Handbook : Unit informationEdith Cowan University

Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science

School: Engineering

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

• Unit Title

  Environmental and Process Risk Management

• Unit Code

  ENS5161

• Year

  2015

• Enrolment Period

  1

• Version

  1

• Credit Points

  15

• Full Year Unit

  N

• Mode of Delivery

  On Campus
  

---

Description

This unit introduces students to the preliminary planning phase of an industrial development, taking into account safety to workers and the surrounding community, and the broader environmental and social impact of the development. The broad environmental and social issues relevant to planning the location, technology, size and layout of a process, plant or development, incorporating the relevant risk assessment methodologies and compliance with relevant risk and environmental legislation will be considered. Incorporation of the broader issues of sustainability and environmental impact in the design of processes and infrastructure using techniques such as environmental costing, quantitative technical, human & ecological risk assessment and social impact analysis will be emphasised.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Apply and review a range of physical effects (fire, explosion, toxic release, noise) and relevant vulnerability models to assess consequences from acute system and human failures and also chronic emissions.
2. Apply hazard identification methods, such as HAZOP and FMEA, to process designs and evaluate the outcomes.
3. Calculate and assess qualitative and quantitative risk estimates for a range of risk receptors (people, plant, environment, business etc.).
4. Communicate to both a general and a technically competent audience all human and environmental impacts for a proposed development in the format of a written Environmental Impact Statement, as well as an oral presentation as part of an engineering team.
5. Compute and assess the likelihood or frequency of major accident events using failure data and/or Fault Tree and Event Tree methodologies.
6. Demonstrate knowledge of the standards and regulatory frameworks that govern industrial and environmental risk management.
7. Devise and justify decisions to ensure risks are As Low As Reasonably Possible (ALARP).
8. Explain and use the concepts of hazard and risk in the contexts of process design and operations, and environmental impacts.

Unit Content

1. Application of risk control measures to drive risks to ALARP.
2. Approaches to risk treatment in the process industries: role of reliability, redundancy, defence in depth, safety instrumented systems and emergency response.
3. Environmental impact statements (EIS), their utility and construction.
4. Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) and its application to simple systems.
5. Risk acceptance criteria and their application in decision making.
6. Risk management methodologies (e.g. AS31000) that include hazard identification, consequence and frequency analysis, risk analysis and assessment.
7. Risk treatment and the risk reduction hierarchy, and the concept of ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Possible).
8. The societal and industrial context of risk management. Why risk is important and the associated legislative and regulatory frameworks currently in place. The dimensions of risk.
9. Use of hazard identification methodologies such as HAZOP, FMEA or Concept Hazard Analysis.
10. Use of modelling in consequence analysis applied to fire, explosion, toxic releases and their impact on vulnerable resources, via vulnerability models.

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures, tutorials and group based project work.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant Board of Examiners.

^ Mandatory to Pass

Text References

• ^ Cameron, I.T. & Raman, R. (2005). Process systems risk management. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
• Sutton, I. (2010). Process risk and reliability management: Operational integrity management. Oxford, England: Elsevier.
• Ramaswami, A., Milford, J.B., & Small, M.J. (2005). Integrated environmental modeling: Pollutant transport, fate, and risk in the environment. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley.
• Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council. (2000). Australian and New Zealand guidelines for fresh and marine water quality. Australian Government: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.
• Lundgren, R.E., & McMakinm A.H. (2009). Risk communication: A handbook for communicating environmental, safety, and health risks (4th ed.). New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley.

^ Mandatory reference

---