Safety Critical Equipment Definition

Everything related to Health, Safety & Environmental issues of any Petrochemical industry or Oil & gas sector.
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sys1
Posts: 49
Joined: 06 Apr 2026, 08:02
Area of interest: Chemical Engineering

Safety Critical Equipment Definition

Post by sys1 »

What is the most acceptable and worked upon definition of a safety critical equipment in an oil & gas industry?
And tell me if every PSV gets qualified to be a safety critical device?
octane
Posts: 197
Joined: 08 Oct 2010, 15:38
Area of interest: Mechanical Engineering

Re: Safety Critical Equipment Definition

Post by octane »

In simple words, any equipment which contributes to avoid a major accident hazard in an industry is classified as a safety critical equipment.
So it depends what has been classified as major accident hazard and which equipment act as barriers.
arcpro
Posts: 414
Joined: 16 Apr 2010, 18:46
Area of interest: Manufacturing Engineering

Re: Safety Critical Equipment Definition

Post by arcpro »

Yeah, that's that.
I got one from UK's offshore safety regulations and is reflected throughout the industry:
Safety Critical Equipment is any equipment, system, or component whose failure could cause or contribute substantially to a major accident, or whose purpose is to prevent, detect, control, or mitigate the consequences of a major accident.
opo21
Posts: 63
Joined: 22 Dec 2025, 08:14
Area of interest: Chemical Engineering

Re: Safety Critical Equipment Definition

Post by opo21 »

You can identify them from the bow-ties, all preventive ones before the top threat, and the mitigative ones after the threat occurs.
The swiss cheese model is the one encompassing all of the safety critical equipment related to MAH.
sys1
Posts: 49
Joined: 06 Apr 2026, 08:02
Area of interest: Chemical Engineering

Re: Safety Critical Equipment Definition

Post by sys1 »

Thanks.
ivani1
Posts: 149
Joined: 25 May 2025, 14:25
Area of interest: Mechanical Engineering

Re: Safety Critical Equipment Definition

Post by ivani1 »

Sys1
Just to provide you the reply with the second part of your question, no not all PSVs are considered as safety critical - not those on flammable /hazardous /toxic services where barrier breakdown would lead to a major accident hazard.
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