Peter Clarke

Peter Clarke

Trainer

Tell us about yourself

Originally from a chemistry background, I worked in biotech R&D for 5 years before spending 3 years in the UK fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industry in process and safety management roles. Subsequently, I moved into safety consultancy, where I gained extensive experience in process risk management in oil & gas, petrochemical and energy. I’ve directed a considerable number of HAZOP, SIL selection, LOPA and alarm management studies, in addition to Safety Case, Fault Tree, ALARP and HAZID.

I’ve also spent 3 years at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, lecturing and leading workshops in language and business communication skills.

I’m also the founder and Managing Director of xSeriCon, a consultancy and software firm based in Hong Kong. xSeriCon specialises in Process Hazards Analysis and functional safety.

I hold the Certified Functional Safety Expert (CFSE) certificate, as well as a professional qualification in Occupational Safety & Health, and am a Chartered Chemist.

Where do you work?

Home office.

What are your main areas of expertise?

Industry: Oil & gas, petrochemical, chemical, pharmaceutical, energy

Disciplines: Process safety, process hazards analysis, risk assessment, functional safety, alarm management

What does your role involve?

My role at TÜV SÜD involves leading functional safety training courses for clients and updating the course materials.

Beyond delivering training I also execute process hazards analysis studies, develop and deliver process safety training, and develop software for process hazards analysis.

What most excites you about your role?

Training is a delight because of the wide-ranging backgrounds, needs and expectations of the course participants. Each course must be adjusted as it progresses to give each participant the best possible learning outcomes based on their individual needs.

What future trends do you see developing in your area of work?

Online training is clearly here to stay, but the learning experience still doesn’t match that of a live classroom.

What is your biggest challenge?

Meeting industry’s conflicting demands for ever greater efficiency at lower cost, while maintaining and enhancing the quality of Process Hazards Analysis in order to sustain the downward trend in the accident rate and improve asset availability.

ADDITIONAL INFO

Papers, research, work published in industry publications, patents, etc.

Books and book chapters

• Functional Safety from Scratch, Elsevier, 2023.
• Practice Questions for Functional Safety Examinations, 2 volumes, xSeriCon, 2021.
• A New Approach to HAZOP of Complex Chemical Processes, Elsevier, 2023, section 3.6 (on CHAZOP).

Journal papers and articles

• Setting the Standard, article on benefits of complying with IEC 61511, Control Engineering Asia, May 2011, cover story.
• Using Alarms as a Layer of Protection, 8th Global Congress on Process Safety, Houston, TX, USA, 2012, paper co-authored with Todd Stauffer.
• SIL without Slips, article on avoiding common errors associated with IEC 61511, Control Engineering Asia, May 2012, cover story.

Webinars

I have presented many webinars on subjects including:

• Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
• CHAZOP (Control Systems HAZOP)
• SIL Verification
• Validation & verification
• Understanding and sourcing hardware failure rates
• Functional Safety Assessment
• Alarm Management
• Failure rate data
• Operations and maintenance of functional safety systems
• Preparing for Functional Safety Assessment
• Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
• SIF proof testing

White papers

I’ve previously written white papers on:

• CHAZOP (Control Systems HAZOP)
• Systematic failures of functional safety systems
• Safe failure fraction calculation for valves

PODCASTS

My podcasts are available on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify (search: xSeriCon).

Subjects covered:

• Spreading the process safety message in your plant
• CHAZOP (Control Systems HAZOP)

Have you presented at any industry events?

Conference presentations

• Optimising proof testing of functional safety systems, presented at 10th RAMS conference, Kuala Lumpur, September 2017.
• Maximising the value of a functional safety management plan, 3-hour workshop presented at 10th RAMS conference, Kuala Lumpur, September 2017.
• When trust breaks down: achieving functional safety in an atmosphere of animosity, presented at SIL Determination seminar, IET, London, December 2016.
• Assessing risk of control system failure, paper on CHAZOP, presented at 9th RAMS Asia conference, April 2016.
• Smarter SIL selection saves money, paper presented at Hazards Asia Pacific conference, April 2015.
• Joined-up PSM, paper on integrated PHA methodologies, presented at Hazards Asia Pacific conference, April 2015.
• Proactive minimization of systematic failures in safety instrumented systems, paper presented at Hazards Asia Pacific conference, April 2013.

Want to learn more about our training courses?

Find out more about our full range of training courses which includes functional safety courses, machinery safety, cybersecurity and EMC and EMF safety training.