Correlation between a fire risk assessment for industrial applications and Velociraptor management in Jurassic Park

If adequate time is not set aside to stop, think, define, and manage fire hazards and risks, much like with Velociraptors, then rational application of protection regulations and solutions can become subject to factors such as budget restraints and implementation schedule impact.

In an industry where technology is developing at an exponential rate, a trend has emerged where development is outpacing considerations for various project management, operational, and safety risks.  Unfortunately, safety legislation and regulations are not being developed or updated at the same rate, leading to their applications being increasingly inconsistent and subjective. A good example of this are the fire risks associated with lithium-ion batteries in large energy storage systems (ESS).

This brings to mind the famous quote from Dr. Ian Malcolm in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

If adequate time is not set aside to stop, think, define, and manage fire hazards and risks, much like with Velociraptors, then rational application of protection regulations and solutions can become subject to factors such as budget restraints and implementation schedule impact. While these factors are important considerations and are key elements during the value engineering phase, they should not be the driving factors during risk analysis and scope definition.

Fortunately, tools have been developed to govern and guide this process through qualitative and quantitative measures to help define and manage any metaphorical Velociraptors. One such tool for risk scope definition is a fire risk assessment.

What is a fire risk assessment?

A fire risk assessment is a structured process and systematic technique for examining processes, equipment, structures or buildings, and the use thereof, with the objective of identifying potential fire hazards. The identified hazards are analyzed on a qualitative basis using risk criteria to develop a specific risk rating for each hazard.

A fire risk assessment is a very powerful tool, which if used correctly, will ensure that all the available and relevant information is used and considered to quantify the risks and define the fire mitigation, detection, and protection scope. This tool is very versatile in that it can be used for existing or new facilities and equipment.

Why is a fire risk assessment necessary?

Various regulatory and non-regulatory stakeholders provide fire safety objectives that clients must comply with for legal and commercial reasons. These objectives prioritize property, operational, or life safety, or a combination of these elements. The objectives typically fall into three groups:   building regulatory, other regulatory, and non-regulatory. The building regulatory fire safety objectives are set by national, provincial, and local legislation, and building codes. The other regulatory and non-regulatory fire safety objectives are typically outlined in the client’s own specifications and standards or by their risk insurers.

The challenge lies with the following conundrum: fire protection building regulatory requirements are very well-defined for the commercial sector, but are not clear for the industrial sector, which often includes specialized applications. This creates an issue where a client is responsible for profitable operations and personnel safety while managing unique risks with undefined guidelines and/or inadequate regulations. To use an example from Jurassic Park, it would be like having structural design requirements for the Client Center stipulated by the well-defined occupancy classification in the building code, but no building code section or occupancy classification for a Velociraptor paddock.

The solution for special fire risks lies in the use of a fire risk assessment for the identification of the applicable hazards and analyzing these hazards to calculate specific risks to define a mitigation and protection scope. The defined scope of work aims to use the as low as reasonably practical (ALARP) principle for a solution that satisfies all the fire safety objectives from the relevant stakeholders.

Hatch’s approach to empowering clients to prevent and manage collateral damage from Velociraptor escape

At Hatch we have a dedicated fire engineering team with experience and expertise across multiple industries and commodity sectors. We set ourselves apart by doing a quantitative analysis of the various identified fire hazards by researching failure probabilities from equipment, industry, and historical failure data. This quantitative analysis is captured in a baseline fire risk assessment document for collaboration with the client and relevant subject matter experts in a qualitative exercise for a final solution.

Hatch’s process ensures the final fire risk assessment outcome and fire protection scope is objectively based while incorporating all the relevant stakeholders’ requirements according to the ALARP principle.

This process can be done at various project development phases, and iteratively updated in subsequent phases. It is, however, recommended that the relevant parties be engaged at the feasibility phase so that the approved fire protection scope can be proactively included in the holistic design and development of the project, which prevents reactive additions and updates. This saves the client time and money during design phases and enables pre-emptive execution planning.

This is how to actively go about identifying and addressing a Velociraptor-level risk to ensure the profitable and safe operation of any venture.

Contact us today to find out how this tool and our services can be implemented, for your new and existing projects, to help define and manage stalking Velociraptors.