Permissive Sequencing and ISA 84 -- The Shape of
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1. post trip to allow transition Finally the duration of an override is another critical point to take into consideration An override can not last indefinitely In the case of Purge for example the time in which next step light the pilot should be allowed after purge is completed should be well assessed during engineering phase A Dynamic Cause and Effect Matrix It could be concluded then that for a cause and Effect matrix to be an efficient configuring and documenting tool that allows for Validation and Verification of an SIS s logic during process steady state and process transitions and following S84 standards it would have the following characteristics Resettable Override R intersections combines the characteristics of both stored latched type S intersections that have to be reset once the cause disappears and type V Intersections where effect may be overridden manually by the operator Effects connected to this intersection will remain latched when the associated cause becomes inactive but may be overridden 1 Indicate active causes and effects independently of intersections For example with the use of coloring of columns and rows Red Active White inactive Green reset etc 2 Possibility of configuring delaying and prolonging when causes become active as explain in Time dependency 3 Possibility of defining different types of functions on how causes relate to effects intersection2. Furthermore the tools can generate the necessary documentation to verify and validate the sequences as in any steady state logic Most do these using operations friendly languages such as Cause and Effect matrices fault tree diagrams etc General standards like ANSI ISA 84 00 01 or IEC 61511 Mod should consider addressing the issue of permissive sequencing for Startup shutdowns and process transitions probably as a technical report addenda or recommended practices Maintaining an active SIS at all times is not only advisable it should be considered a recommended practice clearly stated on all standards References 1 IEC 61508 Functional Safety of Electrical Electronic Programmable Safety related Systems Part 1 7 Geneva International Electrotechnical Commission 1998 2 IEC 61511 Functional Safety Safety Instrumented Systems for the Process Industry Sector Parts 1 3 Geneva International Electrotechnical Commission 2003 3i ANSI ISA S84 00 01 2004 Application of Safety Instrumented Systems for the Process Industries The International Society of Automation Research Triangle Park NC 2004 Goble W M Evaluating Systems Safety and Reliability Techniques and Applications NC Raleigh ISA 1997 Functional Safety Engineering amp II Exida LLC 2001 2004 Goble W M Control Systems Safety Evaluation amp Reliability Research Triangle Park NC ISA 1998 Simatic Safety Matrix V 6 1 H
3. a seldom used start up procedure could be better spent on properly designing the SIS system to handle transition routines The properly engineered SIS should consistently outperform a stressed operations staff We will show later that using advances in programming technology it is possible to simplify the design and validation 4 The process transition operation is more affected by operational subjectivity and procedures than steady state operation Again we are allowing difficult as an excuse to give up on safety In reality the same level of operational input is required to write the procedures needed for a transition routine as to write an automated SIS There are two real difficulties for getting the proper operations input Human Error action or inaction as defined by ANSI ISA 84 00 01 part 1 or IEC 61511 1 Mod Definitions 3 2 32 page 26 Note ANSI ISA 84 00 01 Part 2 or IEC 61511 2 Mod Offers guidance on how to include operator s availability and reliability calculations First is the sequence of project steps i e it is difficult to get operational input at the software design phase but less difficult at the procedure writing stage To do it right operations must be involved throughout the project The second issue is the lack of communication tools between the operations group and the software design group It is not easy to translate the needs of process operations into usable SIS code 5 Because the transition
4. seem valid at first glance and certainly are expedient a closer examination in light of fundamental process safety concepts proves otherwise 1 Process transitions i e start ups are not frequent and are of short duration Process transitions represent the most volatile time for the process The variable can change significantly and the Basic Process Control System BPCS may not be capable or tuned to handle the process movement This is a dangerous time to leave it all in the operator s hands because of the amount of other things they are required to monitor and execute The complexity of the transition process timing changing thresholds requires the operator s full attention Asking the operator to provide an additional Safety Protection Layer on top of that focus will increase the level of risk and can be dangerous The human factor has been recognized to severely limit the dependability of the risk reduction factor A Layer of Protection must be dependable and auditable Neither 1 Exceptions to this are common applications like BMS where similarities have allowed for more prescriptive standards as for example NFPA 85 of these characteristics would seem to apply to a bypass situation During process transitions variables are changing rapidly and protection thresholds are also subject to change It is not the time to depend on a less reliable protection layer 2 There is a lack of similarity between different processes While t
