Common cause failures in safety instrumented systems on oil and gas installations: Implementing defense measures through function testing

This paper presents a common cause failure (CCF) defense approach for safety instrumented systems (SIS) in the oil and gas industry. The SIS normally operates in the low demand mode, which means that regular testing and inspection are required to reveal SIS failures. The CCF defense approach comprises checklists and analytical tools which may be integrated with current approaches for function testing, inspection and follow-up. The paper focuses on how defense measures may be implemented to increase awareness of CCFs, to improve the ability to detect CCFs, and to avoid introducing new CCFs. The CCF defense approach may also be applicable for other industry sectors.