OT Glossary

Hazard and operability study

A structured approach for examining a process or system to identify potential hazards and operability problems. In industrial contexts, a HAZOP is done by a team brainstorming “what if” scenarios for each part of a process (e.g. “What if valve X fails closed?”) to foresee what could go wrong. While HAZOP itself is a process safety technique (ensuring the process is designed safely), it’s increasingly being adapted to consider cybersecurity (e.g. what if a hacker did X).