5. that indicated active causes affecting active effects as shown in Figure 2 needed more options when defining these intersections not only to make possible dynamic logic but to generate comprehensive validation reports Tools for Dynamic Logic There are three major characteristics a configuration tool must have in order to be able to handle changing logic These are 1 Overrides e Control Overrides as Function of Process Variable causes e Setup Permissive Timing see Time Dependency 2 Variable Thresholds e Control relationship between Process Variables cause and Process Reactions effects 3 Time Dependency e Definition of Steps e Limit of overrides e Control of Step Length Delay Prolong Time Dependency In a cause and effect environment the time relationship between the cause and the corresponding effect can take four forms Figure 3 To understand a time dependent step let s consider the purge of a furnace If the flow rate is a constant then the way to assure complete purge is waiting until sufficient volume of air sweeps through its hearth In this case the process variable is time and a delay post trip will not allow the next step until after the configured duration of the process Therefore one should consider four types of time dependency see Figure 3 1 No Time Function The Effect occurs as soon as the Cause is active 2 Pre Trip Delay or ON delay The Effect occurs a timed duration after th
6. Permissive Sequencing and ISA 84 The Shape of Things to Come By Gene Cammack PE Francisco Sanchez PDVSA and Luis M Garcia G CFSE Siemens Energy amp Automation Houston Texas 2008 Key Words Process Safety Plant Start Up BMS Burner Management System Permissive Sequencing Safety Availability Reliability Cause and Effect Diagram Safe Charts Abstract Although most facilities embrace ANSI ISA 84 00 01 2004 IEC 61511 and the Safety Life Cycle SLC as the way to comply with regulatory requirements Like OSHA 1910 119 there are specific instances when most operations deviate from the standard These are during start up shut downs and process transitions Processes with adequately designed Safety Instrumented Functions SIF that are validated to well developed Safety Requirement Specifications SRS are commonly although momentarily idled and instead are practically replaced by a team of operators managers and specialized personnel Bypassing inhibiting or masking is a common practice during these plant conditions In these cases the Safety Instrumented System SIS is temporarily replaced by humans in calculated and intensely watched conditions This paper questions the need for this practice and confronts the practical limitations that lead to it It examines the assumptions used to justify the suspension of certain SIFs and uses Burner Management Standards and typical process SIS as an example of how to automate t
7. cross the top The intersection cell in the matrix defines the relationship between the cause and the effect Effect process response SL IWE L EERE i fa 2 0502 AS BJILT PER FIELD VERIFICATION HOCS HISTSL 07 Company ABC SAFETY ANALYSIS FUNCTION EVALUATION CHART SAFE PATRI QUIT CEE cause and e effect _ isu faaea 11 Assigning Safety Requirement Specifications SRS to specific Safety Instrumented Functions SIF ttt ona wae asein defies aaonsip defines relationship f gt These central panels might have intersections that would light up relating active causes or anomalies in the process with active effects or process protection Figure 2 Cause and Effect Diagram The cause and effect diagram has become very popular amongst Process Safety Professionals because it is an easy method to bridge the communication gap in the SIS design team The diagram is an easy way for those familiar with the process and operations to understand the logic being implemented in the Safety System Once the cause and effect relationships have been agreed to they can be translated into the Safety System program A major limitation of the Cause and Effect Diagram has been the ability to handle the type of dynamic safety logic that is seen during a process transition Permissive sequencing is difficult to portray in a static matrix The matrix originally designed to relate causes to effects with simple intersections lights
8. d the software design team come from different backgrounds and use different terminology making it more difficult to communicate the needs of the software design team effectively Anyone who has gone through design review with Operations with stacks of ladder logic diagrams will understand the challenge However if the process safeguards are to remain intact during process transitions it is essential to understand the process that Operations will follow and to understand what is practical to expect in the real world If the safeguards are not implemented in a reasonable manner it is likely that they may be bypassed during actual operation Operations Input Design Review Hardware Design installation Testing SIL Selection Design Verification Figure 1 Operations Input into SIS Design Therefore one of the first decisions to make is to find a common language of communication between the Operational and Engineering personnel A traditional way of looking at Process Shutdown Logic has been with a Cause and Effect Diagram The Cause amp Effects matrix was originally derived from Safe Charts in API RP 14C for offshore platforms and is commonly used in the process safety industry for documenting safety requirements In a cause and effects diagram a set of process deviations or causes is listed in rows down the left side and a set of process responses or effects are listed in columns a
