This training program equips participants with advanced methods to identify opportunities for ISD, apply systematic frameworks, and balance competing drivers (safety, cost, operability, environmental impact). Participants will engage in practical workshops on hazard elimination, substitution of hazardous substances, moderation of operating conditions, and simplification of systems. The course also provides techniques to evaluate trade-offs between ISD and protective safeguards, ensuring that inherent safety is not overlooked during fast-track projects or cost-driven decisions.

By The End of this program, the participants will:

• Apply Trevor Kletz’s ISD principles systematically across all project phases.
• Use substitution, minimization, moderation, and simplification strategies to eliminate hazard.
• Integrate ISD concepts with hazard studies (HAZID, HAZOP, LOPA) and quantitative risk assessment (QRA).
• Evaluate ISD opportunities using process simulation, consequence modeling, and CFD analysis.
• Incorporate ISD into standards such as CCPS Guidelines, IEC 61511, and API design recommendations.
• Develop lifecycle ISD strategies that address design, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning.
• Design decision-making frameworks that balance safety, operability, environment, and cost.

• Process, Chemical, and Safety Engineers
• Project Managers and Engineering Design Leaders
• HSSE Specialists and Risk Analysts
• Plant Design, Operations, and Maintenance Engineers
• EPC Contractors and Consultants involved in FEED and detailed design
• Regulators and Auditors evaluating design safety.

• Technical lectures referencing CCPS Guidelines, IChemE publications, and industry standards.
• Case studies of incidents where ISD could have prevented catastrophic failures.
• Practical workshops on substitution analysis, HAZID integration, and ISD trade-off evaluation.
• Group exercises on developing ISD strategies for real plant scenarios.
• Diagnostic toolkits (ISD checklists, comparative risk matrices, lifecycle integration models).
• Simulation demonstrations (CFD, QRA outputs, dispersion modeling).

Day 1 – Foundations of Inherent Safer Design

Morning Session: ISD Philosophy and Principles

• Historical evolution of ISD (Trevor Kletz, Flixborough accident lessons).
• ISD vs. engineered safeguards: prevention vs. mitigation.
• Four main ISD strategies:
• Substitution – replace hazardous chemicals or processes.
• Minimization – reduce inventory and process volumes.
• Moderation – operate under less hazardous conditions.
• Simplification – design out complexity and failure modes.

Afternoon Session: Regulatory and Standards Context

• Role of ISD in OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 and EU Seveso III Directive.
• CCPS Guidelines for Inherently Safer Chemical Processes (4th edition).
• IChemE Inherent Safety Guide: best practice applications.
• Case study analysis: Bhopal disaster and the missed ISD opportunities.

Day 2 – Hazard Identification and ISD Integration

Morning Session: Hazard Identification Tools

• Hazard Identification Frameworks:
• Hazard Identification (HAZID) workshops – early phase hazard spotting.
• Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP) – identifying design deviations.
• “What-if” analysis and Checklists – fast-track assessments.
• Integration of ISD with Hazard Studies:
• Embedding ISD prompts in HAZOP guidewords.
• Linking findings to potential substitution, moderation, or simplification actions.
• Ensuring ISD is considered at Stage-Gate reviews (Concept → FEED → Detail).
• Analytical Tools Supporting ISD:
• Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) – identifying high-consequence risks where ISD is most impactful.
• Consequence modeling for toxic dispersion, jet fires, and BLEVEs.
• Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to visualize benefit of ISD design changes.

Afternoon Session: ISD in Practice – Hazard Elimination

• Substitution Strategies:
• Replacing hazardous materials with safer alternatives:

1. Chlorine gas → Sodium hypochlorite
2. Anhydrous ammonia → Aqueous ammonia, and
3. Benzene solvents → Toluene/less toxic solvents.

• Changing hazardous reaction pathways:

1. Phosgene-free polymer synthesis.

• Minimization Approaches:

• Reducing hazardous inventories:

1. Small storage tanks vs. large bulk storage, and
2. Continuous processing vs. batch operation.

• Minimizing energy densities:

1. Lowering system pressures, and

• Designing for smaller inventories in piping (shorter runs, sectionalizing).

• Workshop Exercise:

• Hazard study case: Hydrocarbon storage terminal:

1. Identify substitution opportunities (e.g., safer refrigerants)
2. Define inventory minimization strategies (tank sizing, inventory management), and
3. Prioritize ISD interventions over engineered add-ons.

