From PHA to Living BowTies: Using AI to Close the Gap Between Analysis and Operations
Mariante van der Merwe of Wolters Kluwer Enablon explores one of the most important challenges in process safety: how to move risk information out of static analysis and into the daily decisions that keep people safe. With experience across process safety management, BowTie, PHA and barrier management, she focuses on how organisations can turn detailed risk studies into living, operational tools.
The presentation looks at the gap between analysis and execution, asking how information from PHA, HAZOP and LOPA studies can be translated into models that frontline teams can understand and act on. Rather than treating risk analysis as a completed document, Mariante shows how structured PHA data can be used to generate BowTies that retain a clear line of sight back to the original scenarios, safeguards and recommendations.
A key theme is the role of BowTies in making process risk more visible, practical and connected. By linking threats, consequences, preventive barriers and mitigation barriers, organisations can create a clearer picture of how major accident hazards are controlled, while supporting better communication between technical specialists, operational teams and those responsible for barrier health.
The session also considers how AI can support process safety professionals by reviewing BowTies, suggesting missing threats or barriers, and identifying where a model may appear weak or unbalanced. Importantly, AI is positioned as a support tool rather than an approval mechanism, helping experts challenge and strengthen their risk models while keeping human judgement firmly in control.
Explore the full presentation to learn how Wolters Kluwer Enablon is using AI, connected data and living BowTies to help close the gap between risk analysis and operational risk management.
