How Process Safety Strengthens Asset Integrity in the Energy Industry
In the energy industry, few things are as critical and as misunderstood as process safety. While personal safety focuses on preventing slips, trips, and falls, process safety is about ensuring the success of critical operational steps. In simple terms, process safety is the disciplined framework for preventing workflow disruptions that could lead to major incidents. These aren’t everyday events, but when they happen, the consequences are often devastating. That’s why process safety is so closely tied to Asset Integrity Management (AIM). If a facility is going to perform safely and operate as intended throughout its lifecycle, it must have strong, [...]
The 3 Stages of Asset Integrity Management in Energy
Asset Integrity Management (AIM) is a fundamental domain for large-process industries. It refers to the discipline that aims to maximize a production plant’s efficiency and reliability, involving multiple methodologies, systems, and various professionals and activities. This blog dives into how industry leaders approach AIM, encompassing a step-by-step structure to implement a robust program. Nonetheless, before understanding the current state of AIM, how did it evolve to such a complex and specific area? What is Asset Integrity Management? Asset Integrity Management (AIM) is the systematic approach to ensure the safety, reliability, and efficiency of industrial assets throughout their lifecycle. [...]
Why Big Companies struggle with Digital Transformation
In today's fast-paced, technology-driven world, the ability to embrace change is not just a strategic advantage, it's a survival imperative. To remain relevant and competitive, companies must navigate the turbulent waters of digital transformation. However, the sheer size and complexity of established companies, which once guaranteed stability and market dominance, now may become their Achilles' heel in the digitization process. In this context, understanding the critical need to embrace change becomes paramount, but what defines this digital transformation? What defines digital transformation? Digital transformation is the comprehensive integration of digital technologies into all areas of a business, fundamentally [...]
Why Reality Capture is a must to report anomalies in industrial inspections
Industrial inspections consist of reporting anomalies to later perform maintenance plans. For this purpose, companies display several methods to inspect assets that can be divided into two major categories: the traditional methods and the digitized ones. In this context, these two groups present clear disparities in the benefits they generate to operators. While traditional methods still expose professionals to risky and time-consuming activities, new digitized ways of capturing reality have intuitively fostered safety and uptime for industrial inspections. Indeed, the new optimized methods of visually inspecting assets have accurately illustrated industrial realities to streamline maintenance actions. Thus, reporting anomalies with [...]
Vidya Goes Global: Launching Houston Headquarters
Curitiba - Houston, November 29th, 2023. Vidya Technology, a global technology provider committed to supporting the Mining and Oil and Gas industries, announces its first international office in the United States. The company’s new headquarters will be located in Houston. Founded in 2013, Vidya is a company that develops hardware, software, and artificial intelligence solutions for asset integrity and performance management. Our solutions have been trusted by major companies such as Ocyan, MODEC, Equinor, Petrobrás, Vale, and SLB. In 2024, Vidya plans to launch its first pilot project with a regional oil and gas company. ‘’The road ahead is filled [...]
Why system integration is a must
Intro As industries get more digitalized, the need for establishing an integrated digital environment increases. In this sense, the extensive amount of data that large operations generate requires interconnectedness in order to properly monitor every part of an asset’s infrastructure. In this post, we’ll take a look at why this integration is a must, the advantages it provides, and how it can improve the overall efficiency and productivity of businesses, especially heavy asset industries. The rise of digital tools and the need for integration The process of digitalization is reshaping how industries face their routines. From manufacturing to [...]
What Digital Solutions are being a game-changer to industries
Intro In today’s rapidly evolving world, digital solutions are reshaping industrial standards for efficiency, safety and innovation. They’ve become a game-changer for facilitating multiple industrial and business related tasks such as process automation, anomaly detection, scenario visualization and decision making. This transformation is not merely a trend but a fundamental change that is rebuilding the landscape of industries worldwide. "Digital transformation is not about technology; it's about solving problems. It's about using technology to make our lives better." - Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google And, on the edge of Industry 4.0, Digital Solutions are [...]
How APM is enabling longer asset life cycles while reducing downtime
Intro Managing equipment life cycle is a sensitive matter that requires a careful approach from heavy asset industries. In this context, properly addressing maintenance practices lies in reducing unplanned downtime and reactive maintenance strategies with the intent of improving asset availability and readiness. For this reason, Asset Performance Management (APM) is a key concept to understand how this process can be streamlined. However, before getting into how asset life cycles are being optimized, it is necessary to understand the role of APM. What is the role of Asset Performance Management? Asset Performance Management does [...]
The Challenges of Offshore Vessel Inspections
Intro Inspection surveys are essential for ensuring the safety and reliability of offshore oil and gas vessels. These complex systems require regular surveys to ensure adequate operating conditions and performance, complying with legal regulations, and without risks that could pose a threat to the workforce or the physical structure itself. However, performing this activity in offshore environments can be a challenging and hazardous duty. Main challenges of Inspection of Oil & Gas vessels Historically, maintenance issues in offshore oil and gas installations have been identified in a visual manner by skilled technicians. However, this common approach presents bottlenecks [...]
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 [...]
