SBS International Ltd - establishing an Integrity Management System including RBI

SBS International Ltd, Independent Marine & Underwater Development Engineering Consultancy

This page attempts to outline some of the steps involved when establishing an Integrity Management System including Trend Analysis and RBI. This high-level process is generic and applicable to all static equipment classes, e.g. structures, (topside/underwater), process, pipelines, subsea equipment and control systems.

Establishing an Asset Integrity Management System

1. Define the Asset Integrity Management Policies.

2. Define the High-Level Integrity Management Process.

3. Define the Asset scope, register, hierarchy, level, and boundaries.

4. List all failure threats applicable to each asset.

5. Define risk definitions and matrices – CoF , PoF , Risk Ranking, Confidence, etc.

6. Define mitigation strategies.

7. Define Roles and Responsibilities.

8. Define Trend Analysis and RBI processes.

9. Document Integrity Management Strategy and RBI Guidelines.

10. Produce Performance Standards.

11. Produce Integrity Management Procedures.

12. Establish Integrity Management software, database.
… maintain an ongoing Integrity Management Process.

Define Integrity Management Policies

Defining Asset Scope, Register, Hierarchy, Level and Boundaries

The starting point is to define the Asset Integrity Management Policies. These are high-level goals towards which the whole Asset Integrity Management (AIM) system is aimed.

Such AIM Policies may or may not already exist within a clients' management structure.
Below are typical examples of three IM Polices:

Asset Scope and Boundaries:

What are the static equipment (types and physical location) covered by the IM System and what are their exact boundaries?

Asset Register and Hierarchy:

List of all the equipment and components within the scope of the IM System.
The level of detail should include the lowest inspection granularity. Typically individual valves and anodes but not individual flanges and bolts. On piping, individual elbows and tees but not all fittings.

Asset Level:

Asset Level is an important concept which defines the level in the asset hierarchy at which RBI is carried out; failure threats are allocated; Consequence and Probability of Failure are defined.
Guidance for the establishment of Asset Level can often be found in existing documents such as Safety Cases.
Defining Asset Level too low leads to an unmanageable system: ‘we don't do RBI for every nut and bolt'.
Defining Asset Level too high leads to the Integrity Management System loosing its effectiveness, for example, it would be ineffective to base RBI on Consequence of Failure defined for an entire offshore complex.

Asset Holders shall obtain positive confirmation of asset integrity status

‘it is not acceptable to be in the dark about asset integrity status'

Actions to safeguard technical integrity are non-negotiable

‘where a RED condition exists, immediate mitigating action is mandatory'

Assets shall be maintained ‘fit-for-purpose' throughout their operational life

‘integrity management is an ongoing process that lasts throughout the assets' life cycle'

List All Failure Threats Applicable to Each Asset

Consequence of Failure Levels

Each asset has a number of threats to its integrity. Some examples are: dropped objects, internal and external corrosion, free-spanning subsea pipelines and many more.
The list of threats will differ for each asset. For example, internal corrosion might apply to a riser but not to an anchor chain.
Often failure threats are listed in existing documents, such as safety cases, design documents and maintenance manuals.

CoF levels are defined for each Asset.
Often CoF levels are defined in existing client HSE documents.

Below is an example:

Consequence Level	People	Assets Total Cost of incident in USD	Environment	Reputation
0	No Health Effect/Injury	No damage, zero cost	No Effect	No impact
1	Slight Health Effect/Injury	Slight damage <$10,000	Slight Effect	Slight impact
2	Minor Health Effect/Injury	Minor damage <$100,000	Minor Effect	Limited impact
3	Major Health Effect/Injury	Localised damage <$1 million	Localised Effect	Considerable impact
4	PTD or 1 to 3. Single Fatality	Major damage <$10 million	Major Effect	National impact
5	Multiple Fatalities	Extensive damage >$10 million	Massive Effect	International impact
Overall CoF level is the highest of the four CoF elements listed above

Probability of Failure Levels

PoF levels are defined for each Asset Failure/Threat combination.
Initial PoF levels may be defined in existing Safety Case documentation.
Below is an example:

Probability Level	Guideline	Assumed mean time between failures (MTBF) for non-trended threats
A	Never heard of in industry	16 years
B	Incident has occurred in oil industry	8 years
C	Incident has occurred in Region	4 years
D	Incident happens several times per year in Region (+) and could occur in the company	2 years
E	Incident has already happened or could occur several times per year in the company	1 year

Risk Matrix

Initial Risk Matrix is based on the CoF and PoF levels already established.
Dimensions of the Risk Matrix may vary from client to client.
Below is a 5 x 6 example:

Probability of Failure

Consequence of Failure (Severity) Level

LOW RISK

TOLERABLE RISK

INTOLERABLE RISK

Confidence Risk Matrix

Confidence levels are defined for each Asset Failure/Threat combination.
Confidence is a measure of the quantity and quality of integrity information, e.g. historical inspection data.
Risk Based Frequency Factors (used during RBI) are derived from the combination of Consequence and Confidence level.

