VULNERABILITY

ASSESSMENT AND

ANALYSIS (VAA)

What is VAA?

Decision support methodology to help identify and prioritize vulnerabilities which may cause major losses.

What is VAA?

Identifies key

vulnerabilities

to deliver safe

and reliability

operations

What is VAA?

Establishes a prioritized defect

list for subsequent functional

review and remediation

What is VAA?

How does VAA work?

Based on a

Hazop style

brainstorming

approach

How does VAA work?

Involves small

groups of

engineering and

operating staff,

plus individual

interviews

How does VAA work?

Produces a

substantial

amount of

information

What’s the purpose of VAA?

To analyze, categorize, and

prioritize vulnerabilities

It takes a team

VAA uses the

perceptions, and

experience, of those

involved with

maintaining and

operating the facility

to assess and

categorize the

vulnerability of key

assets to the potential

of mal-operation or

malfunction.

And then what happens?

More detailed

information is

obtained in

subsequent

studies

FMEARCM

Fault Trees

SIL

RCALevel of

Protection Analysis

An over-arching methodology

VAA can be

used on any

process during

any phase

An integrated approach

When

vulnerabilities

are discovered

that are not

immediately

manageable

…the action

items flow into

the appropriate

secondary

methodology

Hazop, PHA, Maintainability, Spares,

Production Data,Operability,

Design Review,Availability Analysis

Team of senior representatives

e.g. design, project, operating staff

Understanding of the process under study, condition of

equipment & consequences of

failure

VAA is a blend

Typical output

Methodology

1) Pre-Assessment

2) Facilitated Assessment & Analysis

3) Post Assessment Phase

Pre-Assessment

- Identifying the VAA objectives

-Determining measures of success

- Finalizing what elements of the

methodology will be included

-Ensuring access to information

-Developing an assessment schedule

Pre-Assessment

Objectives and

measures of

success must be

tailored to the

organization

and its needs

Possible objectives could include:

- Identify all critical vulnerabilities

- Identify and rank all key assets based on a

common “vulnerability maturity matrix”

- Develop the business case for making

vulnerability reduction investments

- Enhance awareness / make VAA an

integral part of business strategy

Facilitated Assessment and Analysis

VAA starts with the

fullest description of

the system /

process and then

questions every

part of it

Post Assessment

- Ranking vulnerabilities by risk category

- Prioritizing assessment recommendations

- Developing an action plan

- Capturing lessons learned and best

practices

- Conducting periodic assessments to report

progress

Post Assessment

Risk mitigation

activities that are

low cost or result in

cost savings

should get special

attention

Post Assessment

Other vulnerabilities

might require further

assessment using

quantitative methods

in order to identify

appropriate risk

reduction actions

Deliverables

The VAA process

delivers a

comprehensive

report documenting

the study, resulting

assessment and

identified actions

Deliverables

A typical report may include:

- Visual vulnerabilities map.

- Listing system or area

- Vulnerability by category

- Prioritized action list

- Action by type

Summary

VAA is an over-

arching methodology

designed to expose

and discover

vulnerabilities across

a wide segment of

possible impacts

Summary

FMEA, Risk Assessment, HAZOP Faultree and

RCM have a purpose at design stage.

Once a facility is operating traditional

analytical methods are not as effective in

identifying vulnerabilities across different

groups and changing situations.

Summary

VAA delivers broad focus incorporating

dynamics of a production facility from all

parts of the organization, picking up

informal “work-arounds”, changes to

operating practices, changes in

equipment condition, and tribal

knowledge of people involved in day to

day activities.

About ARMS Reliability

Since 1995, ARMS Reliability has been at the forefront

of proactive asset management strategies for a range

of blue chip companies throughout the world

Through a unique blend of consulting, education and

software solutions, we enable our clients to make

better decisions to improve their reliability.

www.armsreliability.com