Process Safety & Compliance Consultancy Services for High-Hazard Industries
PROCESS SAFETY & COMPLIANCE CONSULTANTS
Process Safety Support Across
the Asset Lifecycle
IDEA provides tailored support to clients in highly regulated and high-hazard industries across the Process Safety Lifecycle. We have the proven capability to deliver both integrated and targeted process safety, functional safety and asset integrity support to projects, operations and Safety, Health & Quality (SHQ) teams in chemicals, distilled spirits, food and drink, biotechnology, life sciences, renewables and energy sectors.
Our work spans projects across the UK’s major industrial regions including Teesside, the Humber, Central Scotland (Grangemouth), North West England and the South East, as well as distilling regions such as Speyside, Islay and the Highlands.
What Process Safety & Compliance Involves
Process safety and compliance focus on ensuring that major accident hazards are:
- Identified and understood
- Assessed using structured methodologies
- Controlled through appropriate safeguards
- Managed consistently over time
This includes both technical measures (engineering design, protection systems) and organisational controls (procedures, governance, training).
An Integrated, Multidisciplinary Approach
Safe and compliant processes are not delivered by specialists operating in isolation. They are built on firm, multidisciplinary foundations.
IDEA combines process safety expertise with mechanical, piping, EC&I and functional safety capabilities to deliver integrated solutions. This approach allows us to understand how hazards, safeguards, operations and maintenance interact in practice, and to provide advice that is both technically robust and operationally realistic.
Core Process Safety & Compliance Services
Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment
Structured identification and assessment of hazards using recognised techniques:
- HAZID, HAZOP and LOPA
- Risk matrices and consequence analysis
- Identification of safeguards and protection layers
Process Safety Management (PSM) Audits & Reviews
Independent review of process safety systems, governance and assurance arrangements:
- Leadership, accountability and system effectiveness
- Gap analysis against recognised good practice
- Prioritised actions and improvement roadmap
DSEAR & Hazardous Area Classification
Assessment and control of fire and explosion risks:
- Identification of dangerous substances
- Hazardous area classification
- Ignition risk management
- Equipment suitability for ATEX
Functional Safety Assessment & Design
Management of Safety Instrumented Systems across the lifecycle:
- SIL determination and verification
- Safety Requirement Specifications
- Functional Safety Assessments
- Proof testing and lifecycle support
In high-hazard industries, compliance alone does not guarantee safety. Major accidents typically arise from weaknesses in decision-making, interfaces between disciplines, degraded controls or changes that are not fully understood.
Process safety and compliance therefore focus on:
- Understanding credible major accident hazards
- Selecting and maintaining appropriate safeguards
- Demonstrating that risks are controlled to ALARP
- Ensuring systems remain effective as assets, organisations and operations change
A lifecycle approach is essential to achieving this in practice.
Process safety and compliance activities evolve as a project or facility moves through its lifecycle.
Across the lifecycle, this typically includes:
Concept & Design
- Inherent safety reviews
- Hazard Identification (HAZID)
- PRA / Hazard Study 1 and 2
- Layout and routing considerations
- Control and automation strategy
Design & Definition
- HAZOP Studies and Hazard Study 3
- Risk matrices and tolerability assessment
- LOPA and consequence analysis
- DSEAR assessments and hazardous area classification
- Safety requirements specification and SIS design
Construction & Commissioning
- P&ID checks and walkdowns
- Pre-start-up safety reviews
- Commissioning and SATs
- Functional safety verification and testing
Operation & Maintenance
- Process Safety Management (PSM) systems
- Periodic safety and compliance audits
- Asset integrity and inspection reviews
- Maintenance proof testing
- Learning from incidents and change
Modification and Change
- Management of Change (MoC)
- Targeted hazard studies
- Reassessment of safeguards
- Update of risk profile
This lifecycle perspective ensures that process safety does not degrade over time.
Process safety support is provided across:
- Chemical manufacturing – North East, Manchester, Teesside, Humber, Runcorn, Grangemouth
- Distilleries & Packaging Sites – Speyside, Islay, Highlands, Central Belt – Glasgow & Edinburgh
- Life sciences and pharmaceuticals – Cambridge, Oxford, London
- Energy and infrastructure – Aberdeen, South Wales, Thames Estuary
This experience supports alignment with regional infrastructure, regulatory expectations and operational constraints.
In addition to consultancy services, IDEA delivers tailored training to help client teams maintain safe operations and act effectively in an intelligent customer role.
Training is designed to reinforce understanding of hazards, controls and responsibilities, and to strengthen long-term capability within client organisations.
Our process safety and compliance support typically delivers:
- Improved understanding of major accident hazards
- Clear, defensible ALARP demonstrations
- Stronger governance and assurance
- Reduced regulatory risk
- Targeted investment where it delivers most benefit
- Improved safety, reliability and maintainability
How IDEA Supports Clients
IDEA provides both integrated lifecycle support and targeted technical services, depending on client needs.
Our approach:
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to questions you may have about our services
Process safety focuses on preventing major accident hazards involving hazardous substances and energy. Occupational safety relates to individual health and safety risks such as slips, trips and manual handling.
No. Process safety principles apply wherever hazardous substances or energy are present, even below regulatory thresholds.
Compliance is necessary, but not sufficient. Effective process safety requires ongoing understanding of hazards, safeguards and how systems perform in practice.
Process safety should be considered from the earliest stages, including feasibility and concept design, to influence safer and more cost-effective decisions.
OUR WORK
Featured Case Studies
Major Project Process Safety Studies
A distilled spirits producer engaged IDEA to provide process safety support for a major site change, relocating production to a new area within the site and expanding operations with new equipment.
Kegging HAZOP: Antibiotic Powder Handling
Site-Wide DSEAR and HAC Assessment
Delivered a site-wide DSEAR risk assessment and Hazardous Area Classification study at a mechanical separation facility for a waste recycling operator.
CONTACT US
Talk to our Process Safety Team
If you are looking to strengthen process safety and compliance across your operations or projects, or want to understand which activities are most relevant to your current lifecycle stage, we can review your needs and advise on proportionate next steps.