What Is Risk Based Inspection? Why Is It Important?
Downtime, especially unplanned downtime, can be costly for oil and gas organizations. It is estimated that offshore oil and gas companies lose around $49 million every year due to unplanned downtime. Operators that use a predictive and proactive approach experience up to 36% less downtime than those that follow a reactive approach. Risk-Based Inspection is one such proactive approach to reduce non-productive time, thereby saving time and resources.
What Is Risk Based Inspection?
Risk-Based Inspection, or RBI is a methodology that involves prioritizing assets based on their probability to fail and the consequences of such failure, i.e., the risk associated with the failure. Unlike time-based inspection procedures, RBI helps improve reliability and safety and maximises resources. Thus, it is essentially a risk analysis that is used to determine:
a)Â Â Â Â Â Type of damage that may occur
b)Â Â Â Â Â The place where such damage may take place
c)Â Â Â Â Â The rate at which such damage is likely to take place
d)Â Â Â Â Â The consequences of failure, i.e., what would happen if the failure actually occurred. Â
Risk-based Inspection can be calculated as the Probability of Failure (PoF) of an asset X the Consequence of Failure.
Prioritizing maintenance of assets based on level of risk helps save time and money spent on time-based inspections which may not be necessary and have inconsequential risks. RBI gives companies a better perspective on the health of their critical assets while simultaneously improving safety and reducing downtime.
What are the Components of Risk Based Inspection?
Probability of Failure (PoF): This refers to the likelihood of an asset failing within a given time. Evaluating PoF helps understand the potential damage to which an individual item of equipment could be susceptible and identify potential issues that could pose a risk to the equipment.
Consequences of Failure (CoF): This refers to the consequences that follow when there is  failure of a specific asset. This is then ranked, in order of significance, viz—health and safety, environmental impact, financial impact, etc.
What are the Benefits of Conducting Risk Based Inspection?
RBI or Risk Based Inspection Services are extremely effective in identifying assets that need the most attention. RBI helps identify assets that pose the highest risk to be inspected frequently so that low-risk assets can be inspected at longer intervals. Some of the most common benefits of using risk-based inspection services include:
1.Cost-effective inspection of the most critical assets.
2. Risk Based Inspection ensures reliable equipment and plant operation
3. Adherence to Local Codes: This improves the safety and efficiency of the equipment
LifeTech Engineering’s risk-based inspection software has helped oil and gas companies worldwide expand and grow and reduce turnaround time.