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The Big Picture — Functional Safety Planning

with Eloise Roche

Next session: July 28th, 2026

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Overview

Functional safety planning is more than a compliance exercise—it is the blueprint for protecting people, assets, and operations throughout the lifecycle of an instrumented protective system (IPS).  A well-crafted functional safety plan lays the groundwork for effective risk management, clear accountability, and successful execution of IPS projects.

In this session, Eloise Roche distills 35 years of process industry experience into the three key safety planning activities that can help any facility more reliably transform high-level functional safety objectives into measurable outcomes.

Is your team ready?

Come join us!

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Common Pitfalls in SIS Identification

with Eloise Roche

Next session: August 11th, 2026

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Are your risk assessment teams aware of key differences between performing a Process Hazards Analysis (PHA) and a Hazards and Risk Assessment (H&RA)? How about the gap between safeguards and protection layers? With nearly 35 years of industry experience, Eloise shares some key distinctions between these methodologies and highlights potential complications in instrumented protective system (IPS) identification that can cost your projects precious time and money if they are not avoided.

Come join us!

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Fundamentals of SIL Verification

with Angela Summers

Next session: August 12th to 13th, 2026

$1500 More Info

Overview

Fundamentals of SIL Verification is Part 2 of the PRISM IPS engineering certification program at SIS-TECH. This 2 day course is designed to provide fundamental instruction in design verification of safety integrity level (SIL) and spurious trip rate for safety instrumented functions (SIF) implemented per ISA 61511-1.  Course covers calculation methodology, failure rate data and key design parameters, including hands-on practice.

Student Materials

Attendees should bring a laptop to participate in supplemental exercises using software

Recommended Pre-reading

ISA TR84.00.02, Safety Integrity Level (SIL) Verification of Safety Instrumented Functions, Research Triangle Park, NC (2022).

  • Chapters 5-8
  • Section 11.1
  • Table F.1
  • Table G.10
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SSE+ 2.7 Demo

with Kushal Parikh

Next session: August 20th, 2026

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This webinar introduces the new features of SIL Solver Enterprise+ V2.7!

SSE+ V2.7 supports the different roles and responsibilities of personnel supporting the safety lifecycle, allowing you to control who can view or edit system data and who can add to or modify corporate-wide metadata.

SSE+ V2.7 covers the documentation requirements of IEC 61511 for safety instrumented systems and the impending requirements of ISA 84.91.03 for instrumented protection layers, such as safety interlocks, BPCS, IPL, Fire and Gas, ESD, and equipment protection.  

Key capabilities of SSE+ V2.7 include scope and hazard registries, document registry, Functional Safety Assessment (FSA), audits, process requirements specification, SIL verification, Safety Requirements Specification, Application Program Specification, and I/O lists.

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PHA Fundamentals and Facilitation

with Kedar Kottawar

Next session: August 31st to September 1st, 2026

$1500 More Info

PHA Class Overview

This course introduces the fundamentals of facilitating a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), with a strong emphasis on HAZOP methodology, facilitation skills, and practical application in process industries. It walks participants through the key elements of a PHA study, including defining scope, organizing nodes, establishing design intent, identifying deviations, evaluating causes and consequences, and assessing risk using qualitative ranking methods. The course highlights the role of the facilitator in guiding discussions, building team consensus, managing time, setting ground rules, and addressing dysfunctional team behavior to keep the study productive and focused. The training also covers how to identify safeguards, recommendations, and how to document findings in a PHA report. This course covers the fundamentals of how to facilitate a PHA during process design and execution, on operating units, and as part of a management of change review. The course includes hands on workshops to practice and reinforce key concepts.

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LOPA Fundamentals and Application

with Kedar Kottawar

Next session: September 2nd to 3rd, 2026

$1500 More Info

LOPA Class Overview

The course covers the fundamental concepts of Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) process, including initiating events, consequence severity, different risk definitions, independent protection layers (IPLs), enabling conditions, conditional modifiers, how math works, and the management processes needed to validate assumptions. Includes multiple workshops to reinforce key concepts. Attendees will gain skills to determine whether safeguards meet IPL criteria, apply appropriate risk reduction factors, and establish risk tolerance criteria aligned with industry standards.

