MAR Consulting assisted in performing a functional safety study of the inlet overpressure protection system (IOPS) for a platform operating offshore in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The operator requires an additional barrier due to modifications. The scope of work includes the proposed concept redesign of the IOPS to accommodate potential overpressure hazards as a result of topside modifications in the platform. The focus was on functional safety aspects from a holistic perspective, as opposed to process safety aspects. Systematic integrity and software compliance were out of scope for this assignment.
The objectives of the IOPS functional safety study were to:
- Assess the proposed IOPS scheme from a functional safety perspective based on IEC 61508 and IEC 61511;
- Verify the functional safety documentation developed at the current stage.
The study outcome was three-fold:
- A positive detailed evaluation of the proposed conceptual scheme from a functional safety perspective;
- Recommendations for the design of the safety instrumented system;
- Recommendations to progress on with the functional safety work for the proposed concept design.