New Software, NDE, and MI Program Sustainability

Introduction

Last November in Chicago, Inspectioneering and Pinnacle had the privilege of co-hosting our 12th “Meeting of the Minds” (MOTM) roundtable discussion. For six years now, this bi-annual meeting has brought together a select group of leaders in mechanical integrity (MI) to discuss pertinent issues related to fixed equipment reliability and to share their personal experiences and opinions. This diverse group of participants comes from various sectors of the industry, including oil refining, petrochemicals, offshore production, and chemical processing.

Recap articles from each of our previous MOTM discussions are available in the IJ archives, and summarize key takeaways from our discussions on corrosion under insulation (CUI) programs, emerging inspection technologies, integrity operating windows (IOWs), corrosion control documents (CCDs), risk-based inspection (RBI), data collection, analysis, and validation, and most recently organization capability and competency development.

The theme of this discussion centered around the impact of software advancements and new nondestructive examination (NDE) technologies on fixed equipment reliability and mechanical integrity programs. Participants discussed their experiences with implementing and adapting to new software tools, some challenges they have encountered, and various implementation strategies. They also touched on integrating new NDE technologies into their inspection practices and briefly discussed steps they’ve taken to ensure their integrity programs are sustainable.