Asset integrity management on offshore platforms

Author: Ing. Mayuly Rodríguez, October 16, 2023.

Introduction

In the productive and energy industries, effective asset integrity management on offshore platforms is essential; where in the maritime sector it has historically been a challenge. In this sense, each process and component demands comprehensive control, supervision and maintenance strategies. It is important to ensure operational safety and reliability of equipment to avoid costly and dangerous incidents at sea.

The central purpose of asset integrity management on offshore platforms is based on effectively managing corporate assets, seeking to maximize their value, profitability and performance, while safeguarding the safety of personnel, structures and the environment. A genuine asset integrity management program encompasses aspects of design, maintenance, inspection, processes and operations, because all of these disciplines influence program compliance.

Significance of asset integrity management on maritime platforms

This management refers to a comprehensive process to ensure that all assets, from platform structures to critical equipment, operate safely and efficiently throughout their life cycle, with a focus not only on safeguarding the people who remain on the platforms, but also in the preservation of the environment, the sustainability of operations and the economic benefit for the organizations involved.

A major importance of managing asset integrity lies in the ability to achieve an effective balance between performance, risk exposure and related expenses. By achieving harmony between these three elements, efficient management of invested capital, time and allocated resources is achieved, which in turn ensures the long-term durability and reliability of a system’s components.

One of the main tasks is carried out by the inspection teams, which are responsible for evaluating whether the assets operate in accordance with the design and operational specifications, without showing signs of wear, cracks or corrosion that could trigger unexpected stops in the processes. This responsibility demands the use of advanced tools capable of identifying and tracking the performance of assets.

Furthermore, to ensure effective asset maintenance management, it is necessary to ensure high safety standards on offshore platforms. To achieve this goal, both maintenance procedures and inspection tasks must be carried out meticulously, which requires training and a deep understanding of possible failure mechanisms.

Alerts of poor asset integrity management on offshore platforms

In complex industrial environments, particularly in the offshore sector , this process becomes a critical priority. Offshore platforms face a high degree of complexity; Therefore, the detection of minimal faults represents a challenge; Detecting them not only requires a considerable investment of resources, but they can also be inaccurate, which in turn leads to catastrophic failures.

Meanwhile, new, largely digital approaches are emerging that ensure process security and take advantage of new opportunities. In large installations, small errors often go unnoticed in diagnostics and are not included in maintenance planning. This is due to obstacles in the processes or inefficient asset management that must be analyzed.

These signs indicate ineffective integrity management, resulting in critical and non-critical assets beginning to experience frequent failures, leading to minor plant failures and unplanned downtime. Over time, this exposes employees to risks and increases the likelihood of a large-scale failure.

For these reasons, for any company that stands out in the maritime oil sector, it is promising to implement and make sustainable efficient asset integrity management that is shielded from emerging technologies and managed by specialized personnel, to have the ability to foresee even the most serious failures. minimum of the processes.

Timely detection and identification of possible failures and prevention of errors is essential in any industrial sector, not only for safety reasons, but also due to the direct impact that effective asset integrity management has on the economics and productivity of operations, especially on offshore marine platforms.

Why avoid accidents in this sector?

One of the most obvious reasons to prioritize asset integrity management is to prevent costly accidents. A failure in critical equipment or a platform structure, due to poor implementation of an integrity management system, could unleash a chain of events that would be catastrophic, starting with damage or loss of assets, oil spills, etc. more importantly, the loss of human life.

Well-planned and executed management not only has the potential to prevent serious incidents or accidents and their consequent expenses, but also contributes to maintaining an optimal level of operational confidence by controlling all factors that may generate risks.

Maintaining the tools and equipment necessary for safe, reliable and efficient operations is not only essential to minimize the possibility of serious accident risks faced by these facilities located around the world, but it also plays a role. a vital part of creating a physical environment where people are proud to work and contribute.

Effective strategies for asset integrity management on oil platforms

Below are some of the most used strategies:

Risk assessment: It is the starting point for any asset integrity management strategy. Understanding latent and potential risks, both internal and external, allows companies to prioritize critical areas that require attention. The identification of factors that cause possible problems allows proactive planning of maintenance and repair actions.

Predictive maintenance: It is mainly based on the constant monitoring of assets through sensors and advanced technology. Today, these systems are very effective in detecting early signs of wear or potential problems, which allows the necessary strategies to be programmed in time for each case and avoid costly unplanned interruptions.

Regular inspections: They are mandatory to evaluate the integrity of the assets. Using technologies such as drones and remotely operated vehicles, platforms can be evaluated in detail in difficult-to-access areas, both the highest and deepest points.

Technology update: In the incessant technological advancement to efficiently manage assets, options such as cloud-based management systems, advanced data analysis and artificial intelligence techniques stand out, significantly improving integrity management.

Emerging trends and technologies

Significant advances are being implemented in this field thanks to the latest trends and technologies. Some of the most notable innovations include:

• Internet of Things (IoT): Allows the connectivity of all assets on one platform, facilitating real-time monitoring. The use of smart sensors provides updated data on assets, allowing faster and more accurate decisions to be made.

• Digital twins: They are virtual replicas of physical assets; They allow simulating conditions and carrying out virtual tests to evaluate the performance of assets under different scenarios and variables, detecting any failure that can be avoided.

• Machine learning and data analysis: These are technologies that allow predicting failures and optimizing maintenance strategies, by identifying patterns in sensor data and their greatest benefit is that they provide recommendations for preventive actions.

The incorporation of digital processes in the management of assets on oil platforms marks a significant technological revolution, with the ability to reduce expenses, mitigate the environmental impact and raise the safety standards of workers at the facilities. Nowadays, for large organizations that work in this sector, it is of great value to stay at the forefront by including the most notable technological advances in their integrity management systems.

Conclusions

In a complex and challenging environment such as the offshore sector, where risks can be catastrophic, ensuring operational safety and equipment reliability becomes a requirement; Therefore, it is important to have efficient asset integrity management for companies that work in these environments.

Detecting possible failures and preventing errors are essential to avoid costly and dangerous accidents. Well-planned and executed asset integrity management not only prevents incidents and associated costs, but also maintains an optimal level of operational confidence by controlling all factors that may generate risks.

To achieve efficient asset integrity management, companies must focus on risk assessment, real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance and the adoption of emerging technologies as the main strategies that allow not only to prevent problems but also to optimize performance. of assets, which translates into greater efficiency and profitability.

References

Own source