Day 3 – ISD in Process and Equipment Design

Morning Session: Process-Level ISD Strategies

• Reaction Chemistry and Process Routes:

• Selecting inherently safer chemical pathways (e.g., catalytic vs. non-catalytic).
• Choosing aqueous systems over solvent-based reactions.
• Reducing exothermicity to moderate runaway potential.
• Operating Condition Moderation:
• Reducing pressure: low-pressure distillation with vacuum systems.
• Lowering temperature: cryogenic separations vs. high-temperature cracking.
• Designing to minimize flammable/explosive ranges (e.g., inerting strategies).
• Simplification of Unit Operations:
• Avoiding unnecessary recycle loops that add complexity.
• Standardizing equipment to reduce unique failure modes.
• Simplifying startup/shutdown sequences to reduce operator error.

Afternoon Session: Equipment and Layout Design

• Equipment-Level ISD:

• Vessels and tanks:

1. Use of double-walled tanks for cryogenics, and
2. Vertical vs. horizontal orientation for inherent containment.

• Piping systems:

• Minimizing dead-legs to reduce corrosion, and
• Sectionalizing with isolation valves to reduce inventory in failure scenarios.

• Plant Layout Considerations:

• Inherent separation of hazardous units (distancing, segregation).
• Domino effect reduction: firewalls, blast walls, and layout spacing.
• Locating occupied buildings outside hazard zones.

• Modeling and Analysis:

• Use of CFD for vapor cloud dispersion and explosion overpressure.

• Quantitative comparison of layouts for inherent safety improvements.

• Workshop Exercise:

• Re-designing a compressor station:

1. Apply ISD layout spacing principles
2. Select simpler piping arrangements, and
3. Validate improvements using CFD outputs.

Day 4 – Lifecycle Integration and Human Factors

Morning Session: ISD Across the Plant Lifecycle

• Design Phase Integration:
• Embedding ISD at FEED: early selection of safer processes
• Conceptual design reviews with ISD checklists.
• Trade-offs between ISD and capital cost.

• Operational Phase:
• Monitoring ISD performance indicators during operation.
• Preventing hazard reintroduction through poor modifications.
• Linking ISD to Management of Change (MOC) systems.
• Maintenance and Decommissioning:
• Designing for maintainability (ease of access, fewer confined spaces).
• Reducing exposure to hazardous energy during maintenance.
• ISD considerations for safe dismantling and decommissioning.

Afternoon Session: Human & Organizational Dimensions

• Human Factors and Simplification:
• Reducing operator dependence through inherently reliable design.
• Ergonomic considerations in control room design.
• Designing alarms and human–machine interfaces to avoid overload.
• Digital ISD Applications:
• Cybersecurity as an inherent design element in safety instrumented systems.
• Simplification of digital control architectures.
• Case Study Analysis:
• LNG facility design:
• Cryogenic hazards and inventory minimization, and
• Human-factor considerations in emergency response.
• Workshop Exercise:
• Evaluate a process modification scenario:
• Identify hazard reintroduction risks, and
• Propose ISD countermeasures to simplify and reduce hazards.

Day 5 – ISD Implementation and Governance

 Morning Session: ISD Implementation Roadmap

• Policies and Governance Structures:
• Embedding ISD into company safety management systems.
• Defining accountabilities for ISD in project teams.
• Role of leadership in enforcing ISD principles.
• Design Reviews and Decision Gates:
• Gate reviews (Concept, FEED, Detailed Design, Commissioning.
• Embedding ISD checklists in HAZOP/LOPA/QRA studies.
• Decision-making frameworks: balancing ISD vs. engineered safeguards.
• Tools and Frameworks:
• ISD checklists for project reviews.
• Scoring systems for prioritization of ISD opportunities.
• Integration with lifecycle cost-benefit analyses.

Afternoon Session: Assurance and Continuous Improvement

• ISD Auditing & KPIs:
• Key metrics: inventory reduction, substitution achieved, simplification applied.
• Auditing ISD across project lifecycle.
• Independent verification of ISD application.
• Continuous Improvement:
• Lessons learned from global incidents where ISD failed or succeeded.
• Feedback loops into new projects (knowledge management systems).
• Final Workshop:
• Develop a 12-month ISD improvement plan for a case study plant:

1. Identify top 5 ISD interventions
2. Assign roles, responsibilities, and milestones
3. Define ISD KPIs and tracking mechanisms, and
4. Present roadmap to class for peer review.

The CDGA attendance certificate will be issued to all attendees completing a minimum of 80% of the total course duration.