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"It is estimated that as much as one third of a maintenance department's time is spent searching for decision-making data."
Journal of Information Technology Management, Volume XVI Inspections yield important data on the health of critical equipment assets. At the BPCL Kochi Refinery, inspection data was routinely collected by highly trained inspection personnel. However, once collected, this valuable data remained largely isolated, stripping it of its value to identify and track asset improvement opportunities. Recognizing the lost opportunities associated with the failure to integrate important inspection data into SAP-PM, the Kochi Refinery launched a new inspection initiative to support a key BPCL business driver - increasing the operational margin of its multiple refineries. The new initiative, Asset Integrity Management System (AIMS), is being rolled out in two phases. Phase I, launched in March 2008, began with the implementation of Meridium Inspection Management (IM) interfaced to the Kochi Refinery SAP-PM system. The Meridium IM implementation has moved the Kochi Refinery from a narrow, project-based view of performing inspections, to a broad, asset-based view of not simply performing inspections, but also managing the inspection process through: - Visual inspection planning and scheduling
- Recommendations management
- User-definable inspection workflow
- Equipment inspection profiles
- Inspection alerts
- Roles/task assignments
- Inspector qualification documentation
- Inspection reports
Phase I has enabled the Kochi Refinery to: - Permanently capture the inspection expertise of its workforce
- Document asset condition
- Track inspection recommendations to closure
- Manage inspection plans
- Extract more value from their current inspection efforts and EAM system
Phase I is laying the groundwork for Phase II of AIMS - the implementation of Meridium Risk Based Inspection (RBI).  To a large extent, equipment inspections at the Kochi Refinery have been driven by a combination of factors including regulatory requirements and industry standards prescribing the locations, frequency and methods of inspections, mainly on the basis of general industrial experience for the type of equipment. In many instances, this has led to "over-inspection," (the inspection of equipment so often, and so thoroughly, that it results in additional expense with no corresponding additional benefit). In order to increase the operational margin of its refineries, BPCL has embraced a risk-based approach in the management of its future inspections.
In any operating plant, a relatively large percentage of the risk is usually associated with a small percentage of equipment. Using Meridium's RBI, the Kochi Refinery will determine the optimum combination of equipment inspection methods, scopes and frequencies to: - Ensure risk is reduced to as low as reasonably practicable
- Optimize the inspection schedule
- Focus inspection effort onto the most critical areas
- Identify and use the most appropriate methods of inspection
- Extract even more value from their inspection efforts and EAM system
As with any new successful initiative, significant support, guidance and compromise by various departments and personnel are necessary to meet expected and unexpected challenges. The Kochi Refinery has been fortunate to have strong management support in its new inspection initiatives. The newly implemented inspection management system will be used in upcoming turnarounds, and the company plans to extend the new inspection system to all process plants. Click here to learn more about this inspection initiative during the BPCL Case Study: The Business Case for RBI at the 2010 Meridium Conference. Click here to download Tips for Establishing a Risk-Based Inspection Program presented in the NPRA Annual Meeting article titled Asset Performance Management Providing New Competitive Edge. Click here to download the NPRA Annual Meeting article titled Balancing Risk Assessments to Improve Safety Decisions. Click here to read about other companies using Meridium and SAP to enhance the value of their asset data.
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