We hear it all the time.

“We already know what’s critical in our operation. We don’t need a criticality analysis.”

Are you sure?

This is what we also hear and see regularly:

An ice maker in the break room being assigned the same high criticality ranking as a major piece of process equipment on a drilling rig.

A transformer blowing up because a cooling fan was on a switch that an operator turned off, allowing it to overheat and shutting down transmission of power to a neighboring state.

A surprise cold snap lasting 4 days causing an ammonia system to fail, shutting down an entire generation plant for an extended period of time.

Two vital sensors, one in service, one back-up, both failing within hours of each other, on an oil platform, in a snowstorm. The lead time to replace was months.

So, do you really know what’s critical?

 Do you have a similar story? Tell us about it.