9. ds later Open Valve V210 and Close Valve V220 This is a complex operation that places a lot of pressure on the Operator s ability Operators at the same time are making decisions on alarms process value voting between process values variables stability assessment operational bypasses management and the most difficult of all decisions Aborting if reactor does not behave as expected Let s now consider an automatic start up of this process using a Cause and Effect Matrix with all five characteristics discussed above Figure 6 Company ABC Safety Analysis 10 Minutes Max Override 10 Minutes 10 Minutes Max Override 10 Minutes Delay Output 10 seconds Delay Output 10 seconds Function Evaluation Chart Override Reset Tag a 2 a 2s s gt wn o a Valve 130 og START Close z PB_START Valve 110 Valve 230 Valve 220 e Temperature a ite gt uE Figure 6 Dynamic Cause and Effect Matrix for EEEE Reactor Notice all the information included in the dynamic matrix From figure 6 1 Causes have a Post Trip Delay of 20 seconds allowing for the stability claimed on the operation manual 2 All intersections are of the type R for which all effect will be latched when triggered 3 There is an Override Reset TAG PB_START which could be connected to a push button and or a switch with a key The arrangement should be Normally Clo
10. e Cause is active 3 Post Trip Delay or OFF delay Effect is active for a timed duration after the cause is cleared 4 Timed Cause The Cause is active for a timed duration after it is triggered regardless of status Cause Active Normal Cause no time function Cause Adve Pre Trip Delay Cause e a Cause Active G Post Trip Delay Cause configured duration Cause Active asss Timed Cause conigured duration Figure 3 Timing Diagram for Cause Time Functions Variable Threshold Purge in a BMS application is a good example of variable threshold Purge must be performed at a predetermined Air flow rate which is usually much higher than the one required for optimum combustion fuel to air ratio Therefore the air flow rate after purging is completed must be lowered before lighting the pilot or the burners without aborting the sequence This can be achieved defining the relationship between different triggering points for the same variable cause and selectively defining their relation ship with the process reaction or effect This is done using normal or N intersections and resettable override or R intersections as appropriate See later Control Overrides Dynamic logic requires that an effect is able to be overridden independently of some causes For example in a furnace we want to trip the furnace when we lose flame so our static matrix shows a flame cause and a fuel valve se
11. e suspension of Safety Instrumented Functions SIFs during process transitions 1 Processes transitions i e start ups are not frequent and are of short duration compared to steady state operation Therefore SIFs can be suspended and Start Up carried out manually with a written procedure under the supervision of a Start Up Manager 2 There is a lack of similarity between different processes This makes prescriptive standards impossible and best practices difficult Therefore it seems acceptable to manage them manually under tailored conditions 3 There is a lack of similarity between the Process Transition operation and Steady State operation Safety Systems are therefore designed to operate under Steady State conditions where the majority of the operating time occurs SIS designers would have to create an entirely new and conflicting SIS to manage process transitions 4 The process transition operation is more affected by operational subjectivity and procedures than steady state operation i e How long an interlock should be bypassed Therefore automating process transitions require strong Operations input in the development process 5 Because the transition is sequential and dynamic timing of process steps and interlock changes are critical These are difficult to validate and verify without both detailed operational knowledge and adequate proper simulation routines Assumptions Challenged While these assumptions may