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TÜV Rheinland Functional Safety Engineer Certification

with Eloise Roche

Next session: September 14th to 18th, 2026

$3400 More Info

This 4-day TÜV Functional Safety Engineer preparation course delivers a comprehensive, hands-on refresher on the ISA/IEC 61511 standard, equipping participants with the breadth of knowledge required for exam success.

The course goes beyond narrow expertise to provide a holistic understanding of the safety lifecycle—from hazard identification and safety requirements specification to design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS). Participants will review essential terminology, functional safety planning, and updated risk assessment approaches such as LOPA and event tree methods.

Core topics include pragmatic development of the SRS, device approval pathways, design constraints for achieving SIL targets, and mandatory assurance activities across the lifecycle. The course also emphasizes real-world practices for sustaining SIS performance in operations, including managing bypasses, compensating measures, and change management. Supplemented by engaging exercises, attendees will practice critical skills such as allocating safety functions, applying SIL verification techniques, calculating PFDavg with Boolean and Markov methods, and managing lifecycle integrity.

By combining rigorous technical content with interactive application, this course provides an engaging and practical path to mastering functional safety and preparing with confidence for the TÜV certification exam.

The detailed course outline can be found here.  4_5 day TUV

If you are renewing certification, renewal fees for TÜV Functional Safety certifications are processed separately from the standard $3,400 course tuition.  To ensure proper renewal handling, please contact Angie Fierros 713-909-2137 prior to registration.

 

 

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Plan Ahead — Designing for IPS Success and Failure

with Eloise Roche

Next session: September 22nd, 2026

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Overview

An instrumented protective system (IPS) is more than a checklist of LOPA interlocks and alarms. The real challenge? Knowing where designs break before they ever go live.

Which instrument technologies can quietly undermine high-speed protection layers? What operations and maintenance realities must be baked into the IPS during conceptual design—before they turn into expensive rework? And how do early design decisions determine whether an IPS performs reliably under real operating conditions?

Addressing these questions up front is the difference between a resilient IPS and one that struggles from day one.

With nearly 35 years of industry experience, Eloise Roche shares practical, field-tested insights to help you design IPS solutions that are robust, maintainable, and far more likely to succeed when it matters most.

Plan smarter. Design stronger.

Come join us!

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Safe Automation (16 hr Virtual)

with Eloise Roche

Next session: October 5th to 8th, 2026

$1500 More Info

Safe Automation Overview - 16 hr Virtual

Safe Automation in the Process Industry is a 16-hour virtual course designed to orient users in the principles of safe automation, including the practices and terminology used in the design and implementation of instrumented protective systems (IPS). Experienced personnel will also benefit from awareness of more recent developments in safe automation terminology, updated standards, and techniques on sharing these concepts with newer employees.

This course will introduce the key concepts and practices necessary to design and implement safe automation, including the following topics:

  • Safe Automation Lifecycle Process
  • Safe Automation Fundamentals, including Application Program, HMI, Procedure and Personnel systems
  • Instrument Justification and Alarm Management
  • Control and Safety System Hardware Selection (e.g., instrumentation, logic solvers, auxiliaries)
  • Safe Automation Metrics
  • Controlling Systematic Error in Automation Systems, including Designing for Security
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Belt and Suspenders — IPS Verification and Validation

with Eloise Roche

Next session: October 19th, 2026

Free More Info

Overview

Verification and validation often get lumped together—but in functional safety, confusing them can leave dangerous gaps in your protection layers.

They are not interchangeable. Each serves a distinct purpose, and each addresses different ways human error can quietly turn an instrumented protection layer into something ineffective—or worse, inoperable. Skip one, misunderstand the other, and the integrity of the IPS is at risk.

In this session, Eloise Roche draws on nearly 35 years of industry experience to clearly separate verification from validation, explain why both matter, and show how these complementary activities work together to deliver a truly robust IPS implementation.

Two checks. One goal. Real protection when it counts.

Come join us!