Guarding the Gate for 30 Years

Inspectioneering Journal was launched in the Spring of 1995 with the inaugural March/April issue. Time has flown by! In my time in the industry, as an engineer, inspector, consultant, and as Chief Editor of the Journal, I have been blessed to work with some of the most brilliant minds in the world - individuals with a passion for problem solving, innovation, and progress. About 10 years ago, my son Tyler coined the phrase “Guard the Gate” as Inspectioneering’s unofficial tagline. These words represent our belief that we, in the asset integrity world, are protecting more than just equipment and the company’s bottom line. We are protecting our brothers in the plant, our friends in the field, and doing everything we can to ensure we all make it home safe to our families each and every night.

Over the last three decades, the world of fixed equipment reliability and mechanical integrity has seen remarkable progress. The ongoing development, acceptance, and implementation of technologies and recommended practices, such as RBI, FFS, RCM, IOWs, and on-stream monitoring of damage parameters, have continually advanced safety and reliability.  We owe a debt of gratitude to the many individuals who have dedicated their time and effort to developing and stewarding these critical tools and standards.

Advancements in NDE and engineering, combined with ever-increasing computing power, have transformed the ways we capture, analyze, and leverage data. These capabilities have enabled significant improvements in information gathering, which, in turn, drive better equipment reliability and help mitigate release incidents. Damage models - developed, validated, and used by corrosion, materials, and mechanical engineers - now more effectively guide NDE efforts and support more accurate remaining life assessments.

At the same time, IT-centric platforms and technologies such as enterprise asset management and enterprise resource planning systems, digital twins, artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics, and data mining have been highly leveraged to enhance many programs. They may just be industry buzzwords to some, but they are quickly becoming an integral part of the way we operate and manage our critical assets. I will add a word of caution though: beware of building on flawed or incomplete foundations. Just as concrete must fully cure before bearing weight, our programs must be grounded in sound fundamentals to avoid costly re-work or worse, injury and loss of life.

For example, whether implementing RBI or a conventional inspection program, it is critical to begin with a thorough damage mechanisms review. This ensures credible threats are identified, optimal inspection locations are selected, and effective NDE methods are applied to feed reliable remaining life models. Too often, we are distracted by the latest shiny object or believe technology can replace the subject matter expert (SME). In reality, SMEs must still provide direction, participate in building predictive models, and rigorously test them. Only then can we responsibly mine data to support these models.

We have made meaningful progress in understanding and managing risk, but there is still work to be done. Today, we can quantify uncertainty in nearly any assessment and determine whether it is worthwhile to invest additional time or resources to reduce that uncertainty. Of course, this process is predicated on understanding the risk or criticality drivers, then developing and executing strategies to address them.

Automation has also brought significant benefits. A user-friendly, well-implemented fixed equipment integrity and reliability EAM platform promotes information sharing and fosters holistic, interdependent behavior. This is increasingly necessary as initiatives like IOWs must communicate with and support other efforts like RBI and inspection programs. Few equipment failures result from a single cause. To achieve the desired levels of safety and reliability at the lowest cost, programs must be built on sound foundations, with effective predictive models, robust analytics and reporting, and high-quality, well-organized data.

So far, so good - but let’s not overlook the fundamentals. “Blocking and tackling” remain as critical today as ever before. It is my sincere hope that, another 30 years from now, Inspectioneering will continue to support inspection, maintenance, and engineering professionals around the world with valuable information and resources to help them do their jobs more effectively, while making the industries we serve safer for our workers and our communities. It has been and continues to be a privilege to work with and serve the people and businesses that keep our modern society running. While often villainized and taken for granted, I know and I hope you know how important our industry is to the world, and as such, your role in it. We are a family, and protecting the family will always be our greatest responsibility.

Guard the Gate!