Towards automation of HAZOP with a new tool EXPERTOP

An expert system has been developed for automating HAZOP (HAZard and Operability) studies. The system, EXPERTOP (EXPERT system for conducting HAZOP) is capable of performing HAZOP studies at significantly lesser costs and with better accuracy than conventional HAZOP studies. By facilitating automation of HAZOP, EXPERTOP is expected to contribute significantly to the initiatives of the chemical process and other industries in conducting risk assessment. This, in turn, would contribute to an improvement in the production efficiency and, more significantly, risk minimisation of the industries. The latter aspect has assumed ever-increasing significance because frequency of industrial accidents has been increasing over the years as has the extent of damage caused by such accidents.