At Aker Solutions, the management of HSE and in particular safety, is recognised as a critical factor in determining success in project delivery.

In recent times with a background of Major Hazard Facilities (MHF) regulations sweeping Australia, Aker Solutions is approaching safety in design with renewed vigour, embracing safe design concepts such as inherent safety, risk assessment and mitigation, and designer/client communication, bolstering our strong HSE culture in project delivery.

Safety in design is addressed by Aker Solutions during process plant design through structured processes. All opportunities to eliminate or control potential hazards arising out of construction and operation are investigated.

Aker Solutions' approach is to consider safety aspects early and throughout the duration of the project so that appropriate measures can be "built-in" in a cost effective manner. Hence, we integrate HSE at all stages of our project execution from tendering to handover and beyond.

One of the methods that Aker Solutions uses to achieve this is by means of formal, periodic safety studies and reviews including hazard identification studies (HAZID), hazard and operability studies (HAZOP), layout and constructability reviews. Each with its unique objective and timing in the execution of the project.

While these individual methods are not new, this paper describes how their use in combination at Aker Solutions provides a robust safety in design process, that assesses risk and captures the necessary safety control measures early and in a way that ensures implementation into plant design, and efficiently transfers design safety knowledge to the plant operator.