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Safety in hazardous areas symposium

The Institute of Instrumentation, Control and Automation (IICA) is holding a symposium on Wednesday 19th November 2008 dealing with the topic, Functional Safety in Hazardous Areas.

Speaking in the Back to Basics stream will be Bob Weiss from Honeywell Process Solutions.

“The functional safety standards AS61508 and AS61511 are becoming widely used in industry. However, there continue to be frequent misunderstandings about the complete requirements for compliance,” said IICA.

“A simple example of high level protection in an LPG tank will be used to clarify the relationship between hazardous area protection and functional safety, and to identify the five key requirements for compliance with AS61511. The role of TÜV certification is clarified, and demonstrated to be only one small part of achieving compliance.

“Similarly, calculating PFD figures is another important aspect that is again one part of a much bigger picture. Those new to functional safety will find this to be a useful introduction, whereas it will hopefully remind more experienced practitioners to pay attention to the full extent of best practices required to achieve functional safety.”

Case studies from Australian Underground Coal Mining will also be included. Marcus Punch from Marcus Punch Pty Ltd will present, with a look at the background and recent developments of functional safety in hazardous areas, beyond the Infernal Triangle & Swiss Cheese models.

This will include:

• Integrating the Approaches — a holistic ‘risk-based’ model

• Case Study 1: Methane Monitoring

• Case Study 2: Mine Ventilation.

“The successful implementation of AS61511 has been a challenge for many organisations. For end users that have operational hazardous areas the opportunity of adopting functional safety in overall plant safety is not well understood and requires further effort to understand the benefits,” said IICA.

“This symposium brings together experienced speakers to present papers on relevant case studies, potential solutions, installed & operating plant with thought provoking ideas related to functional safety in hazardous areas.”

The symposium program will be as follows:

8.45am — 9.00am Arrival Tea & Coffee, Registrations

9.00am — 9.15am Symposium Opening

9.15am — 10.15am Bob Weiss Presentation & Direct Questions

10.15am — 10.45am Morning Tea

10.45am — 11.30am Marcus Punch Presentation & Direct Questions

11.30am — 12.45pm Panel Discussion with all speakers

12.45pm — 1.00pm Symposium Close & Lunch

Registrations start at $175 for a IICA Member. Registrations can be made via fax or mail using the attached registration form or at www.iica.org.au

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