What defines an Independent Protection Layer (IPL) in LOPA?

In Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA), an Independent Protection Layer (IPL) is defined as a safety measure that functions independently from other layers to reduce the risk associated with specific hazards. The key characteristic of an IPL is that it provides a standalone mechanism or safeguard that can effectively mitigate the potential consequences of a hazardous event without being influenced by or reliant on other protective measures present in the system.

This independence is crucial because it ensures that if one layer of protection fails, other layers can still be effective in preventing or mitigating an incident. For an IPL to be considered effective, it must provide a clear level of risk reduction and operate independently from other safety measures, ensuring that the overall safety of the process is not compromised. Thus, the definition focuses on the autonomous nature of an IPL as a critical aspect of risk management within the framework of LOPA.