LONDON, November 30 – Shell’s (LSE: RDSA/B) leading-edge hazard and risk software models, FRED (fire, release, explosion and dispersion) and Shepherd, are now exclusively licensed by fire and explosion safety consultant Gexcon AS. The two companies will work together to bring flexible safety modelling tools to the industry and develop new scientific solutions.
Shell has had an unremitting focus on continuous improvement and both FRED and Shepherd tools are recognized across the oil and gas industry as leading software tools for quantitative risk assessment. Shell has used FRED software, which helps to predict the outcome of fire, release, explosion and dispersion scenarios, at its sites and projects around the world for over 30 years. Shepherd software, which helps in managing hazard and risk, and can help to gain regulatory approval and compliance, also has a long track record.
Shell says that joining forces with Gexcon, which brings specific expertise in research, development and modelling, combined with Shell’s own operational experience, will create a unique partnership that will help to improve the tools’ efficiency, accuracy and flexibility even more. The two companies will also focus on elevating the tools’ user friendliness to accelerate their adoption by other companies.
“Shell developed the FRED and Shepherd tools to help meet its stringent safety requirements on all the assets and projects it manages. We hope that this exciting partnership with Gexcon will enable us to make the tools available to the global community, in line with Shell’s drive for improved safety performance,” said Greg Kulawski, Vice President Safety, Shell Group.
“This agreement marks another step towards our goal of making the world a safer place by extending our offering of cost-effective solutions to help prevent accidents. We draw on our in-depth expertise and state-of-the-art technologies to help our clients identify their hazards, understand their risks and improve their safety performance,” added Kjell Svellingen, Executive Vice President, Gexcon.
