Major Accident Hazards
What is a Major Accident Hazard?
Section titled “What is a Major Accident Hazard?”Major Accident Hazards (MAHs) are the significant hazard events that industrial asset operators are most concerned with preventing — such as fires, explosions, gas releases, oil spills, or collisions. They are identified through formal hazard identification studies and form the top level of the barrier model.
A useful way to understand how MAHs relate to barriers is the bow-tie model. On the left-hand side of the bowtie are the causes or scenarios that could lead to the hazard event at the centre. On the right-hand side are the consequences that could result if the hazard occurs. Barriers are placed on both sides — preventing the hazard from occurring in the first place and mitigating its consequences if it does.
Examples relevant to the installation
Section titled “Examples relevant to the installation”The specific MAHs relevant to a facility depend on its nature and location. Common examples include:
- Fire or explosion
- Loss of Containment (LoC) with Hydrocarbon release
- Oil spill
- Structural failure
- Collision (vessel or aircraft, where applicable)
- Helicopter crash (offshore facilities)
- Cyber attack
- Unauthorised access
How MAHs are represented in BSP
Section titled “How MAHs are represented in BSP”In the BSP, barriers with one or several barrier functions are mapped to one or more Major Accident Hazards. This allows users to view the status of all protective functions relevant to a specific hazard and assess the overall level of protection in place against it.