Process safety system market to grow to $2.5 billion by 2012

Dedham, Mass. – The market for safety instrumented systems (SIS) will continue its strong growth pattern for the rest of the year, says a new study. But will the North American economic downturn slow that growth in the next few years?

According to a new ARC Advisory Group study, “Process Safety System Worldwide Outlook – Market Analysis and Forecast Through 2012,” the worldwide market, which was around $1.4 billion in 2007, is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 12 per cent per year to more than $2.5 billion in 2012. However, the study also found that due to the downturn of the economy in North America, the growth rate will be somewhat tempered in subsequent years.
“The safety system market has experienced unprecedented growth for the last two years,” says ARC Vice President Asish Ghosh, the principal author of the study. “Increased demand for oil and gas due to the economic growth of China and India along with the high price of crude oil is fueling investments in oil and gas production and in refining, leading to increased demand for safety systems.”
Why the increase in demand? The study points to greater awareness of safety standards, such as IEC 61508, IEC 61511 and ANSI/ISA-84 and global environmental awareness as reasons, as well as some high profile industrial accidents, such as in the BP Texas refinery in the USA and in the Buncefield terminal in the UK.  
The study also found that all major safety standards have specified safety lifecycles, which show considerable similarities, differing only in the details. The safety lifecycle, specified by the IEC 61511 standard, shows a systematic approach to safety starting from a hazard and risk analysis to implementation of the safety system and finally to its decommissioning. With the increased awareness in safety standards, the demand for software that helps in managing the safety lifecycle is growing rapidly.