Asset Integrity Management - Mechanical Integrity

In the energy sector, asset integrity management is synonymous with optimizing a Mechanical Integrity (MI) program. This includes the management of critical process equipment – to ensure it is designed and installed correctly and operated and maintained properly. Services could encompass software and digital tools such as Risk-Based Inspection (RBI), Inspection Management (IM), and Thickness Monitoring (TM) to ensure that static assets in the facility achieve their desired performance in a safe and reliable manner.

RBI is a methodology that is compliant with American Petroleum Institute (API) standards and can be used to measure asset integrity. RBI supports the ability to assess the likelihood and consequences of failures and to optimize inspection rigor based on overall risk. As a starting point, users can utilize either a qualitative/semi-quantitative (RBI-580) or quantitative (RBI-581) risk engine to calculate a risk value associated with their static asset. Subsequently, RBI data can be seamlessly integrated into inspection management and maintenance programs to avoid equipment failures and to ensure that the current condition of the asset is documented.

User operators that operate a high volume of pressurized equipment such as piping systems, vessels, exchangers, tanks, and boilers, are susceptible to Loss of Pressure Containment (LOPC), leaks, and corrosion, all of which can be detrimental to their bottom line. By equipping organizations with an integrated set of software tools, they can accurately collect data from the field, understand risk for static assets and ensure that asset inspection strategies are optimized to an ALARP (as low as reasonably possible) risk level. Additionally, streamlining auditability and avoiding penalties for non-compliance is a key success metric for asset integrity.

Listed below are some of the goals for asset integrity management;

1) Calculate risk levels of static assets in the facility
2) Reanalyze integrity and safety risk based on real time field data collection
3) Implement and execute optimized inspection strategies (manage inspection plans on a variety of asset classes, document the condition of the asset, and track inspection recommendations to closure)
4) Calculate the remaining life based on the minimum thickness required to safely operate static assets
5) Identify areas of corrosion or erosion that can compromise the equipment's integrity
6) Maximize worker/operator safety in hazardous environments
7) Integrate compliance and integrity initiatives across an enterprise

Overall, the above goals tie-in to the main objectives of reducing risks, lowering inspection costs, and managing compliance.