THE COURSE PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH NECESSARY BASIC SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING RISK MANAGEMENT, JUST LIKE AN ENGINEER OR CONSULTANT, WHO DEALS WITH VARIOUS SAFETY ASPECTS."
For the 12th consecutive year, Bilfinger will give Risk Management guest lectures for the Food and Process Technology students at Haagse Hogeschool in The Hague, the Netherlands. Colleagues from the External and Fire Safety team and the Process Safety team give these lectures.
Preparing future engineers and consultants for risk management
During the course, students must complete several assignments and give presentations about a biodiesel production plant, taking into consideration various safety aspects. The course provides students with necessary basic skills and knowledge concerning risk management, just like an engineer or consultant, who deals with various safety aspects.
Each lecture our consultants explain a different topic, namely process safety (HAZOP study), chemical and fire safety, and external safety (QRA and effect calculations). After interactive lectures, the students complete different assignments related to a biodiesel plant in groups. Bilfinger is one of several companies participating in this Risk Management course.
Practical workshops
HAZOP
During the Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) workshop, we provide theoretical knowledge about different risk assessment methods to the students. This will enable them to check whether the identified risks of a process are sufficiently safeguarded. Several steps are involved in a risk management process, e.g. hazard identification, risk assessment, risk prioritization, developing and implementing safeguards and monitoring effectiveness. After gaining this knowledge, students need to perform a simplified HAZOP study themselves.
Chemical and fire safety
During the chemical and fire safety workshop, students receive a brief introduction to process safety regarding toxicity, fire, explosions and release models. We explain some basic concepts regarding fire and introduce explosion types and effects. We also discuss various release models, which the students need to analyze.
External safety
During the external safety workshop, students get a brief introduction to risk management regarding Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) philosophy, QRA models (e.g., bow tie model, event tree) and QRA methodology. QRA is a systematic approach to identify risks related to catastrophic events of a hazardous installation (e.g. storage tank with a flammable or toxic chemical). The objective of QRA is to quantify toxic, fire and explosion scenarios by estimating the consequences and their frequency of occurrence. The assignment for this workshop is facility siting, which entails applying the results of several on-site effect calculations with the available modelling software.
With all different lectures and assignments, the students have a better understanding of risk management, safety studies and the different fields of expertise. For the students it is also a preview to potential future careers. As some of our lecturers are alumni of the Haagse Hogeschool themselves, it also sets an example to the students what their (yet to be achieved) degree could bring them.
It is nice to provide the students with knowledge they can apply directly into their project. With the questions and feedback of the students, the content of the lectures can be improved for the future.