Hazard Analysis
Hazard Analysis is a systematic reliability engineering process used to identify potential hazards (failure modes, human errors, or environmental conditions), evaluate their causes and consequences, and determine risk levels to establish safety design criteria and maintenance strategies.
In a CMMS environment, Hazard Analysis is applied by embedding Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) or Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) results into asset records to create risk-based work order prioritization matrices. This dynamically schedules maintenance based on Severity × Occurrence × Detection scores and stores Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) failure mode strategies as living programs, enabling proactive shop floor maintenance.
How does Hazard Analysis differ from FMEA in a CMMS context?
Hazard Analysis is the broader identification of safety critical areas and potential risks (including human errors), while FMEA is the specific team-based activity within Hazard Analysis that quantifies risk via the Risk Priority Number (RPN = Severity × Occurrence × Detection) to prioritize failure modes.
Which techniques are used for causal analysis in Hazard Analysis for reliability studies?
Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is the most commonly used technique for causal analysis, using Boolean logic to map failure chains; Event Tree Analysis (ETA) and HAZOP are also standard for identifying accident scenarios.
How is Hazard Analysis integrated into Process Safety Management (PSM)?
It forms the core of Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) under PSM standards (CFR 1910.119), where teams evaluate hazards for potential toxic/reactive/explosive releases and develop reliability plans to operate within acceptable risk tolerance using Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA).