Primer: Safety in Design for the Process and Energy Industries (4th Edition)
Designing Out Hazards in the Process and Energy Industries
Safety in Design
Safety in Design is a foundational concept in process safety engineering. In the process and energy industries, design decisions determine not only how a facility performs under normal conditions, but how it behaves when things go wrong.
Design is the first and most crucial step in ensuring safety in the process and energy industries. A flawed design can embed hazards into a system that no amount of training or procedures can fully overcome.
Effective design begins with elimination: what you don’t have can’t leak. But safety also depends on anticipation of degraded modes, utility losses, human error, and the slow erosion of protective layers over time. A sound design does not rely on optimism; it assumes failure and provides a safe way out.
Modern tools such as digital twins, advanced analytics, and virtual reviews extend the designer’s reach, yet they do not change the essential responsibility. Safe design is not achieved by technology alone but by disciplined engineering judgment and respect for physical limits.
Ultimately, Safety in Design is not a project deliverable but a way of thinking. It links every element of process safety into a coherent system built on foresight. The best evidence of success is not the complexity of the safeguards, but the quiet reliability of a plant that operates year after year without incident because it was designed to be safe from the start.
Who This Primer Is For
This primer is written for all professionals who participate in the design and operation of process and energy facilities.
Purchasing Information
The Primer is priced at $25 (U.S.) It is available as either a .pdf file or as a Kindle document.
Note: This is a one-time purchase ― there is no upselling, monthly fees, or other distractions.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Core Concepts and Terminology
Inherent Safety
Hazard Elimination
Process Hazards Analysis
Safe Limits and Design Margins
Fail-Safe and Fault-Tolerant Design
RAGAGEP and Engineering Assurance
Digital Twins
Degraded Utilities
Human Factors Engineering
Safety Through the Project Lifecycle
Regulations and Standards
Potential Pitfalls
Emerging Trends
Conclusions
Knowledge Check: 10-Question Quiz
Questions
Answer Key
The Quiz
The following are the questions in the quiz.
1) Which statement best describes fault-tolerant design?
a) Systems maintain safety despite multiple concurrent failures
b) Systems fail on single faults only
c) Systems depend solely on operator response
d) Systems eliminate human involvement
2) What is the key advantage of using a digital twin in Safety in Design?
a) It automates permit writing
b) It simulates real-time process behavior for design validation
c) It replaces human review
d) It ensures legal compliance
3) Which regulatory framework requires demonstration that risk is ALARP (As Low as Reasonably Practicable)
a) OSHA PSM
b) EPA RMP
c) BSEE SEMS
d) Safety Case regime
4) Inherent safety is achieved primarily by:
a) Adding more protective systems
b) Eliminating or reducing hazards at source
c) Increasing inspection frequency
d) Enhancing operator training
5) What is the main purpose of a Bowtie diagram?
a) Track maintenance costs
b) Replace HAZOP documentation
c) Estimate project budgets
d) Visualize hazards, barriers, and escalation pathways
6) Why should Human Factors Engineering be considered during layout design?
a) It reduces licensing fees
b) It ensures accessibility, clear labeling, and safe egress
c) It simplifies drawings
d) It increases plant capacity
7) Which is a common design-phase pitfall?
a) Multidisciplinary design review
b) Over-reliance on procedural controls
c) Early PHA integration
d) Adherence to RAGAGEP
8) Cybersecurity-by-design primarily aims to:
a) Simplify control algorithms
b) Prevent unauthorized access that could compromise safety systems
c) Eliminate redundancy
d) Automate shutdowns
9) Two independent high-level trips share the same process nozzle and junction box. What is the key design flaw?
a) Over-instrumentation
b) Common-cause dependency
c) Excess SIL rating
d) Unverified calibration
10) During a compressor surge, 60 alarms appear in two minutes. Which control strategy best prevents operator overload?
a) Increase alarm volume and brightness
b) Train operators to ignore nuisance alarms
c) Implement alarm rationalization and rate-limiting logic
d) Replace the DCS console with a larger screen
The Primer Series
The following is a list of Primers that are either available or that are under development.
Safety in Design (this one)
Process Safety Regulations
Safety Cases
PSM Rail Transport
Process Safety Professional
Hydrogen Safety
Other publications from Sutton Technical Books are listed here.
