API RP 581 Risk-Based Inspection Technology: Summary of Changes in the Newly Released Fourth Edition

By Lynne Kaley, Director of Reliability Strategy at Pinnacle, and James Farrer, Corporate RBI Specialist at Marathon Petroleum. This article appears in the January/February 2025 issue of Inspectioneering Journal.

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Topics

API RP 580 - Risk Based Inspection (RBI)

API RP 580, Risk-Based Inspection, is a recommended practice developed and published by the American Petroleum Institute (API)...
API RP 581 - Risk Based Inspection Technology

API RP 581, Risk-Based Inspection Technology, is a recommended practice developed and published by the American Petroleum Institute
Codes and Standards

Codes and Standards are the rules and regulations released by both governmental and non-government agencies in order to establish an agreed upon method of operation for conducting business. A proficient understanding of the codes and standards within each discipline is important...
Inspection

Inspection is the practice of examining the physical condition of materials, components, or entire pieces of equipment in order to determine if and for how long it will operate as intended. Inspection plays a vital role in any
Mechanical Integrity (MI)

Mechanical Integrity (MI) can be defined as the management of critical process equipment to ensure it is designed and installed correctly, and that it operates and is maintained properly (i.e. no leaks and all elements are fit for service). A mechanical integrity program should...
Reliability

Reliability is a special attribute that describes the dependability of a component. This means that the component consistently performs a desired function under certain conditions for a certain period of time in order to meet business goals and...
Risk-Based Inspection (RBI)

Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) is an analysis methodology and process that, as opposed to condition-based inspection, requires qualitative or quantitative assessment of the probability of failure (PoF) and the consequence of failure (CoF) associated with each equipment item, piping...

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Risk-Based Inspection

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Document History Summary

The initial Base Resource Document Final Report (BRD) was published in May 1995 to an API-led Sponsor Group project. The document was updated and revised as development continued until the release of the BRD First Edition, which was published by API in May 2000. The first edition included qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative RBI technologies that were developed as a part of the Sponsor Group project. The second edition of API RP 581 was released by the Sponsor Group project in 2008 as a recommended practice. The second edition was provided to a newly formed API RP 581 as the basis for the third edition document.

Edition releases since 2008 were as follows:

The third edition was released in April 2016.
The first addendum to the third edition was released in April 2019.
The second addendum to the third edition was released in October 2020.
The fourth edition was released in February 2025.

Overview of Changes in the Fourth Edition

These are the significant changes made to the Fourth Edition since the release of the second addendum to the Third Edition in 2020.

The Fourth Edition document was revised and reorganized to the following Parts and Annexes:

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About the Authors

Lynne Kaley, Director of Reliability Strategy at Pinnacle

Lynne Kaley, Director of Reliability Strategy at Pinnacle, has over 30 years of refining, petrochemical, and midstream gas processing experience. Lynne was an owner/user plant metallurgist/corrosion and corporate engineer for over 10 years and has 20+ years consulting with plant management, engineering, and inspection departments, including Risk-Based technology (RBI) development leader, the... Read more »

James Farrer, Corporate RBI Specialist at Marathon Petroleum

James is the co-vice chair of the 581 committee and the Fifth Edition master editor. He has 19+ years of experience in the refining/petrochemical industry and has been immersed in Risk-Based Inspection since 2014. James is currently the Corporate RBI Specialist for Marathon Petroleum. Read more »

Comments and Discussion

Posted by Jose Jordan on February 28, 2025

Understanding the changes in the latest edition... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Meganathan Boopalan on March 3, 2025

Satisfactory Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Alexander Gonzalez on March 5, 2025

Would love to revisit the Art table for tank... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by ALBERTO CORNEJO L. on March 10, 2025

Estimados: Creo que el punto Parte 3 –... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by ALBERTO CORNEJO L. on March 10, 2025

Excelente resumen, muchas gracias. Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by ALBERTO CORNEJO L. on March 10, 2025

Excelente resumen, muchas gracias. Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Qaisar Abbas on March 10, 2025

Good to know positive changes in 4th edition like... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Dhananjay Rawal on March 11, 2025

Very Useful Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Martin Rabalais on March 11, 2025

Hello Ms. L.Kaley, I attended an annual API event... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Lynne Kaley on March 11, 2025

Thank you for the kind words, Martin! I always... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

Posted by Elizabeth Assante on March 11, 2025

Thanks for the summary of changes, it helps a lot... Log in or register to read the rest of this comment.

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