AIChE monographs are a library of technical publications produced by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and its Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS). Since the 1980s, CCPS has published over 100 “Guidelines” volumes covering hazard evaluation, quantitative risk analysis, layer of protection analysis, and risk-based process safety — widely used as authoritative references across the chemical and petrochemical industries.
These monographs represent industry consensus, and are routinely cited by regulators and auditors as the benchmark for good engineering practice. AIChE also publishes monographs on occupational health and facility biosafety — including COVID-19 guidance on indoor air quality and HVAC — which extend the library beyond traditional process safety into broader occupational and environmental health topics.
Key Points
- Core CCPS titles include various guidelines that directly support IEC 61511 lifecycle.
- Guidelines for Hazard Evaluation Procedures,
- Guidelines for Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis, Layer of Protection Analysis: Simplified Process Risk Assessment, and
- Guidelines for Risk Based Process Safety
- These monographs are not legal requirements but are widely accepted by regulators and auditors as the benchmark for what constitutes good engineering practice in process safety, and are frequently cited in audits and incident investigations.
- Beyond process safety, AIChE publishes monographs covering occupational health, bioprocessing, and facility safety.
Example
A process safety engineer references the CCPS monograph Layer of Protection Analysis: Simplified Process Risk Assessment to assign initiating event frequencies and validate independent protection layer credits during a LOPA study, using the monograph’s published frequency tables and credit values as the basis for SIL determination.
See Also: LOPA, process hazard analysis (PHA), QRA
Cited Sources
- Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), Guidelines for Chemical Process Quantitative Risk Analysis, 2nd Ed. — AIChE/CCPS
- AIChE Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS)