HAZOP Quiz: How Well Do You Understand Hazard and Operability Studies?

April 21, 2025

HAZOP Quiz: How Well Do You Understand Hazard and Operability Studies?

HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Study) is a core technique in process safety, helping teams identify deviations, evaluate risks, and design safer operations.

This technical quiz is built for process safety engineers, PHA leaders, operations managers, and EHS professionals who want to assess their understanding of HAZOP concepts and best practices.

Whether you regularly participate in HAZOPs or are strengthening your knowledge, this quiz will challenge your thinking and highlight important risk management strategies.

QUICK QUIZ: HAZOP KNOWLEDGE CHECK

Think you're ready to tackle process risks?

Take our 10-question HAZOP Quiz and challenge your understanding of deviation analysis, guideword application, cause-consequence relationships, and safeguards evaluation.

1 / 10

When identifying causes during a HAZOP, failure of a pressure transmitter should be considered a valid cause for a deviation like "High Pressure," even if redundant transmitters are installed.

True

False

2 / 10

You are studying a chemical reactor system. For the guideword "More," the team discusses “More Reaction Rate.” Which of the following could be a valid cause identified in HAZOP?

Lower catalyst concentration

Lower reactant concentration

Higher reactor feed temperature

Reduced residence time

3 / 10

In a HAZOP, two causes lead to the same deviation (“No Flow”): one cause has a high likelihood but minor consequences, the other a very low likelihood but severe consequences. According to good HAZOP practice, what should the team do?

Prioritize only the high-likelihood event

Recommend safeguards only for the severe-consequence cause

Evaluate and address both causes separately

Combine both causes into one recommendation for efficiency

4 / 10

A HAZOP team applies the guideword “More Temperature” to a distillation column reboiler system. Which secondary deviation should the team also anticipate further up the process?

Increased vapor flow rate

Reduced overhead purity

No feed to the reboiler

Reverse flow in the condenser

5 / 10

When assessing the deviation "Low Pressure" in a vessel with inert gas blanketing, which of the following is the most critical hazard the HAZOP team should consider?

Equipment overpressure leading to rupture

Air ingress causing a flammable atmosphere

Loss of cooling leading to overheating

Pump cavitation downstream

6 / 10

When applying the guideword “Reverse” to a flow system during HAZOP, which scenario would you be analyzing?

No flow through the system

Flow moving opposite to design direction

Increased pressure buildup

Decrease in flow rate

7 / 10

The node selection in a HAZOP study should always match the P&ID boundaries without exception.

True

False

8 / 10

Which type of safeguard is LEAST preferred when recommending mitigations in HAZOP?

Automatic interlocks

Procedural controls (operator action)

Passive engineered controls

Pressure relief devices

9 / 10

When conducting a HAZOP for a batch process, how should the study team handle multiple operating modes (e.g., charging, mixing, heating)?

Study only the steady-state mode

Focus only on the highest-risk step

Perform separate HAZOPs for each operating mode

Combine all steps into one node analysis

10 / 10

In a HAZOP study, what does the term 'deviation' specifically refer to?

A failure of equipment

A departure from intended design or operation

A complete loss of process control

A hazard leading to an incident

Quick Quiz: HAZOP Knowledge Check