Risk-Based Inspection of Refinery Units: A Practical Application

2005 ◽  
Vol 297-300 ◽  
pp. 2687-2692
Author(s):  
Song Chun Choi ◽  
Sang In Han ◽  
Hee Jun Jung ◽  
Ji Yoon Kim

Recently, regulatory bodies quite often encourage to adopt risk-based inspection (RBI) and management programs because they can enhance safety simultaneously with deregulation in Korea. RBI is an integrated methodology that factors risk into inspection and maintenance decision making. This paper describes an example of how to use known risk assessment codes (API 580, API 581 BRD) to address such safety analysis requirements for risk management in the refining industry. Specifically, this paper reports the methodology and the results of application to the refinery units using the KGS-RBITM program, developed by the Korea Gas Safety Corporation in reference of API Codes and ASME PC (Post Construction) with a suitable consideration of Korean situation. The results of the risk and reliability assessment using KGS-RBITM program are useful in determining whether the detected defects are tolerable or required to be repaired. The subsequent decisions are to manage the future inspection, repair and maintenance planning in the risk reduction control.

Author(s):  
Song-Chun Choi ◽  
Sang-In Han ◽  
Hee J. Jung ◽  
Ji-Yoon Kim ◽  
Sung-Jin Song

Recently, regulatory bodies quite often encourage to adopt risk-based inspection (RBI) and management programs because they can enhance safety simultaneously with deregulation in Korea. RBI is an integrated methodology that factors risk into inspection and maintenance decision making. This paper describes an example of how to use known risk assessment codes (API 580, API 581 BRD) to address such safety analysis requirements for risk management in the refining industry. Specifically, this paper reports the methodology and the results of application to the refinery units using the KGS-RBI™ program, developed by the Korea Gas Safety Corporation in reference of API Codes and ASME PC (Post Construction) with a suitable consideration of Korean situation. The results of the risk and reliability assessment using KGS-RBI™ program are useful in determining whether the detected defects are tolerable or required to be repaired. The subsequent decisions are to manage the future inspection, repair and maintenance planning in the risk reduction control.


2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 1744-1751 ◽  
Author(s):  
ISABEL WALLS

A microbial risk assessment (MRA) can provide the scientific basis for risk management decision making. Much data are needed to complete an MRA, including quantitative data for pathogens in foods. The purpose of this document was to provide information on data needs and data collection approaches for MRAs that will be useful for national governments, particularly in developing countries. A framework was developed, which included the following activities: (i) identify the purpose of data collection—this should include stating the specific question(s) to be addressed; (ii) identify and gather existing data—this should include a determination of whether the data are sufficient to answer questions to be addressed; (iii) develop and implement a data collection strategy; (iv) analyze data and draw conclusions; and (v) use data to answer questions identified at the start of the process. The key data needs identified for an MRA were as follows: (i) burden of foodborne or waterborne disease; (ii) microbial contamination of foods; and (iii) consumption patterns. In addition, dose-response data may be necessary, if existing dose-response data cannot be used to estimate dose response for the population of interest. Data should be collected with a view to its use in risk management decision making. Standard sampling and analysis methods should be used to ensure representative samples are tested, and care should be taken to avoid bias when selecting data sets. A number of barriers to data collection were identified, including a lack of clear understanding of the type of data needed to undertake an MRA, which is addressed in this document.


Author(s):  
John Matatko ◽  
V. T. Covello ◽  
L. B. Lane ◽  
A. Moghissi ◽  
V. R. R. Uppuluri

Author(s):  
Alejandro Reyes ◽  
Otto Huisman

Workflows are the fundamental building blocks of business processes in any organization today. These workflows have attributes and outputs that make up various Operational, Management and Supporting processes, which in turn produce a specific outcome in the form of business value. Risk Assessment and Direct Assessment are examples of such processes; they define the individual tasks integrity engineers should carry out. According to ISO 55000, achieving excellence in Asset Management requires clearly defined objectives, transparent and consistent decision making, as well as a long-term strategic view. Specifically, it recommends well-defined policies and procedures (processes) to bring about performance and cost improvements, improved risk management, business growth and enhanced stakeholder confidence through compliance and improved reputation. In reality, such processes are interpreted differently all over the world, and the workflows that make up these processes are often defined by individual engineers and experts. An excellent example of this is Risk Assessment, where significant local variations in data sources, threat sources and other data elements, require the business to tailor its activities and models used. Successful risk management is about enabling transparent decision-making through clearly defined process-steps, but in practice it requires maintaining a degree of flexibility to tailor the process to the specific organizational needs. In this paper, we introduce common building blocks that have been identified to make up a Risk Assessment process and further examine how these blocks can be connected to fulfill the needs of multiple stakeholders, including data administrators, integrity engineers and regulators. Moving from a broader Business Process view to a more focused Integrity Management view, this paper will demonstrate how to formalize Risk Assessment processes by describing the activities, steps and deliverables of each using Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) as the standard modeling technique and extending it with an integrity-specific notation we have called Integrity Modelling Language or IML. It is shown that flexible modelling of integrity processes based on existing standards and best practices is possible within a structured approach; one which guides users and provides a transparent and auditable process inside the organization and beyond, based on commonalities defined by best practice guidelines, such as ISO 55000.


