Unrecognized scenarios
Hazard studies that are rushed, poorly scoped or never revalidated leave credible failure scenarios undiscovered.
Process safety engineering & consulting
Find the hazards. Prove the safeguards. Prevent the incident.
Aetso Technical helps industrial operators identify process hazards, evaluate risk and strengthen the safeguards that stand between normal operation and a fire, explosion or toxic release.
- PHA, HAZOP & LOPA
- OSHA PSM & EPA RMP
- Functional safety & SIS
- Nationwide, from Chicago
Proven in demanding environmentsOur team's experience includes U.S. chemical agent destruction facilities.
What we solve
Most serious process incidents trace back to a handful of familiar gaps
Investigations of major accidents repeatedly find hazards that were never analyzed, safeguards that existed only on paper, and changes that bypassed review. Our work is aimed squarely at those gaps.
Unverified safeguards
Interlocks, relief devices and alarms credited in studies but not designed, tested or maintained to justify that credit.
Programs that drift
PSM and RMP programs that satisfy an audit checklist yet no longer reflect how the plant actually operates.
Changes that slip through
Equipment, chemistry, staffing and procedure changes that alter risk without a structured management-of-change review.
Services
Process safety across the full lifecycle
From the first hazard review on a new design to audits and investigations decades into operation, our services connect so the output of one study becomes reliable input to the next.
Hazard & Risk Analysis
Process Hazard Analysis (PHA)
Structured HAZOP, HAZID, What-If and checklist studies, facilitated and documented to identify hazardous scenarios and evaluate safeguards.
LOPA & Risk Assessment
Layer of Protection Analysis, bowtie analysis and risk ranking to determine whether safeguards provide enough risk reduction.
Consequence Analysis, QRA & Facility Siting
Release, fire, explosion and toxic consequence modeling, quantitative risk assessment and building siting evaluations.
Combustible Dust & Reactive Chemical Hazards
Dust hazard analyses and chemical reactivity hazard reviews, including interpretation of laboratory test data.
Programs & Compliance
Process Safety Management (PSM)
Development, gap assessment and improvement of PSM programs covering all 14 elements of OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119.
EPA Risk Management Program (RMP)
RMP applicability, hazard assessments, prevention and emergency response programs, and plan updates under 40 CFR Part 68.
Mechanical Integrity
Mechanical integrity program design and assessment: equipment lists, inspection and test planning, procedures and deficiency management.
Audits & Incident Investigation
PSM/RMP compliance audits, program effectiveness reviews and structured incident and near-miss investigations.
Engineering & Capability
Functional Safety & Safety Instrumented Systems
Safety lifecycle support under IEC 61511 / ISA 61511: SIL targeting, SRS development, SIL verification, proof testing, alarms and F&G.
Pressure Relief System Engineering
Relief scenario identification, device sizing and verification, inlet and outlet hydraulics, and flare and vent system evaluation.
Engineering & Implementation Support
Process safety information, PHA recommendation resolution, MOC and PSSR support, and project process safety reviews.
Process Safety Training
Practical courses for operators, engineers and managers: PSM fundamentals, PHA participation and leadership, LOPA, MOC and PSSR.
Our approach
Identify. Evaluate. Protect. Sustain. Learn.
Process safety is not a single study — it is a loop. We structure our work around the same cycle that sits at the heart of good practice guidance from the Center for Chemical Process Safety and of OSHA's PSM standard.
- Identify hazards
Process hazard analysis, HAZID, dust and reactivity screening.
- Evaluate risk
LOPA, bowtie, consequence modeling and QRA against defined risk criteria.
- Protect
Safety instrumented systems, relief systems and engineered safeguards that earn their credit.
- Sustain
PSM and RMP programs, mechanical integrity, MOC and training that keep safeguards effective.
- Learn
Audits and incident investigations that feed lessons back into design and operation.
Experience
Experience where the margin for error is smallest
Members of our team have worked on facilities ranging from chemical weapons destruction plants to coal gasification power generation, carbon capture and long-distance crude oil transport.
Chemical agent destruction
U.S. Army chemical weapons destruction facilities in Kentucky, Colorado, Utah and Indiana.
Power & energy transition
Integrated gasification combined cycle generation and post-combustion carbon capture.
Pipelines
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, one of the world's best-known crude oil pipelines.
Why Aetso Technical
Engineering rigor, delivered practically
Engineering-led
Studies are led by engineers who understand process design, instrumentation and operations — not just the methodology.
Recommendations you can act on
Every recommendation states the risk it addresses and what "done" looks like, so it can be resolved and verified.
Candid and independent
We report what we find, with the evidence behind it. Our value is an honest view of your risk, not a clean report.
Regulatory fluency
Working knowledge of OSHA PSM, EPA RMP and the consensus standards they rely on — including rules currently in flux.
Lifecycle continuity
Hazard studies, LOPA, SIS and mechanical integrity are handled consistently, so assumptions carry through correctly.
Nationwide reach
Headquartered in Chicago and supporting facilities across the United States, on site or through remote facilitation.
Industries
Supporting process-intensive industries
We support facilities that handle highly hazardous chemicals, flammable materials, combustible dusts and high-energy processes.
- Chemicals & specialty chemicals
- Petroleum refining & petrochemicals
- Oil & gas and pipelines
- Power generation & carbon capture
- Pharmaceuticals & life sciences
- Food, beverage & ammonia refrigeration
- Government & defense facilities
- Terminals, storage & manufacturing
Knowledge Center
Technical insight, written plainly
Original articles on the methods and regulations that shape process safety work.
HAZOP Explained: Nodes, Guidewords and Deviations
How a hazard and operability study works, what makes a good node, and how to keep a HAZOP productive.
LOPA Fundamentals: Scenarios, IPLs and Risk Targets
A plain-language walkthrough of Layer of Protection Analysis and the rules that make an IPL credible.
Does OSHA PSM Apply to Your Facility?
The applicability tests in 29 CFR 1910.119, common exemptions and how PSM relates to EPA's RMP rule.
Discuss your process safety needs
Whether you are planning a PHA revalidation, facing a compliance gap or designing a new unit, we can help you scope the right work.