Process automation professionals are ultimately responsible for the safety systems in their plant, but often find that the design of these systems is a complex task. What’s needed is a software tool that will improve their design efforts in a systematic fashion, ensuring compliance with all relevant standards, and more importantly, ensuring a correctly designed system that will protect the plant.
SafeGuard Profiler is a Safety Integrity Level (SIL) lifecycle tool that gives process automation professionals the information and the power they need to conduct successful engineering failure analysis, SIL Determination, SIL Verification/Validation (SIL-V), SIL Optimization and other related tasks.
This tool provides a two-pronged approach to analysis of safety systems and processes, using a LOPA (Layer of Protection Analysis) module and a SIL-V software module for designing and evaluating SIL-rated systems. The two modules work together to help improve and maintain process plant applications at all stages of development.
The LOPA module provides a Bowtie visualization which helps users graphically visualize an often complex analysis process rather than sifting through pages of spreadsheets and data tables. The Bowtie lets process automation professionals see how causes and consequences of hazardous events are connected in ways that traditional methods might miss.
The SIL-V module helps with the design and optimization of safety instrumented functions (SIFs) to ensure that the system meets safety requirements under IEC 61511—ANSI /ISA 84.0. The module’s modeling engine can reduce design time by up to 50%, which translates into saving time and money during critical design phases.
Additionally, it can help determine optimal voting and test frequency for a specific SIF. Users can select the desired Probability of Failure on Demand (PFD), and the system will automatically calculate the required test interval, failure rate, partial stroke test coverage and other parameters.
SafeGuard Profiler also includes advanced reporting functions for customized layouts, and it supports the addition of imported external documents with each project. Compiled reports can be printed for presentation using company-defined formats.
It is designed to simplify the often complex safety system analysis process, and potential users can further shorten the learning curve with training. ACM offers a free 30-day trial of their software, supported by complimentary expert training at their headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as well as live, web-based instruction and video training.
Modules can be purchased separately, or purchased in an expert version which includes both modules along with all the functionality required for senior automation and controls professionals in an environment with a well-established safety culture.
The expert version includes advanced reporting and an export to SafeGuard Sentinel, a PC-based software package from ACM which continuously measures, monitors, and alerts operations and management personnel to process safety risks, and delivers contingency plans that can be executed immediately in case of an event.
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