12. edure and operator s discretion Start up shutdowns and transitions have always been considered the most dangerous period for operations in the process industries If that is the case what is the reasoning behind the suspension of Safety Systems during those periods and is that reasoning justified In addition do improvements in technology offer new ways to address some of the assumptions about permissive sequencing Permissive Sequences Armed with a full set of steady state operating conditions and a list of process constraints the SIS system is designed to offer a layer of protection above the Basic Process Control System BPCS and the operations team While designed well to protect the process at steady state conditions getting to the steady state typically involves a permissive sequence Bypassing inhibiting or masking is a common practice during these plant conditions in these cases the Safety Instrumented System SIS is temporarily suspended In order to understand the reasons behind such a limiting practice on the use of Safety Systems we must understand first what is involved in the implementation of a permissive Permissive Sequences have three general characteristics e A time dependency that must be considered e Changing variable thresholds or limits e Interlocks that vary or may need to be inhibited or overridden Assumptions for Suspension of SIS There are five key assumptions that are used to explain and justify th
13. elp Manual Copy rights 1995 2004 Siemens AG Simatic PCS 7 User s Manual
14. he lack of similarity between processes does increase the difficulty of using Safety Instrumented Systems it does not remove the responsibility for insuring the safe operation of the process at all times If it is difficult to automate why would we expect that the operator is going to find it easier to make the right decisions during a complicated transition In fact the very lack of similarity between processes is a reason to work out the transition in advance and to make sure the safety systems remain in effect However there are similarities in the control strategies for different processes and we will show that there are ways to deal with them in a consistent manner 3 There is a lack of similarity between the Process Transition operation and Steady State operation While in many processes the majority of time is spent at steady state the more dangerous times are during transitions when variables are changing rapidly and the process is in conditions that the BPCS was not designed to handle l e controller tuning may not be adequate for loops during transitional period What we are really challenging is the practices of letting the operator do it because it is difficult to create an SIS that would handle transitions an exception to this has been those applications where strict prescriptive standards applied like for example NFPA 85 amp 86 If we do our job correctly the time spent on writing and properly training operators in
15. he permissive sequencing required for these process change of states Finally the paper examines how a cause and effect tool could be used to simplify the development and implementation of automated permissive sequences including verification and validation as required in the standard Table of Contents Key Words Abstract Introduction Permissive Sequences Assumptions for Suspension of SIS Assumptions Challenged Sequence Requirements Operations Knowledge in the Project Sequence Tools for Dynamic Logic Time Dependency Variable Threshold Control Overrides A Dynamic Cause and Effect Matrix An example of application Conclusions and Recommendations References 01 01 03 03 04 04 06 06 08 08 09 10 10 11 15 16 Permissive Sequencing and ISA 84 The Shape of Things to Come Introduction There has been wide scale adoption of the functional safety concepts in the process industries as a way to deal with process risks and to control the safe operation of facilities In particular the S 84 00 01 2004 IEC 61511 Mod standard has become recognized as a fundamental definition of how to implement a Safety Life Cycle and design of Safety Instrumented Systems SIS for the process industries However implementations have been constrained to steady state protection functions and rarely applied to sequencing either during start up shut down or dynamic transitions Sequencing has almost always been left to a manual proc
16. ic matrix would be for this application If four out of six temperatures go below 110 F the unit will be taken to its safe condition that is Valves 110 210 130 and 230 will block preventing the hydrocarbon from flowing downstream while Valves 120 and 220 will allow any leakage recirculation The S intersections indicates that the Effect will be latched 0 1 N Figure 4 Example of application Drying reactor Company ABC Safety Analysis Function Evaluation Chart Plant ID Valve 110 Close Valve 120 Open Valve 130 Close Valve 210 Close Valve 220 Open Valve 230 Close Sheet 1 of 20 efel gt lef causen emperature TI 106 lt 110 F Figure 5 Static Cause and Effect Matrix for Drying Reactor Let s now consider the start up sequence procedure as per the operational Manual Step No 1 Bypass all temperature sensors Step No 2 Manually open Valves V110 V130 230 and V220 and keep Valves V210 and V120 closed Step No 3 From the BPCS increase flow at a rate of 5 Gallons per minute every two minutes until reaching a stable flow of 30 Gallons per minute Step No 4 Once each sensor have been at a stable temperature above 110 F for at least 20 seconds remove bypasses on sensors one at a time This should happen within the first 10 minutes of operation or system should be shutdown as packaging of granules are shown to be defective Step No 5 Ten secon
