Utilising IIoT technologies to drive safer working practices

Extremely accurate decisions are paramount and IIoT technologies enable this. They collect data quickly and allow decisions to be made in a faster, more precise manner. This is why they are great for perfecting process safety among all industries. 

This piece will demonstrate the
five key steps that are needed when integrating new IIoT technologies. This will manage overall risks and hazards to essentially avoid costly unscheduled asset downtime. 

Step 1: Digitising with IIoT 

Firstly, it is important to capture the data flowing from the various safety related tools
such as Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF), Layer of Protection Analysis systems (LOPA), Process Hazards Analysis tools (PHA), and Hazard and Operability tools (HazOp). It is vital that this data is centralised into a digital database, in order to make safety
critical design information consistent. 

These traditional safety tools are designed to meet specific safety parameters. However, how they perform once deployed may be different from the original design intent. Therefore, the “as designed” data (e.g., demand rates, test intervals, time in bypass) should be digitally
connected to the “as operating” data so that the potential safety risks presented by systems degradation can be assessed in real-time. By digitally connecting to existing systems and data sources, the need for manual data collection and data handling is minimised. 

Read the full article in the February issue of DPA