PHA Class Overview

This course introduces the fundamentals of facilitating a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), with a strong emphasis on HAZOP methodology, facilitation skills, and practical application in process industries. It walks participants through the key elements of a PHA study, including defining scope, organizing nodes, establishing design intent, identifying deviations, evaluating causes and consequences, and assessing risk using qualitative ranking methods. The course highlights the role of the facilitator in guiding discussions, building team consensus, managing time, setting ground rules, and addressing dysfunctional team behavior to keep the study productive and focused. The training also covers how to identify safeguards, recommendations, and how to document findings in a PHA report. This course covers the fundamentals of how to facilitate a PHA during process design and execution, on operating units, and as part of a management of change review. The course includes hands on workshops to practice and reinforce key concepts.

LOPA Class Overview

The course covers the fundamental concepts of Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) process, including initiating events, consequence severity, different risk definitions, independent protection layers (IPLs), enabling conditions, conditional modifiers, how math works, and the management processes needed to validate assumptions. Includes multiple workshops to reinforce key concepts. Attendees will gain skills to determine whether safeguards meet IPL criteria, apply appropriate risk reduction factors, and establish risk tolerance criteria aligned with industry standards.

This 4-day TÜV Functional Safety Engineer preparation course delivers a comprehensive, hands-on refresher on the ISA/IEC 61511 standard, equipping participants with the breadth of knowledge required for exam success.

The course goes beyond narrow expertise to provide a holistic understanding of the safety lifecycle—from hazard identification and safety requirements specification to design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS). Participants will review essential terminology, functional safety planning, and updated risk assessment approaches such as LOPA and event tree methods.

Core topics include pragmatic development of the SRS, device approval pathways, design constraints for achieving SIL targets, and mandatory assurance activities across the lifecycle. The course also emphasizes real-world practices for sustaining SIS performance in operations, including managing bypasses, compensating measures, and change management. Supplemented by engaging exercises, attendees will practice critical skills such as allocating safety functions, applying SIL verification techniques, calculating PFDavg with Boolean and Markov methods, and managing lifecycle integrity.

By combining rigorous technical content with interactive application, this course provides an engaging and practical path to mastering functional safety and preparing with confidence for the TÜV certification exam.

The detailed course outline can be found here.  4_5 day TUV

If you are a first-time student or a 10-year renewal, SIS-TECH maintains a flat course fee of $3,400 for all TÜV students.  Students renewing their 10-year TÜV certificate receive a $250 loyalty discount, applied internally by SIS-TECH.  The discount covers the additional renewal fee charged by TÜV, allowing returning students to maintain the same total course cost.

If you have any questions, contact Angie Fierros, afierros@sis-tech.com or 713-909-2137.

Overview

Fundamentals of SIL Verification is Part 2 of the PRISM IPS engineering certification program at SIS-TECH. This 2 day course is designed to provide fundamental instruction in design verification of safety integrity level (SIL) and spurious trip rate for safety instrumented functions (SIF) implemented per ISA 61511-1.  Course covers calculation methodology, failure rate data and key design parameters, including hands-on practice.

Student Materials

Attendees should bring a laptop to participate in supplemental exercises using software

Recommended Pre-reading

ISA TR84.00.02, Safety Integrity Level (SIL) Verification of Safety Instrumented Functions, Research Triangle Park, NC (2022).

• Chapters 5-8
• Section 11.1
• Table F.1
• Table G.10