Layerisk
Opening for assignments in 2027 · Antwerp, Belgium

Technical safety, fire, explosion and compliance engineering, from plant to product

Independent technical safety for process plants, equipment manufacturers and technology developers. Safety measures sized to the real risk, and documented so they hold up with authorities, insurers and notified bodies.

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One team across the whole safety question.

19+years in technical safety
50+EPC projects
5regulatory frameworks covered

A hazardous area drawing, a skid's ATEX file and a QRA for the plant it sits in are usually done by three different parties who never compare notes. Layerisk works across all of them, process safety, equipment compliance and regulation, so the assumptions in one study match the next, and nothing is designed twice.

For EPC contractors, engineering firms and owners

New plants & EPC projects

Technical safety deliverables for greenfield and brownfield projects in chemicals, petrochemicals, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals and hydrogen, delivered as part of your project team.

  • Technical safety philosophies and safety concept
  • HAZID, HAZOP, LOPA and SIL assessment
  • Hazardous area classification and zoning drawings
  • Active and passive fire protection design
  • Firewater demand and hydraulic calculations
  • Fire and gas detection philosophy and mapping
  • Layout, spacing and escape route reviews
  • Relief, flare, ESD and depressurisation studies
  • Consequence modelling, QRA and building siting
  • Vendor document review and technical bid evaluation
For plant operators and site safety teams

Operating plants

Support through modifications, revamps, permit renewals and audits, with practical recommendations that fit an existing plant rather than a blank sheet.

  • PHA revalidation and management-of-change reviews
  • Explosion protection document support (ATEX 1999/92/EC)
  • Fire protection assessments and upgrade studies
  • Fire and gas detection coverage audits
  • Technical studies for Seveso safety reports, with recognised VR experts
  • Consequence and risk studies for environmental permits
  • Incident investigation support
  • Owner's engineer and independent peer review
For manufacturers of skids, containerised units and packaged equipment

Machinery & product compliance

The EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies from 20 January 2027. We help equipment builders handling flammable gases, liquids and dusts get the safety concept and the evidence right before CE marking.

  • Risk assessment under the Machinery Regulation
  • ATEX equipment conformity support (2014/34/EU)
  • Ignition hazard assessment (EN ISO 80079-36)
  • Internal zoning and ventilation of enclosures
  • Gas detection and safe shutdown concepts
  • Technical file input, coordinated with notified bodies
  • Hydrogen and fuel cell standards: ISO 22734, IEC 62282, NFPA 2
For developers of electrolysers, fuel cells, battery storage and new process units

Technology developers

New technologies raise questions that no prescriptive standard answers yet. We quantify the hazard, test the safeguards and give you a defensible basis for design and approval. These studies are delivered under our Deflagra service line.

  • Quantitative risk assessment of containerised and indoor units
  • Internal explosions in vessels, reactors and enclosures
  • Overpressure, fragment and safety distance analysis
  • Vent stack dispersion and ignition studies
  • Explosion venting design (EN 14994, NFPA 68)
  • CFD dispersion and gas detector placement verification
For operators, manufacturers, investors and insurers

Regulatory compliance

Safety legislation in Europe is changing: the Machinery Regulation applies from January 2027, and new technologies keep running ahead of the standards. We translate the rules into concrete technical requirements and show, with evidence, where you stand.

  • Compliance gap assessments for plants and equipment
  • Seveso III technical support studies, with recognised VR experts
  • ATEX compliance for workplaces (1999/92/EC) and equipment (2014/34/EU)
  • Machinery Regulation 2027 readiness reviews
  • Pressure Equipment Directive safety input
  • CLP and REACH hazard data review for safety studies
  • Technical due diligence for acquisitions and insurers
  • Standards gap analysis for new technologies

Core disciplines

The same set of methods, applied at the scale the question needs: a single enclosure, a production line or a whole site.

Process hazard analysis

HAZID, HAZOP, What-If, FMEA and bow-tie workshops, facilitated and reported.

Hazardous area classification

Gas and dust zoning to IEC 60079-10-1/-2 and EN 60079 series, with release and ventilation calculations.

Fire protection engineering

Deluge, sprinkler, foam, water mist and gaseous systems; passive fire protection and fireproofing.

Fire and gas detection

Detection philosophy, detector layout, coverage mapping and cause-and-effect logic.

Consequence modelling and QRA

Dispersion, fire, explosion and toxic effects; individual and societal risk.

Explosion engineering

Vapour cloud and internal explosions, venting, blast loads and building siting.

Functional safety

SIL determination and verification to IEC 61511 and IEC 61508.

CFD analysis

Gas dispersion and combustion inside congested and enclosed geometries.

Training

In-company courses on ATEX, fire and gas systems, QRA and hydrogen safety.

Regulations and standards we work with

European legislation first, with international codes where projects or clients require them.

EU legislationStandards and codes
Seveso III Directive ATEX 2014/34/EU ATEX 1999/92/EC Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Pressure Equipment Directive IEC 60079EN ISO 80079-36IEC 61511IEC 61508 EN 14994EN 14491NFPA 68NFPA 69NFPA 2 NFPA 13 / 15 / 16API 521API 2218ISO 22734IEC 62282EI 15ISO 13702
Deflagra
Specialist fire and explosion studies by Layerisk

For hazards inside enclosures and containers, standard correlations often miss congestion, accumulation and the effect of safeguards, and full CFD for every scenario is costly. Deflagra combines leak frequencies, representative scenarios and safeguard performance into a risk-informed basis for design. The method is being developed through research at KU Leuven.

  • Hydrogen electrolysers and fuel cell systems
  • Battery energy storage containers
  • Gas compression and metering skids
  • Indoor process units and analyser houses

How a study runs

Over-conservative assumptions cost money and credibility. Under-estimated hazards cost far more. Each conclusion is built so it can be explained.

Understand the hazard

Process, substances, equipment and operating context, before choosing a method.

Choose the right depth

From standard-based assessment to QRA and CFD, only where the risk justifies it.

Engineer the barriers

Prevention, detection and mitigation, each layer sized and checked.

Document and sign

Traceable reports, reviewed and signed by the responsible engineer.

Industries

Chemicals and petrochemicals
Oil, gas and LNG
Pharmaceuticals
Hydrogen and energy transition
Battery and energy storage
Industrial equipment manufacturing

About Layerisk

An independent engineering consultancy based in Antwerp, Belgium.

Layerisk brings more than 19 years of technical safety experience from over 50 EPC projects, from minor modifications to mega projects, in oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and hydrogen.

We work from the Antwerp region, at the heart of Europe's largest chemical cluster, on site across the Benelux and remotely for projects worldwide.

  • Senior-ledEvery study is carried out and signed by an experienced technical safety engineer.
  • IndependentNo ties to equipment vendors or contractors, so recommendations follow the risk.
  • Research-basedMethods for enclosed and containerised systems are developed through applied research at KU Leuven.
  • Digital workflowsModern tools speed up documentation and checking; every result is verified by an engineer.

Planning a project for 2027?

Layerisk opens for assignments in 2027. Send a short description of your project or question and you'll get a reply within two working days.

Email
hello@layerisk.com
Based in
Antwerp, Belgium
Working
On site in the Benelux, remotely worldwide
Languages
English, Dutch, French, German
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