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HAZOP Administration Guide

HAZOP Administration provides the foundation for a successful Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) study. Before facilitation begins, administrators must configure the study, assign participants, prepare process nodes and establish the governance needed to manage approvals and associated risk assessments.

Within the Mangan Software Solutions SLM platform, HAZOP Administration centralises study setup, participant management, session recording and approval workflows. This guide explains each stage of HAZOP Administration and how it supports efficient, repeatable HAZOP studies across your organisation.

What Is HAZOP Administration?

HAZOP Administration is the process of preparing and managing a HAZOP study before, during and after facilitation. It includes creating studies, configuring nodes, assigning participants, recording workshop sessions and managing approvals.

Good HAZOP Administration ensures studies follow a consistent structure while providing complete traceability throughout the process safety lifecycle.

  • Create HAZOP studies
  • Configure study properties
  • Manage participants
  • Record workshop sessions
  • Control approvals and governance

To learn how these administration activities support the wider study workflow, see the HAZOP Facilitation Guide.

HAZOP Administration: Creating a HAZOP Study

HAZOP Administration begins with creating a new HAZOP study. During setup, administrators define the study type, select the appropriate process unit and configure the initial study properties.

SLM allows organisations to create:

  • New HAZOP studies
  • Projects
  • HAZOP revalidations
  • Studies of record

Existing nodes and predefined process deviations can be imported automatically from the Global Module, allowing facilitators to begin the study with a consistent structure.

Configuring Nodes and Standard Deviations

Effective HAZOP Administration relies on well-defined process nodes and standard deviations. Nodes represent sections of the process, while predefined deviations provide the basis for identifying hazardous scenarios.

Administrators can configure nodes within the Global Module before the study begins, allowing them to be reused across multiple HAZOP studies.

Risk evaluation within those studies depends on an accurately configured risk matrix. Learn more in the Configuring a Risk Matrix guide.

Managing Participants in HAZOP Administration

HAZOP Administration includes assigning the multidisciplinary team responsible for completing the study. Personnel are made available from the SLM Global Module and can then be selected as study participants.

Typical participants include:

  • HAZOP facilitator
  • Process engineer
  • Operations representative
  • Maintenance specialist
  • Instrumentation engineer
  • Safety representative

Using a central personnel database helps ensure participant roles, competencies and approval authorities remain consistent across every HAZOP study.

Recording HAZOP Sessions

Each HAZOP workshop session should be recorded to provide a complete history of the study. HAZOP Administration allows administrators to document session dates, durations, attendees, facilitators, scribes and workshop comments.

Maintaining detailed session records supports:

  • Regulatory compliance
  • Audit requirements
  • Project reporting
  • Workshop traceability
  • Knowledge retention

Session records become part of the permanent HAZOP study documentation within SLM.

Linking LOPA and SIL Assessments in HAZOP Administration

Some HAZOP scenarios require further analysis using Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) or SIL determination methods. HAZOP Administration allows studies to be linked directly with related assessments.

These associations improve traceability between hazard identification and subsequent risk reduction activities while reducing duplicated data entry.

Learn more about Layer of Protection Analysis in the LOPA Facilitation Guide.

Managing HAZOP Approvals

Once HAZOP Facilitation has been completed, authorised reviewers can approve the study using the standard SLM approval workflow.

Approval management includes:

  • Assigning approvers
  • Submitting studies for approval
  • Approving or rejecting studies
  • Escalating approvals where required
  • Locking completed studies against further editing

Only personnel with the appropriate approval authority can complete this stage, ensuring robust governance and auditability.

HAZOP Administration Best Practices

Successful HAZOP Administration provides the foundation for efficient HAZOP Facilitation and consistent study governance.

  • Create standard study templates.
  • Maintain accurate personnel records.
  • Configure reusable nodes and deviations.
  • Record every workshop session.
  • Associate related LOPA and SIL studies where appropriate.
  • Complete approvals only after facilitation has finished.
  • Review study information before final sign-off.

For recognised industry guidance on HAZOP methodology and study governance, visit the AIChE Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS).

Effective HAZOP Administration improves consistency, strengthens governance and ensures every HAZOP study is fully documented from creation through approval.

If you are looking for a complete solution for managing HAZOP studies, approvals and associated process safety workflows, explore the MSS HAZOP Software.

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