Below is an example:

Confidence Level
Consequence of Failure (Severity) Level	0	Good	High	Medium	Low	Poor
	1	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R	N/R
	2	0.95	0.9	0.85	0.8	0.7
	3	0.9	0.85	0.8	0.7	0.6
	4	0.85	0.8	0.7	0.6	*
	5	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.5	**
		0.7	0.6	0.5	**	**
		- Numeric values indicate Risk-Based Frequency Factors - Single asterisk indicates insufficient predictability - Double asterisk indicates unacceptable condition

Risk Mitigation

All Risks Should be Mitigated except those falling in the low-risk category (considered to be ALARP)

3 ways to mitigate risk:

Reduce Consequence of Failure

Normally there is limited opportunity to reduce CoF beyond ensuring that operational, recovery and escalation controls are in place.
(methods such as redesign, decommission, replacement etc, can be considered but only in cases where intolerable risk cannot be reduced to tolerable levels by other methods).

Reduce Probability of Failure

Done through preventative and corrective maintenance and confirming that controls and barriers are in place.
(methods such as redesign, decommission, replacement etc, can be considered but only in cases where intolerable risk cannot be reduced to tolerable levels by other methods).

Increase Confidence (in probability assessment)

By inspection, monitoring, trending and verification.

Defining Mitigation Strategy

Mitigation options (typically inspection, routine maintenance or monitoring activities) are allocated to each Asset Failure/Threat combination.
Each mitigation option shall have a designated frequency type.

Five Frequency types for mitigation options:
Risk Based		Ad Hoc
Should be used for all high-cost inspection and maintenance options.		Used for unplanned, event-triggered inspection and maintenance.
Time Based		Condition Based
Used for routine maintenance and inspection where prescriptive requirements exist.		Not normally used, instead the more appropriately focused risk-based frequencies are favoured.
Continuous
Used for monitoring options where data are collected and analysed electronically on a daily or more frequent basis.

	Roles and Responsibilities in the Asset Integrity Management Process
	Definition of Roles and Responsibilities: Necessary for effective Integrity Management. Will vary depending on validity of Operators' existing management structure. Below is an example:

	RBI Concept

	RBI Process, Inputs and Outputs

Document Integrity Management Strategies and RBI Guidelines		Produce Performance Standards
Integrity Management Strategies, as outlined in this example, would be formally documented before the IM System is considered operational. RBI Guidelines must be documented for proper control of the process.		Performance Standards shall be produced for critical assets. Performance Standards define the purpose of the equipment and its required integrity envelope, as well as how performance is measured and assured. Performance Standards are used as a guideline by internal or external integrity auditors.

Produce Integrity Management Procedures		Establish Integrity Management Software, Databases
Once Integrity Management Strategy and RBI Guidelines have been defined, the ‘how-to-do-it' documents (procedures and work instructions) are required. Some typical Integrity Management Procedures are: - Anomaly Management Procedures. - Workscope Preparation Procedures. - Event-Triggered Action Procedures (Marine Vessel Impact, Earthquake, Fishing Incident, 3rd-Party Encroachment, Extreme Weather, etc). - Monitoring Procedures. - Data Management Procedures. - Integrity Status Reporting Procedures.		Quality Data is fundamental for Integrity Management in terms of: Storage, Ease of Retrieval and Data integrity, i.e. data which is complete, accurate and up-to-date. In most cases (the exception is a small asset base with few integrity threats), an organised database with an easy to use front-end application is necessary for effective Asset Integrity Management. Various applications and databases are available on the market, some catering to specific equipment types (e.g. Pipelines), some only catering to certain steps in the AIM Process - e.g. RBI. The situation is dynamic and must be effectively managed. Some Operators have incomplete or ineffective systems in place. SBS provides a very efficient “hosted” data management system which avoids the need to define, purchase and maintain an in-house system.

A simple evaluation study, carried out by an SBS asset integrity specialist to establish the most appropriate system, is recommended.

AIMS

Aberdeen	Tel: + 44 (0)1224 621 166	Fax: + 44 (0)1224 623 103	Address: 2 Rubislaw Terrace Aberdeen Scotland AB10 1XE
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