Author(s):  
David Mangold ◽  
W. Kent Muhlbauer ◽  
Jim Ponder ◽  
Tony Alfano

Risk management of pipelines is a complex challenge due to the dynamic environment of the real world coupled with a wide range of system types installed over many decades. Various methods of risk assessment are currently being used in industry, many of which utilize relative scoring. These assessments are often not designed for the new integrity management program (IMP) requirements and are under direct challenge by regulators. SemGroup had historically used relative risk assessment methodologies to help support risk management decision-making. While the formality offered by these early methods provided benefits, it was recognized that, in order to more effectively manage risk and better meet the United States IMP objectives, a more effective risk assessment would be needed. A rapid and inexpensive migration into a better risk assessment platform was sought. The platform needed to be applicable not only to pipeline miles, but also to station facilities and all related components. The risk results had to be readily understandable and scalable, capturing risks from ‘trap to trap’ in addition to risks accompanying each segment. The solution appeared in the form a quantitative risk assessment that was ‘physics based’ rather than the classical statistics based QRA. This paper will outline the steps involved in this transition process and show how quantitative risk assessment may be efficiently implemented to better guide integrity decision-making, illustrated with a case study from SemGroup.


2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
P F Ricci ◽  
L A Cox ◽  
T R MacDonald

How can empirical evidence of adverse effects from exposure to noxious agents, which is often incomplete and uncertain, be used most appropriately to protect human health? We examine several important questions on the best uses of empirical evidence in regulatory risk management decision–making raised by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s science–policy concerning uncertainty and variability in human health risk assessment. In our view, the US EPA (and other agencies that have adopted similar views of risk management) can often improve decision–making by decreasing reliance on default values and assumptions, particularly when causation is uncertain. This can be achieved by more fully exploiting decision–theoretic methods and criteria that explicitly account for uncertain, possibly conflicting scientific beliefs and that can be fully studied by advocates and adversaries of a policy choice, in administrative decision–making involving risk assessment. The substitution of decision–theoretic frameworks for default assumption–driven policies also allows stakeholder attitudes toward risk to be incorporated into policy debates, so that the public and risk managers can more explicitly identify the roles of risk–aversion or other attitudes toward risk and uncertainty in policy recommendations. Decision theory provides a sound scientific way explicitly to account for new knowledge and its effects on eventual policy choices. Although these improvements can complicate regulatory analyses, simplifying default assumptions can create substantial costs to society and can prematurely cut off consideration of new scientific insights (e.g., possible beneficial health effects from exposure to sufficiently low ‘hormetic’ doses of some agents). In many cases, the administrative burden of applying decision–analytic methods is likely to be more than offset by improved effectiveness of regulations in achieving desired goals. Because many foreign jurisdictions adopt US EPA reasoning and methods of risk analysis, it may be especially valuable to incorporate decision–theoretic principles that transcend local differences among jurisdictions.


Author(s):  
QINGBIN YUAN ◽  
QINGFENG WANG ◽  
JINJI GAO

Downtime of rotating equipment in large petrochemical plants often led to serious or even disastrous safety and environmental accidents, which generally stem from inadequate maintenance or incapability of failure prediction. In order to allocate maintenance resources rationally and improve the reliability, availability and safety of equipment, a kind of risk- and condition-based maintenance decision-making and task optimizing system for rotating equipment in large petrochemical plants is established in this paper. Using real-time database, web service and service-oriented architecture (SOA), a risk- and condition-based maintenance decision-making system architecture is developed to provide a unified data structure and man–machine interface, which integrates reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), condition monitoring system (CMS) and manufacturing executive system (MES) together. Risk assessment and condition monitoring technology is applied to form maintenance decision making, such as to determine the priority maintenance level, to optimize maintenance content, and to determine the right maintenance time. Based on the decision-making system, the risk rank and degradation trend of failure characteristics are used to support the decision making and to optimize maintenance tasks. The result of an engineering case shows that the maintenance decision-making based on the risk assessment and condition monitoring can lower the operational risk while enhancing the reliability, availability and safety.


2004 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 2058-2062 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT L. BUCHANAN ◽  
SHERRI DENNIS ◽  
MARIANNE MILIOTIS

Management of risk analysis involves the integration and coordination of activities associated with risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication. Risk analysis is used to guide regulatory decision making, including trade decisions at national and international levels. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) formed a working group to evaluate and improve the quality and consistency of major risk assessments conducted by the Center. Drawing on risk analysis experiences, CFSAN developed a practical framework for initiating and managing risk assessments, including addressing issues related to (i) commissioning a risk assessment, (ii) interactions between risk managers and risk assessors, and (iii) peer review.


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