Understanding Asset Integrity Management and its Importance
Asset Integrity Management, also represented by AIM, is the ability of an industrial asset to perform its function precisely and efficiently, with optimal lifetime and proper safety. Asset management is necessary from the design stage to the end of an asset's useful life. All stages of the process must be taken into account so that there is efficient management without major risks to the environment, people, and the industrial installation of which they are a part. In this blog, we will explore the major challenges of Asset Integrity Management and how the Oil and Gas industry is facing the [...]
Transforming Pipeline Inspection with Machine Vision
Oil and gas pipelines are critical operation components that must provide safe and efficient means of transporting energy resources across vast distances. However, ensuring the safety and reliability of these pipelines requires regular maintenance and inspection, which can be a complex activity Traditionally, inspection has relied on the human workforce in the field, who visually examine pipelines for signs of damage, corrosion, or other defects and then fill out reports to indicate anomalies or possible problems. However, this approach is time-consuming, costly, and can be prone to human error. Moreover, it is difficult to inspect pipelines located in remote or [...]
Paper vs Digital Inspections
Intro Oil and Gas operations pose unique challenges to their operations when the matter is inspection and maintenance. Since this kind of activity involves a variety of risks and complexities, it is not uncommon to find field workers filling out paper reports, and walking around the facility looking for potential problems. This is a traditional-manual method, on which oil and gas companies relied throughout the years when performing risk assessments with the goal of preventing potential hazards that could compromise the continuity of the operation. Meanwhile, digital transformation has been disrupting the way things are done with increasingly advanced [...]
Exploring the Depths: Understanding Offshore Oil Drilling
Introduction: Subsea drilling is a complex and challenging operation that requires advanced technologies, techniques, and skilled teams to achieve optimal safety and efficiency. Despite the access to previously unreachable resources, it poses unique challenges such as deepwater drilling, harsh environments, and high costs. In recent years, however, drilling analytics and digital technologies focused on asset performance management have emerged as powerful tools for addressing these challenges and improving the safety and efficiency of subsea drilling operations. The concept behind Oil drilling Drilling for oil is the process of extracting hydrocarbons, primarily crude oil, and natural gas, from [...]
Driving safety in Mining through Risk-based Inspections
Intro Risk-based inspections are an important method for driving safety in mining operations. Unlike traditional inspections, which are based on a predetermined schedule, risk-based inspections prioritize areas of the mine that are more likely to be susceptible to accidents or incidents. By identifying and mitigating potential hazards, risk-based inspections can contribute to improving safety standards and reducing the likelihood of accidents. One of the main benefits of risk-based inspections is that they allow mining companies to focus on the areas of the mine that pose the greatest risk to workers and the operation. This means that resources can [...]
How to achieve efficiency in structural integrity management
Intro Structural integrity is one of the key challenges managed in the midst of industrial operations. From oil drilling to mining, the integrity of structures is a determining factor in the proper functioning of this type of operation. In short, structural integrity is the ability of an asset, equipment, or structure to operate without suffering deformation. For this to be possible, the structure needs to withstand its own weight, as well as external influences such as windstorms, storms, and hail. Normally, this kind of asset is built with materials resistant to its load, and in its own construction are [...]
What is Process Safety Management
Intro The oil and gas industry is characterized by the exploration of oil and natural gas in extremely hostile environments generating constant risks to the staff, the environment, and also to the integrity of the plant. Offshore operations are marked by their high complexity, with many processes occurring simultaneously in tens of thousands of heavy assets. In this scenario, operational safety management has the objective of developing internal procedures in order to avoid accidents and provide assertive measures to decision-makers. What is Process Safety? As mentioned before, Process safety management is about developing efficient and effective safety management [...]
The Corrosive Process in the Oil and Gas Industry
Intro Corrosive processes are one of the main challenges for the oil and gas industries around the world. From the extraction process to refining and transportation, corrosion is an ongoing element in oil and gas plants. Besides being a high-risk problem for operators in the field, corrosion is also responsible for a large cost. According to NACE, the cost of corrosion prevention in an industrial environment is around 49 billion dollars, with at least 50% of this amount referring to atmospheric corrosion. In this blog we will talk about the main challenges and impacts generated by corrosion in the oil [...]
Structural Integrity: aspects of one of industry’s main challenges
Intro The structural integrity of a piece of equipment or part is essential for the proper functioning of an industrial operation. To ensure safety within industries, it is in the operation and maintenance phase that integrity managers have the great challenge of ensuring that all equipment in operation can maintain their levels of productivity, safety, and performance through continuous monitoring and corrective actions, if necessary. In this blog, we will talk a little about the main characteristics of problems related to the structural integrity of equipment, and how these problems can be addressed. What is it Structural integrity refers to [...]
3 ways to optimize Steel Industry operation and maintenance results
Despite being an essential sector for almost every type of operation, from the supply of raw materials to the manufacturing of final products, the steel industry is not immune to various economic problems and challenges in optimizing its operation. Aiming to strengthen itself after the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, several opportunities in process optimization and maintenance in this sector have emerged. But what can the managers of these industries focus on to minimize the after-effects of years of declining results? Read the article below and find out what are the best ways to optimize the operation and maintenance [...]
