Risk Based Inspection & Maintenance

Risk Based Inspection & Maintenance

The concept of risk analysis has been around for a long time and is used to target inspectionand maintenance resources at areas of the plant where they can have the greatest effect inreducing risk, the occurrence and consequences of unplanned failures and to reduce thecost of unproductive inspections. Risk is a function of both the likelihood of a failure and the consequences of the failure. Risk Based Inspection (RBI) is a method for using risk as abasis for managing an inspection program RBI programs have generated considerable interest in industry. Effective implementation of a Risk Based Inspection program extends the operating life of equipment and piping, safely and cost effectively. RBI is accepted as good engineering practice for the implementation of inspection and maintenance programs and has its roots in Process Safety Management (PSM) and Mechanical Integrity Programs (MIP). The objective, principals and practices of RBI are demonstrated and explained. An RBI program must include updating from results of inspections ,monitoring and process changes and will specify an inspection requirement and frequency. The inspection requirement may be satisfied by a number of alternative inspection methods. The target audience for this paper is engineers, inspectors and managers who want to understand what Risk Based Inspection is all about, what are the benefits and limitations and how inspection practices can be changed to reduce risks, save costs without impacting safety risk.