Process safety
COMAH Transition to Upper Tier Installation
Contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO)
Chemicals
The chemicals sector is a cornerstone of the UK and Ireland’s industrial economy, powering everything from pharmaceuticals and agriculture to advanced manufacturing and energy. As the sector evolves to meet the demands of decarbonisation, circular economy principles, and increasingly complex regulation, chemical operators face growing pressure to innovate while maintaining safety, compliance, and profitability.
Whether operating a COMAH-tier facility, scaling up a new process, or modernising legacy infrastructure, chemical businesses must navigate a challenging landscape of technical, environmental, and regulatory requirements. From process safety and emissions control to energy efficiency and permitting, success depends on getting every detail right.
At Arthian, we bring together process engineers, environmental consultants, planners, and safety specialists to deliver integrated support across the full lifecycle of chemical facilities. We understand the unique challenges of the sector – and we can’t wait to help you solve them.
How Arthian Can Help
We offer a full suite of consultancy services tailored to the chemicals sector, including:
- Process Design & Resource Efficiency: designing new or modified chemical processes, including PFDs, P&IDs, equipment specification, and control philosophies. In addition, our team identifies opportunities for heat recovery, utility optimisation, and emissions reduction to support net-zero goals.
- Regulatory Compliance: supporting high hazard industries and upper and lower-tier COMAH sites with safety reports, HAZOP, DSEAR, LOPA, and emergency planning. Alongside preparation of permit applications, environmental statements, and supporting studies for emissions, water use, and waste. Regulated sites – we’ll have a look at this
- Planning & Development Support: managing planning applications for new facilities, expansions, repurposing of vacant or derelict plots and infrastructure upgrades.
- Civil & Structural Design: providing technical support to a range of activity, including Plant Design, Containment Design, Change Management, Tankage Infrastructure Support, geotechnical and temporary works
- Construction & Commissioning Oversight: providing technical support during installation, commissioning, and operational readiness assessments.
- Operational Support: ensuring regulatory compliance in a range of disciplines – from sustainability certifications such as carbon footprint, ISO management systems, to other forms of compliance, auditing and inspections, management of change, permit maintenance and ageing asset strategies
- Decommissioning Support: completing the project life cycle – our team assists with permit surrender, decommissioning and demolition strategies
Arthian and the Chemicals Project Lifecycle
Chemical facilities can be complex, high-integrity environments that demand a multidisciplinary approach. Arthian supports clients from concept to operation, ensuring safety, compliance, and performance at every stage.
Feasibility & Concept Design
We support early-stage decision-making with feasibility studies, process modelling, and cost-benefit analysis. Our engineers develop concept designs that balance technical performance, safety, and environmental impact, providing a strong foundation for investment.
Consenting
Our planners, process safety specialists and environmental consultants manage the full consenting process, including:
- Pre construction/operational safety reports and COMAH notification
- Planning applications, Hazardous Substance Consent and stakeholder engagement
- Environmental permit applications
- Coordination with regulatory bodies
We ensure your project is consented efficiently and with minimal risk.
Process Engineering
Our process engineers deliver detailed design packages, including:
- Process flow diagrams (PFDs) and piping & instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs)
- Equipment sizing and specification
- Control system philosophies
- Integration of safety studies including HAZOP, LOPA, and SIL
Process Safety
Our process safety engineers support operators in reducing risk ALARP by supporting:
- Major Accident Hazard Identification
- Fire, explosion and toxic gas consequence modelling
- Layout review and siting of plant and buildings
- Occupied Build Risk Assessment (OBRA)
- Chemical and Downstream Oil Industries Forum (CDOIF) and Environmental Assessments
- COMAH safety report authoring, review and update
- DSEAR and COSHH, with human factors
- Leadership and operator level COMAH awareness training
- Emergency Response
- Smoke Plume Modelling
We embed safety and compliance into every design, critical for COMAH and high-hazard sites.
Civil & Structural Design
During the civil & structural design process, we provide:
- Blast resistant building design
- TAR accommodation
- Cross country pipelines inspection & monitoring
Construction & Operational Readiness
During construction and commissioning, we provide:
- Construction Environmental Support
- Site audits and compliance monitoring
- Operational readiness assessments
- Operator training and documentation
We help ensure your facility is safe, compliant, and ready for production.
Operational Support
Providing comprehensive support to ensure full regulatory compliance across a broad spectrum of disciplines. This includes managing and maintaining sustainability certifications, such as carbon footprint assessments and ISO management systems, while also overseeing internal and external audits, regulatory inspections, and compliance reporting. The role extends to the implementation and monitoring of management of change (MoC) processes, the upkeep of environmental and operational permits, and the development of strategies for managing ageing assets. These activities help organisations maintain operational integrity, reduce risk, and meet evolving legal and industry standards.
Environmental & Sustainability Strategy
We help chemical operators reduce their environmental footprint through:
- Emissions monitoring and abatement
- Water and wastewater management
- Energy efficiency audits and heat integration
- Carbon footprint analysis and net-zero roadmaps
Our solutions support both compliance and ESG performance.
Decommissioning & Demolition
- Decomissioning strategies
- Demolition strategies
- Permit Surrender and site handback
Why choose Arthian?
Sector Expertise
We’ve supported chemical facilities across the UK, from fine chemicals to bulk processing.
COMAH Specialists
We understand the regulatory, technical, and safety demands of high-hazard operations.
Multidisciplinary Delivery
Our team includes process engineers, planners, environmental scientists, and safety consultants.
Integrated Approach
We work as one team – reducing risk, improving coordination, and delivering better outcomes.
Client-Focused
We tailor our support to your project’s scale, location, and commercial drivers—delivering value at every stage.
Our Latest Projects
Get in Touch
We’d love to hear from you – whether you have a question, a project in mind, want to explore job opportunities, or just want to say hello.