You will probably not hear me sing the LEGO® Movie’s “Everything is Awesome” song, I’ll keep that private (and you should be thankful to me for that). However as we just released the LOPAx™ module of the new exSILentia® v4 platform, I have come to the conclusion that what we have built here is, maybe even beyond, awesome.

As I was working on a new application exercise for our update functional safety engineering training course offering, FSE 101: Safety System Analysis, I wanted to include a HAZOP and LOPA example in that exercise for students to work on. As I’m writing the exercise, I’m working on the solution at the same time.

The exercise spans a couple of sections. In the first part of the exercise, students are asked to conduct a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) on a compressor suction drum for a high level deviation. For the training class the students can easily do this on a piece of paper, but having access to some great tools I documented my HAZOP worksheet using the PHAx™ module of exSILentia ® v4.

The second part of the exercise focusses on a Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA). Students are asked to draw the LOPA diagram that is applicable for the compressor suction drum high level deviation hazard scenario. This is not all that difficult and within the scope of the training class easily done on a piece of paper. However since I used the exSILentia ® v4 LOPAx™ module, I was done in less than a second. With a simple click of a button, I brought over all initiating events (causes) and all potential protection layers (safeguards) for the hazard scenarios identified.

Awesome, my LOPA diagram was done!! I may have let out a little yelp. At least some of my colleagues frowned at me.

I am delighted to see that our vision for a truly integrated safety lifecycle management tool is coming to fruition. We are combining market leading analysis tools in a lifecycle support system that is going to be revolutionary. If you are working with functional safety, you will see that 2015 is going to be awesome.