loss or injury. To reduce the likelihood of loss or injury in your workplace you need a tool that can capture a set of organized and systematic assessments of the potential hazards. To accommodate this, industry created the Process Hazards Analysis or PHA.

What Our Customers Say

Combustible Dust Resources

NFPA 652 - Combustible Dust Compliance - Step by Step Guide 

NFPA 654 - Process Hazard Analysis Fundamentals

NFPA 61 - Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities - 2008 Edition

OSHA - Hazard Alert: Combustible Dust Explosions

OSHA - Combustible Dust Poster

Combustible Dust Acronyms and Glossary

Risk and Safety Periodicals

Loss Prevention Bulletin - Improving process safety by sharing experience

Process Safety Progress - Chemical and hydrocarbon process safety and loss prevention

Professional Safety - Journal of the American Society of Safety Engineers

Risk Analysis - Research and commentaries dealing with risk issues

Safety and Reliability Society Journal - Academia and industry papers on safety and reliability

PHA Software

Enablon PHA Software

LEADER™ PHA Software by ABS Group

PHAWorks® 5 Software by PrimaTech

PHA-Pro Software by Sphera