Consider Safety Earlier in Design

An inherently safe facility layout is the most effective barrier against major accident events.

CRUX as an innovative tool that allows projects to consider safety in the initial stages of layout development for ship-shaped facilities, resulting in an inherently safer facility and a reduction in engineering rework due to technical safety findings.

Improve Your Approach to Layouts

I​nitial facility layouts are typically set considering pipe lengths, process flow, and mechanical handling. Safety is not generally considered in great detail because consequence modeling has not been conducted. Instead, a general layout philosophy is
followed.

Safety studies are normally based on the initial layout engineering continues to progress. Waiting on the key findings of the safety studies often results in engineering rework, costing hundreds of wasted man hours and mitigations that may be expensive to implement, have limited effectiveness, introduce
new risks, or negatively affect operations.

Create a Facility Specific Layout Philosophy

Facility specific parameters should influence the layout philosophy
instead of a generic layout philosophy being imposed on the facility.

Process systems have inherent risks. The relative risk posed by each of these systems can be estimated based on properties such as inventory, phase, release frequency, fluid reactivity, and potential ignition sources.

Thus, the inherent risk of a topsides module relative to other topsides modules is the result of the aggregation of the systems within it and the amount of congestion in each module.  

Understanding the inherent risks of each module is key to creating an
inherently safer layout.

Make Layout Reviews Meaningful

Using CRUX, we can quickly define topsides systems and modules, create and edit multiple layout configurations, and compare the risks posed by each.

By visualizing which modules are contributing to each risk, the layouts can be optimized to reduce risks.

There are always trade-offs with safety, and changing the layout may reduce one risk while increasing another. By understanding this and your project risk drivers we can you
create an inherently safer layout early in design.

Key Features

• Design inherently safer layouts early in design
• Identify key facility risk drivers
• Calculate the risk profile of each topsides module
• Optimize module location
• Easily generate and compare multiple layout options
• Assess multiple layouts as design progresses
• Evaluate layouts against 10 key safety criteria
• Reduce engineering rework

Applications

• Engineering Contractors:  
  • Develop inherently safer designs
  • Fire and blast scenario screening
• Owner / Operators:
  
  • Evaluate layouts as part of technical bid evaluations in design competitions
  • Demonstrate consideration of safety early in design in support of Safety Case development
• Class Societies:
  • Evaluate layouts against Class layout guidelines in Class Rules