Process Hazard Analysis

Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) studies are vital to understanding and managing hazards at your site. Effective PHAs enable informed decisions on improving process safety – preserving lives, assets and the environment. Cox-Walker can help. We provide experienced leadership, considered preparation and attention to detail, fulfilling the requirements of an effective PHA and allowing you to manage your operating facility.

Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) studies are vital to understanding and managing hazards at your site. Effective PHAs enable informed decisions on improving process safety – preserving lives, assets and the environment. Cox-Walker can help. We provide experienced leadership, considered preparation and attention to detail, fulfilling the requirements of an effective PHA and allowing you to manage your operating facility.

Any size, anywhere, anytime

Though we reside in the heart of the “Louisiana Chemical Corridor,” our PHA services extend coast to coast and across the globe. Our commitment to service is unmatched. Whether it’s a late night to accommodate participants in Asia, or a Saturday afternoon for an emergency MOC, we have been there. This service extends to PHAs big and small, including:

  • Initial PHA
  • Revalidation PHA
  • Clean-Sheet PHA
  • Management of Change (MOC) PHA /
    Request for Change (RFC) PHA

  • Capital Project PHA (small, large, greenfield)
  • Front-End Loading (FEL) PHA
  • Detailed Design PHA
  • Pre Startup Safety Review (PSSR) PHA

We welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs. Meet With Us to discuss any of our PHA capabilities, or explore our process below for more information on how we facilitate efforts before, during and after your PHA.

Any size, anywhere, anytime

Though we reside in the heart of the “Louisiana Chemical Corridor,” our PHA services extend coast to coast and across the globe. Our commitment to service is unmatched. Whether it’s a late night to accommodate participants in Asia, or a Saturday afternoon for an emergency MOC, we have been there. This service extends to PHAs big and small, including:

  • Initial PHA
  • Revalidation PHA
  • Clean-Sheet PHA
  • Management of Change (MOC) PHA /
    Request for Change (RFC) PHA
  • Capital Project PHA (small, large, greenfield)
  • Front-End Loading (FEL) PHA
  • Detailed Design PHA
  • Pre Startup Safety Review (PSSR) PHA

We welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs. Meet With Us to discuss any of our PHA capabilities, or explore our process below for more information on how we facilitate efforts before, during and after your PHA.

Before the PHA

Exceptional PHAs are products of exceptional preparation. Our engineers can help you with all of the following, providing as much or as little aid as you require:

Hazard analyses are Good Industry Practice (GIP) for any industrial process, but they are required by EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP) rule, 40 CFR Part 68, and OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) standard, 29 CFR 1910.119, when your process contains Highly Hazardous Chemicals (HHCs) above Threshold Quantities (TQs). Our facilitators will guide a detailed review of your process, and help you distinguish which parts fall under RMP or PSM and which parts might simply call for GIP analysis.
Complete process safety information is a requirement for regulatory PHAs, and PSI quality is a critical indicator of PHA quality. We will help you collect and evaluate your PSI ahead of the PHA, and if necessary, help you develop any missing or deficient pieces. See our Process Engineering and Pressure Safety Valve services for more information on how we can help.
No methodology is one size fits all. Your study may lend itself to one, or another, or some combination. We will help you decide. Our facilitators are trained in each of the following methods:

  • Hazard & Operability Study (HAZOP)

  • Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA)

  • What-If Study

  • Procedural What-If Study

  • Checklist Study

The PHA Team Charter gives your team a clear picture of the purpose, scope and objectives of the PHA they are about to begin. A charter can also include the PHA schedule and personnel requirements for management, and outline general rules and assumptions for future readers of the PHA Report. A PHA Team Charter is an excellent supporting document for your PHA and we can craft one that meets your needs.
We paint a picture on your P&IDs using digital highlights and annotations, so everyone in the room knows the extent of the study and easily follows as discussion moves from node to node through your process. We can also assist you with a node numbering system that helps team members and future PHA users transition from P&IDs to scenario documentation in the PHA worksheets.
PHA worksheets serve to document discussion and ideas developed during the PHA session, but the PHA Team’s discussion flows more smoothly when the framework of the worksheets is prepped in advance. We ensure that your team hits the ground running on day one.

Before the PHA

Exceptional PHAs are products of exceptional preparation. Our engineers can help you with all of the following, providing as much or as little aid as you require:

Hazard analyses are Good Industry Practice (GIP) for any industrial process, but they are required by EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP) rule, 40 CFR Part 68, and OSHA’s Process Safety Management (PSM) standard, 29 CFR 1910.119, when your process contains Highly Hazardous Chemicals (HHCs) above Threshold Quantities (TQs). Our facilitators will guide a detailed review of your process, and help you distinguish which parts fall under RMP or PSM and which parts might simply call for GIP analysis.
Complete process safety information is a requirement for regulatory PHAs, and PSI quality is a critical indicator of PHA quality. We will help you collect and evaluate your PSI ahead of the PHA, and if necessary, help you develop any missing or deficient pieces. See our Process Engineering and Pressure Safety Valve services for more information on how we can help.
No methodology is one size fits all. Your study may lend itself to one, or another, or some combination. We will help you decide. Our facilitators are trained in each of the following methods:

  • Hazard & Operability Study (HAZOP)

  • Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA)

  • What-If Study

  • Procedural What-If Study

  • Checklist Study

The PHA Team Charter gives your team a clear picture of the purpose, scope and objectives of the PHA they are about to begin. A charter can also include the PHA schedule and personnel requirements for management, and outline general rules and assumptions for future readers of the PHA Report. A PHA Team Charter is an excellent supporting document for your PHA and we can craft one that meets your needs.
We paint a picture on your P&IDs using digital highlights and annotations, so everyone in the room knows the extent of the study and easily follows as discussion moves from node to node through your process. We can also assist you with a node numbering system that helps team members and future PHA users transition from P&IDs to scenario documentation in the PHA worksheets.
PHA worksheets serve to document discussion and ideas developed during the PHA session, but the PHA Team’s discussion flows more smoothly when the framework of the worksheets is prepped in advance. We ensure that your team hits the ground running on day one.

