RBI Lessons Learned - Common and Not So Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Introduction

The type of RBI technology and software you choose is an important consideration when doing or planning to use RBI to manage your equipment. “Look under the hood” of the software before making a decision on which platform to purchase. When it comes to the underlying technology, make sure you understand the algorithms and equations. They should be credible and defensible. In other words, they should represent recognized and generally accepted good engineering practice (RAGAGEP).

The software should also contain your desired features and functionality while the technology must also comply with jurisdictional rules, if they exist, and company and/or site requirements.

Equally important as software are things like:

• Full management support and participation, as appropriate
• Effective policies that outline what RBI will do
• Effective training of technology and software
• Qualified personnel identified by necessary roles
• Effective, documented work processes
• Effective procedures and/or work guidelines
• Participation and training, at the appropriate levels, of/for operations, inspection, corrosion/materials engineering
• Implementation of RBI “triggers” to update the analyses as process conditions and other things change, this would include links to your MOC and IOW programs that may justify a review of the data and/or a recalculation of the risk based on the new information

This article is not about this, though. This article shares examples of where work processes either broke down or were non-existent, or where the user did not fully understand the technology or overall RBI logic and the results. In these cases, the software and technology worked as required.