Our MD Dil Wetherill is a frequent speaker at conferences on the subject of Functional Safety. In March 2017 Dil gave a talk at the Hazardex Conference on legacy systems asking - are they really providing the risk reduction that they should?
Dil suggested that many legacy systems in UK process plants may not be compliant and providing the risk reduction that they should. They may have either have been installed before the development of IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 or may have never been made compliant even if introduced later.
The presentation referenced guidance from HSE / CDOIF and over-layed this with practical, real-life experience of carrying out installed system reviews with end-users.
It was proposed that all “installed systems”, however old they may be, and irrespective of what standards and procedures were followed at the time of installation should be considering Functional Safety.
Are you reviewing your legacy Systems?
Is your safety system providing enough and do you have the systems in place to make sure it keeps providing it? Answering these questions is not so easy when documentation may be lost or not fit for purpose and when older systems may have evolved so that they are now combination of pneumatic, hydraulic and programmable electronic technologies.
If you have a similar issue please call us and we will advise on what action you should take.
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