17. is sequential and dynamic timing of process steps and interlock changes are critical The dynamic behavior of the process is the very reason that the process should be automated It does require a robust simulation routine with the participation of process and operations personnel However the idea that we leave that to a written procedure reduces the dependability of an independent protection layer Since simulation is very difficult with a manual procedure automation with proper simulation tools is the better answer Sequence Requirements Two things are required to adequately define and automate Permissive Sequences e Thorough knowledge of the process and its operation e Aset of tools to handle dynamic safety logic Operations Knowledge in the Project Sequence In the design of SIS Systems Operations traditionally have been involved in the early stages for the Process Hazard Analysis PHA and again during Design Review to insure the operational capability of the final design Operations are then given the completed unit to start up Therefore the bulk of the design data is based on the process information which traditionally has been at steady state conditions To automate the Safety Functions during critical process transitions significant Operations input is required along with the basic process data during the software design stage It is difficult to get Operations time on an ongoing basis In addition the Operations group an
18. s including independence to override latch or complex voting causes architectures N Normal Effect will stay active while Cause is active S Stored Cause will trigger Effect until reset regardless of inactivity of Cause Latched V With Override Allows deactivation of Effect regardless of Cause R Resettable Override Same as V but with latch 4 Capability to time limited overrides and feedback Effect actions to Causes 5 Capability to dynamically simulate logic off line to verify and validate configuration reporting An example of application In order to illustrate the point let s consider a very simple example In this petrochemical process a hydrocarbon gas needs to be dried For such purposes the gas passes through a reactor packed with absorbent granules An exothermic reaction takes place in the drier allowing using temperature to evaluate its performance If the temperature goes below certain level 110 F it is an indication that the granules are saturated and have lost their capacity for drying the gas But because of thermal inertia a 20 seconds delay must be allowed before the temperature is recognized as being too low On the other hand humidity is extremely harmful for the process downstream and the SIF that protects the process has been ruled to be SIL 3 in a LOPA followed by a GAP analysis Figure 4 Figure 5 on the other hand shows how a cause and effect traditional Stat
19. sed to allow diagnostics 4 The Maximum time the override is allowed before aborting the process is 10 minutes complying with what ids required by the Operation Manual Therefore the reactor should be stable in 10 minutes or the system will shutdown and the process will have to be re started If this program is implemented as indicated by the above dynamic matrix the start up sequence would be reduced to two simple steps Step No 1 Push PB_START Step No 2 From the BPCS increase flow at a rate of 5 Gallons per minute every two minutes until reaching a stable flow of 30 Gallons per minute In fact this ramp which could be done automatically in the BPCS if the Safety System protection was in place The process will be protected at all times by the SIS regardless of the operator s actions Conclusions and Recommendations Planning Startup Sequences is as complex and complicated to do for an operation manual as it is in a logic tool Plant Startups should be automated as much as possible In fact more prescriptive standards such as NFPA 85 and 86 already contemplate mandatory automation of startup sequencing for BMS in Boilers and Furnaces Basically designers should extrapolate concepts learned while implementing BMS to boilers and furnaces to other processes because it is both possible and beneficial Modern SIS s include set of tools to automate startup sequences In such a way the processes are protected at all times
20. t Double Block and Bleed effect However on start up we need to be able to open override the fuel valve set to ignite the burner In addition we have to be able to not allow an override based on other causes such as pilot flame Intersections of the type resettable override allows for a process reaction to take place or effects despite process variable or causes These overrides are time constrained and could only be applied if there is no active process variable cause with a normal N intersection related this particular effect allowing for sequence conditioning This is for example the case of the set of double block and bleeds valves which define the SIF of a burner If there is a loss of flame sensors won t detect flame variable or cause and then the set of valves will block the gas To light the burner the action of the flame sensors must be temporally overridden and this is done with the R intersection On the other hand the override cannot be allowed if there is no flame in the pilot and therefore the intersection of the cause pilot Flame should be of the normal type In some instances the sequence might involve turning the pilot flame off after the main burner is on and this could add complexity to the process In such case a new cause that reflects flame in the pilot while pilot valves are open should be created with a normal intersection to the main burner set of valves with a delay
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