The 2017 annual health and safety data published for UK-based oil and gas industries reports that the industry has been continually improving performance in terms of safety. It also states that in over 50 million man-hours worked offshore, there were only 113 reportable injuries. This is because the government has publicly committed to process safety and asset integrity management.
But how does the industry maintain asset integrity management standards? Can an asset integrity management system in the oil and gas industry help deliver world-class operational performance?
Ideally, asset integrity management involves identifying and reducing safety risks, developing inspection and maintenance plans, and monitoring discrepancies in material conditions while ensuring continuous improvement.
Some of the challenges faced by the oil and gas industry include handling infrastructure that has outlived its original design life, dealing with an ageing workforce, dealing with unplanned outages, etc. Maintaining asset integrity helps avoid unplanned downtime and related safety and environmental incidents.
At LifeTech Engineering, we have implemented asset integrity management programs for oil and gas companies across the world, generating first-class operational performance. We have increased profitability for operators by combining risk-based inspection with corrosion inspection management and data management to reduce risk and ensure timely and accurate decision making.
Our process of assuring asset integrity spans the full lifecycle of the asset. This requires proper planning and experience to maintain integrity throughout the organization. It also ensures that the people, process, and resources required are in place and ready to perform when needed.
A typical asset integrity program includes:
- Risk-Based Inspection
- Corrosion management
- Reliability centred maintenance
- Condition-based maintenance
- In-service inspection
- Non-destructive testing
An asset integrity management system does not exist separately; it works only when all stakeholders have a unified understanding of how asset integrity can be applied to day to day working.