During the PHA

We know your PHA team’s time is important, so we use it efficiently.

We begin each PHA with a presentation that brings your team up to speed on the regulatory and company standards that the team is expected to follow.
Our PHA Facilitators offer you decades of experience engaging multi-discipline teams in brainstorming and problem solving. An engaged and responsive team produces a quality PHA and produces it quickly. We bring fresh approaches to your PHA meetings by staying well-informed on the latest concepts in PHA facilitation. Our PHA knowledge base derives from many industry sources for training, seminars and white papers including ABS Group, Primatech, Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) and many more.

Our experience makes us capable of guiding your PHA team regardless of your operation. We facilitate PHAs across the process industry ranging from basic to specialty chemicals, including batch and continuous operations. Our PHA portfolio includes processes in HF, HCl, refrigerants, nuclear, aerospace, textile and many other industries.

Technology moves fast. Don’t let a computer slow you down. Our facilitators have experience scribing in multiple PHA software programs, including PHAWorks, Stature and even Excel. If you have a PHA Leader on hand and simply need us to step in the meeting to grease the wheels, we will supply you a scribe who ensures the pace of the documentation matches the pace of your discussion.
Quantitative Consequence Analysis is a great way to guide the team’s evaluation of consequence severity, especially when there is no past experience to evaluate the consequence qualitatively. Our engineers are experienced in evaluating potential exposure from toxic and flammable releases using modeling programs such as ALOHA, Safer Trace, and Phast. We typically prepare this work before the PHA begins, then review, revise or create models as the PHA team assesses each scenario.
Our experienced facilitators can mentor new facilitators at your site. We pass on our insight while ensuring the quality of the ongoing PHA is high, notwithstanding the inexperience of your new leader.

During the PHA

We know your PHA team’s time is important, so we use it efficiently.

We begin each PHA with a presentation that brings your team up to speed on the regulatory and company standards that the team is expected to follow.
Our PHA Facilitators offer you decades of experience engaging multi-discipline teams in brainstorming and problem solving. An engaged and responsive team produces a quality PHA and produces it quickly. We bring fresh approaches to your PHA meetings by staying well-informed on the latest concepts in PHA facilitation. Our PHA knowledge base derives from many industry sources for training, seminars and white papers including ABS Group, Primatech, Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) and many more.

Our experience makes us capable of guiding your PHA team regardless of your operation. We facilitate PHAs across the process industry ranging from basic to specialty chemicals, including batch and continuous operations. Our PHA portfolio includes processes in HF, HCl, refrigerants, nuclear, aerospace, textile and many other industries.

Technology moves fast. Don’t let a computer slow you down. Our facilitators have experience scribing in multiple PHA software programs, including PHAWorks, Stature and even Excel. If you have a PHA Leader on hand and simply need us to step in the meeting to grease the wheels, we will supply you a scribe who ensures the pace of the documentation matches the pace of your discussion.
Quantitative Consequence Analysis is a great way to guide the team’s evaluation of consequence severity, especially when there is no past experience to evaluate the consequence qualitatively. Our engineers are experienced in evaluating potential exposure from toxic and flammable releases using modeling programs such as ALOHA, Safer Trace, and Phast. We typically prepare this work before the PHA begins, then review, revise or create models as the PHA team assesses each scenario.
Our experienced facilitators can mentor new facilitators at your site. We pass on our insight while ensuring the quality of the ongoing PHA is high, notwithstanding the inexperience of your new leader.

After the PHA

After the PHA meetings, you and your team get back to standard work while our services continue in the following ways:

You need a report representative of the efforts spent before and during your PHA. Our reports are professional and satisfy auditors’ requirements. We make sure the most important pieces are visible and easy to use. Tailored to meet your needs, our reports typically spotlight lists like safeguards, recommendations and high risk scenarios. We make sure you are satisfied by reviewing a draft report with you and addressing questions and comments before issuing the final report.
Your PHA is only as good as the steps you take after it is complete. We can assist or manage the effort to work PHA results through your action tracking and critical maintenance programs.

(LAN-yap) noun. Louisiana French.
Something given gratuitously or by way of good measure.

True to our South Louisiana roots, our service does not end with a report in your lap. We will never charge you for answering a call or an email if you have a question about your PHA. We make ourselves available to serve you.

After the PHA

After the PHA meetings, you and your team get back to standard work while our services continue in the following ways:

You need a report representative of the efforts spent before and during your PHA. Our reports are professional and satisfy auditors’ requirements. We make sure the most important pieces are visible and easy to use. Tailored to meet your needs, our reports typically spotlight lists like safeguards, recommendations and high risk scenarios. We make sure you are satisfied by reviewing a draft report with you and addressing questions and comments before issuing the final report.
Your PHA is only as good as the steps you take after it is complete. We can assist or manage the effort to work PHA results through your action tracking and critical maintenance programs.

(LAN-yap) noun. Louisiana French.
Something given gratuitously or by way of good measure.

True to our South Louisiana roots, our service does not end with a report in your lap. We will never charge you for answering a call or an email if you have a question about your PHA. We make ourselves available to serve you.