Update on our AIM Benchmarking Survey

We are in the middle of our 2013 Asset Integrity Management Benchmarking Survey. The last Facilities Survey was held seven years ago, in 2006. Some aspects of this year’s survey have remained the same as before.

Then as now, metrics are not the primary focus of the survey. More importantly, our goal is to identify practices that lead to better performance, allowing our readers to “draw a dashed line” linking these practices to improvement. Best practice benchmarks have been included, just as they were before, to combine with the expertise of experienced professionals at the facilities.

The biggest change has been moving the survey online. Participants receive a Key that allows them to enter their data confidentially. This will help protect participants’ confidential information while streamlining the process for collecting survey data. We have also added components regarding technology, business, regulatory and management systems evolution, giving the survey even more depth and breadth. Another change is that only IJ Corporate License Subscribers can participate and receive the final results report.

The schedule for the survey has also changed. To save time, this year’s survey has been released in phases that allow participants to complete smaller sections more quickly. Phases 1, 2, and 3 have been released, and Phase 4 is scheduled to be released in the next two weeks. We have had a great deal more feedback on this year’s survey thanks to our survey editors and to volunteers who provided feedback prior to each release.

While some things have changed, the core reasons of the survey remain the same: providing data confidentially that allows companies to compare, and ultimately improve, their AIM programs. This type of benchmarking allows companies to improve, while providing a helpful baseline for industry-wide improvements to asset integrity management programs as well.