Going from criticality-based inspection to real risk-based inspection requires a cultural change. The process to change in TotalEnergies started more than a decade ago, and the software implementation has been part of the process.
In 2018, TotalEnergies performed an internal evaluation of all the alternatives for risk-based inspection (RBI) software, including a detailed technical evaluation of the software capabilities, the reference to API 581 and the international feedback.
"The main concern was addressing local corrosion on piping," says Ricardo Gonzalez, Method Inspection Manager of One Tech at TotalEnergies. "Our main goal was to go from an old-fashioned software that mixed several methods to a more modern approach."
Improve safety, reduce costs
RBI software enables users to improve safety and reduce costs by focusing inspection resources on high-risk areas. DNV’s RBI software solutions are based on proven risk-based inspection methodologies.
"RBI software enabled the application of the risk-based inspection approach to our refining and chemical facilities," says Gonzalez.
TotalEnergies Inspection Engineer Barbara Ndibo managed the implementation. They had data on more than 125,000 pieces of equipment in 12 plants, which include refineries and petrochemical facilities. The equipment data needed to be migrated to the new RBI software, which interfaces with Credo asset integrity management software.
Now TotalEnergies Refinery and Chemicals has more than 75 users of RBI software.
More productive work
"We’re working in a more productive way now," says Ndibo. "The central technical team at TotalEnergies can more easily get data from the sites without having to manually request the information. This is highly appreciated, because you can monitor what’s happening at the plants at a higher level much more efficiently. When you have multiple installations, within the cloud system, they can all be accessed through the same environment. We can more easily monitor and extract KPIs and data. It’s very much quicker," she says.
"It was important to have a tool in full alignment with the corporate methods,” says Gonzalez. “The implementation of RBI software, with the direct interfaces with the existing inspection data management system, allowed the inspection service to optimize inspection plans," he says.
DNV leads in risk management
"DNV has been a reference in risk management since the beginning," he says.
"DNV is a great partner in our implementation journey, with open channels of communication for faster resolution of issues and sharing experiences in deploying risk management solutions for our facilities," says Ndibo.
The success of the project has led to Ndibo being tasked with rolling out the RBI methodology to the exploration and production (E&P) side of TotalEnergies, where she is now managing a similar project. Currently there are 35 users of RBI software in TotalEnergies EP, and the number is expected to grow in the next two years.
DNV’s RBI software solutions are now a full part of the future of TotalEnergies, says Gonzalez.
Profile
Customer name: TotalEnergies
Website: totalenergies.com
Market: Energy
Employees: More than 100,000 employees worldwide
Solution/product: RBI software
Brief account:
Why we choose RBI software:
- DNV is a recognized leader in risk management
- RBI software fulfilled our requirements
- Excellent working relationship with DNV
What we gained:
- Faster way of monitoring assets through cloud-based solution
- Ability to easily view KPIs and other data
