ISA TR84.00.03-2002

Testing considerations of SIF should be included in most of the Safety Lifecycle steps described in ANSI/ISA-84.01-1996. Testing frequency is a part of the determination of Safety Integrity Level (SIL) for the SIF. Provision for conducting tests must be included in the selection of equipment and design of the SIF and the Pre-Startup Acceptance Test (PSAT) is an integral part of ensuring the SIF will provide the risk reduction necessary. When modifications are made to SIF, testing can validate that appropriate SIF action will still take place.

This technical report is an informative document providing guidance on performing testing of SIF components and systems that will help achieve full safety benefits of the SIF in the most cost-effective way. Both manual and automated techniques are presented for off-line and on-line testing of SIF and the benefits of each technique described. Existing techniques and proposed new techniques will be described. Utilizing the techniques described in conjunction with an overall safety management program will allow users to meet the testing requirements of ANSI/ISA-84.01-1996 and dIEC 61511. Techniques are described for testing all elements of the SIF including field sensors, final control elements, logic solvers (signal conversion modules included), Human Machine Interface (HMI), communication links with other systems, user application software, and other required auxiliaries such as power. Suggested inspection techniques for regular observation of equipment and components to detect potential problems are also presented.

The techniques described can also be used for testing burner management systems in conjunction with the NFPA 85 code.

These techniques are illustrated by the examples given in Annexes A-MM. Each Annex is an example of how one company might apply a given technique, and is not intended to represent a consensus solution within the process industry.