Functional safety

FSA stage 2 of SPS (subsea production system)

jorgemartiresFunctional safety, Safety and reliability engineering

MAR Consulting performed a functional safety assessment (FSA) stage 2 for the operator of a subsea production system (SPS). The SPS will be installed and operated in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The FSA also included the SIS lifecycle phases typically assessed in an FSA stage 1. The scope was the subsea development design and boundaries towards the topside on the host platform. The scope of the assessment excluded topside tie-in modifications. MAR Consulting acted as an independent assessor to ensure the design of the SIS meets the required risk reduction and is in compliance with the standards, Norwegian rules, […]

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FSA stage 3 – artificial lift modification project

jorgemartiresFunctional safety, Safety and reliability engineering

The main objective of a functional safety assessment (FSA) is to demonstrate compliance with related IEC functional safety standards through an independent assessment of the development process. Hence, the FSA process is a fundamental tool to ensure that the Safety Instrumented System (SIS) fulfills its requirements as an active barrier to reduce the risk to acceptable levels. At least one FSA is typically required during a project phase. Nevertheless, it is highly recommended to perform at least 2 FSAs in order to anticipate potential non-conformances in due time. The FSA team shall have some degree of independence to the project […]

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FSA stage 1 of subsea well intervention system

jorgemartiresFunctional safety, Subsea engineering

MAR consulting AS performed a functional safety assessment (FSA) stage 1 of a subsea riser less well intervention system. The system will have two SIL2 safety instrumented functions (SIF), based on the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (guideline 070) and IEC standards (61508 and 61511): One emergency shutdown (ESD); One emergency quick disconnect (EQD). Following IEC 61508/61511 safety lifecycle, stage 1 covered: Hazard analysis; Allocation of safety functions to protection layers; Initial version of safety requirement specifications (SRS); Management of functional safety and verification and validation. Documentation was readily available to demonstrate compliance with functional safety requirements at this stage of […]

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FSA stage 2 of subsea production system

jorgemartiresFunctional safety, Safety and reliability engineering

MAR Consulting will perfom a functional safety assessment (FSA) stage 2 of a subsea production system (SPS) bound to be installed and operate in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The end client is the  company engineering the SPS. The contract is in effect immediately. FSA stage 2 focus on the design and engineering of the safety instrumented systems (SIS). In this case, there are two autonomous independent SIS aiming at reducing risks to acceptable levels. Furthermore, MAR Consulting will ensure that the assumptions and actions identified on the previous FSA (stage 1) were verified and acted upon. In addition, the client requested […]

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Functional safety technical support to jack-up drilling rig upgrade

jorgemartiresFunctional safety, Safety and reliability engineering

MAR Consulting AS has been contracted to provide functional safety support to a jack-up drilling rig update of a major drilling contractor. The drilling rig will enter a new contract on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), where requirements for functional safety are considerably stringent when compared to other parts of the world. MAR Consulting will support the client to achieve a level of functional safety adequate to operate a drilling rig on the NCS. MAR Consulting has extensive experience with Norwegian rules and regulations regarding functional safety. Namely the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG) “Application of IEC 61508 and IEC […]

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FSA stage 4 on long operating oil and gas asset

jorgemartiresFunctional safety, Safety and reliability engineering

MAR Consulting partly produced a functional safety assessment, FSA stage 4 of a long operating oil and gas asset in the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The main responsibilities were to assess the safety requirements specifications (SRS) for the different safety instrumented functions (SIF) required to operate the asset; and how they have been maintained and applied during the operating lifetime of the facility. Of special importance to an FSA stage 4 is to understand how functional safety has been maintained during the many years of operations. In general, nowadays, there is special focus and emphasis on functional safety during the […]

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SIL study of over-speed modules for gas turbine generators and compressors

jorgemartiresFunctional safety, Safety and reliability engineering

MAR Consulting performed a functional safety/SIL study of over-speed safety instrumented functions (SIF) protecting gas turbine generators (GTG) and gas compressors installed in a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The SIFs included 2oo3 voting speed sensors and 1oo3 voting valves controlled by over-speed modules. The work covered the following phases of the safety instrumented system (SIS) lifecycle, as per IEC61511 Ed.1 and the client’s internal guidelines: Allocation of functions to protection layers (phase 2) using layers of protection analysis (LOPA); Safety requirements specification (SRS) (phase 3) with general and specific one-pagers SRS datasheets; Safety integrity level (SIL) compliance (phase […]

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Cyber-security assessment of SAS/ESD system

jorgemartiresCybersecurity, Functional safety

MAR Consulting performed a cyber-security assessment of a recent upgraded safety and automation system (SAS) on a platform in the North Sea. The main focus was on the emergency shutdown system (ESD) and supporting data network infrastructure. Cyber-security assessments are now required by functional safety standard IEC 61511:2016 Ed. 2. The main objective of the study was to identify cyber-security threats, breaches, and vulnerabilities in the system, with the potential to cause damage and downtime to the platform. Confidentiality consequences were not considered in this study. Each identified scenario was described in terms of consequences, existing barriers and risk ranked […]

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FSA of gas lift HIPS modifications on North Sea platform

jorgemartiresFunctional safety, Safety and reliability engineering

MAR Consulting performed a functional safety assessment (FSA) of a modification project in a North Sea platform. The modification consisted of changes to the high integrity (pressure) protection system (HIPS) and emergency shutdown system (ESD), due to re-routing of gas lift and export pipelines. Safety instrumented functions (SIFs) were modified in the mentioned safety instrumented systems (SIS). The scope of the FSA stage 1 was to validate the initial phases of the project safety lifecycle as per IEC61511.  Namely, phase 1 to 3 (from hazard analysis to initial safety requirements specification) and phase 9 to 11 related to soft requirements […]

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Functional safety assessment of automated safety system

jorgemartiresFunctional safety

MAR Consulting AS performed a functional safety assessment (FSA) stage 1 of a new emergency shutdown system (ESD). The reason for the upgrade is to substitute an obsolete automated safety system in an operating offshore oil and gas facility in the North Sea. The safety instrumented system (SIS) lifecycles phases assessed in this FSA were: hazard analysis; allocation of safety functions to protection layers; the initial version of safety requirement specifications (SRS); management of functional safety plan and verification activities. MAR Consulting followed the methodology developed based on hands-on functional safety experience (e.g. https://www.marconsulting.no/2017/06/10/sil-compliance-for-fg-systems and https://www.marconsulting.no/2017/05/25/fsa-stage-1-of-subsea-production-system/). In essence, a detailed evaluation of the […]

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