Product category:
Safety and Safety Systems
News Release from: Elite Control Systems | Subject: Safety consultancy services
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 08 September 2005
Elite launches safety consultancy
services
Elite offers seven services: risk assessment; SIL determination; hazard operability studies; safety audits/assessments; safety software validation; safety training; and safety competency assessment
Elite Control Systems, one of the UK's leading system integrators, is launching Elite Safety Consultancy as part of the company's consultancy division Elite Safety Consultancy has a comprehensive competency management scheme in place, with independent third-party auditing to ensure that the highest possible standards are maintained in compliance with the requirements of IEC 61508 and the harmonised equivalent, EN 61508 'Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety related systems'
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 29 Apr 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Elite Safety Consultancy offers seven categories of service: risk assessment; SIL determination; hazard and operability studies; safety audits and assessments; safety software validation; safety training; and safety competency assessment.
Risk assessment lies at the heart of all machinery and process safety, whether the aim is compliance with IEC/EN 61508, IEC/EN 61511 (the process industry sector standard under IEC/EN 61506), IEC 62061 (the sector standard for machinery), EN 954-1 (Safety of machinery, Safety related parts of control systems, General principles for design), or ISO 13849-1 (Safety of machinery, Safety related parts of control systems, General principles for design - the standard that will soon replace EN 954-1).
Whatever the specific requirements, the Elite consultants select the most appropriate risk assessment method and undertake the assessment in accordance with EN 1050 (Safety of machinery, Principles for risk assessment).
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Often a risk assessment will be performed as part of a new-build project or upgrade, but the consultants can equally well assess risks where manufacturers and plant operators do not have the expertise or resource available in-house to conduct assessments in line with PUWER (the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) or corporate health and safety management procedures.
In such cases, should the risk assessment highlight any unacceptably high risks, the consultants can provide advice and assistance to implement risk reduction measures, then reassess the risks afterwards.
IEC 61508 and the principles of functional safety are being increasingly recognised by machine specifiers, users and plant operators.
Nevertheless, it is a highly complex matter to determine the SIL (Safety Integrity Level) of the overall safety-related control system or the sub-systems from which it is composed.
The knowledgeable and experienced Elite consultants can carry out SIL determinations either as part of a wider project or as an independent third-party acting for clients who want to be certain of applying the correct SIL.
After all, if the calculated SIL is too low an unacceptable risk may result; and calculating a SIL that is too high can lead to dramatic increases in costs.
Independent hazard and operability studies (Hazops) are commonly used within the process industries to investigate how a plant operation may deviate from the intended design.
One of the most important factors behind a successful Hazop is the experience of the team undertaking the study, in terms of both depth and diversity.
Elite consultants certainly offer this, with highly experienced individuals who have worked in fields as diverse as oil and gas, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, paper processing, defence, nuclear, manufacturing and packaging.
Another area where this experience is invaluable is in safety audits and assessments.
These can be carried out on existing plant and machinery or on designs for new equipment or upgrades.
In some cases this is best performed by close examination of the plant and/or as a desk-based exercise, but Elite also has facilities for modelling existing or proposed plant in software and running a copy of the control software to accurately simulate the operation of the process.
Such an exercise allows 'what if' scenarios to be examined in detail via software, with no disruption of production or risk to plant, personnel or the environment.
The software modelling and simulation suite can also be utilised as part of the safety software validation consultancy service.
Elite Control Systems was the first automation systems integration company of its size to obtain accreditation under the coveted BS EN ISO 9001:2000 TickIT certification scheme for design, development, production, support and installation of control and monitoring systems.
This forms the basis for the safety software validation service, which is available to customers who have written their own software or who wish to have software from another supplier validated prior to it being run on the plant.
Furthermore, the software validation team can also independently validate software written by the Elite team of software engineers.
Safety training is another service offered by Elite Safety Consultancy.
In most cases this relates to training of clients' employees who will be using safety-related control systems designed and implemented by Elite Control Systems.
In the near future, however, the training services will be expanded to include courses on general machinery and process plant safety.
Prior to launching Elite Safety Consultancy, Elite Control Systems Limited worked closely with Pilz Automation Technology to develop a competency management scheme specifically to meet the needs of system integrators.
Pilz has now successfully completed its audit of Elite and the individuals who work on safety-related projects.
Importantly, Elite Safety Consultancy is now demonstrably competent to work with clients to design, develop, implement and manage their own competency management schemes, which is vital for compliance with IEC 61508.
Because this standard takes a lifecycle approach to functional safety, those operating and maintaining safety-related electrical/electronic/programmable electronic control systems must be competent to do so - which is why the question of competency needs to be addressed by plant operators today.
With the launch of Elite Safety Consultancy, Elite Control Systems believes it is now one of only a very small number of companies that can deliver a complete service, from conception to engineering, installation, commissioning, training and 24/7 support, and with the competence to fulfil all safety-related aspects of the project in-house.
Furthermore, Elite has close ties with suppliers such as ABB, GE Fanuc, Pantek, Pilz, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Siemens and Wonderware that allow it to offer customers shared expertise and the best possible project outcome.
Founded in 1992, Elite has grown to be one of the most innovative companies in the system integration business, with clients as far afield as Azerbaijan, China, India and the USA.
Elite remains true to its ideals: meticulous planning, an innovative attitude to business, the highest standards of service, and quality engineering.
These ideals underlie the company's 'promoting performance through partnership' approach.
Contact Elite now to find out more about the Elite Safety Consultancy services available.
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