Enhancing AIM Software with Corrosion Control Documents

Introduction

By now, the benefits of utilizing a comprehensive Asset Integrity Management (AIM) software and program have been firmly established. Yet, an AIM product and program are only as good as the sum of their parts. One of the key elements of any AIM software and program – indeed, the building block from which they are formed – is one of the least discussed. I am talking about Corrosion Control Documents (CCD).

Without CCDs, you may be working with a false sense of security until failure occurs. The traditional way that AIM was managed in the past involved a dependence on a small inspection group taking measurements at many condition monitoring locations (CML), sometimes without an overall plan, just hoping to find something. Internal inspections on such short intervals (based purely on the notion that “we have always done it this way”) could result in not recognizing potential degradation mechanism threats, and therefore not inspecting for them – potentially leading to loss of containment. Such a system results in over- or under-inspecting, using incorrect NDT methods, looking in the wrong places for corrosion, or simply not looking at all.