MAR Consulting performed a functional safety assessment (FSA) stage 3 for an engineering contractor and equipment supplier to a subsea production system (SPS). The SPS will be installed and operated in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The equipment designed by the engineering company constituted the boundary for the FSA. The equipment is similar to the SPS currently in production in the tie-in field. Hence, the FSA focused mainly on installation, commissioning, and validation activities.
MAR Consulting acted as an independent assessor to the project. The objectives were to ensure the equipment is fit for the safety instrumented functions; and is in compliance with the standards, Norwegian rules, regulations, and guidelines. The standards are the international functional safety standards IEC 61508, for SIS equipment vendors; and IEC 61511, specifically aimed at the process industry and particularly for designers and integrators. In Norway, it is typical to follow the guidelines from the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG) “Application of IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 in the Norwegian Petroleum Industry (Recommended SIL requirements)”, commonly known as NOG OLF-070. A new revision of NOG OLF-070 is available from June 2018, covering the latest modifications to IEC standards.
To demonstrate compliance, ORS Consulting has reviewed the relevant SIS lifecycle activities using FSA checklists developed from the requirements in the IEC 61511 [1] standard and the NOROG guideline 070 [2]. Posteriorly, findings, and other items requiring further clarification, were discussed during an FSA workshop. The workshop had participants from the operator, engineering contractor in addition to the FSA team. Follow-up and close-out of findings and recommendations will be managed by the engineering contractor safety lead.
In general, functional safety was adequate for the engineering contractor’s scope within the project. A complete FSA stage 3 of the SPS was out of scope for this project. This is the responsibility of the system integrator and operator.
MAR Consulting has extensive experience performing Functional Safety Assessments in different safety lifecycle phases. MAR Consulting has contributed to the development of a specific methodology for FSAs. This is presently the de-facto standard used in Norway for FSAs.