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Overview of Maintenance
Maintenance is the practice of protecting or restoring equipment in order to maintain function and integrity. As a critical component of an asset integrity management (AIM) program, maintenance engineers and technicians dedicate time to developing and implementing maintenance strategies that optimize production and use cost-effective maintenance techniques.
Typical maintenance techniques include cleaning, inspection, lubrication, testing, replacing, and/or repairing components. Furthermore, the responsibilities of a maintenance engineer may be predictive or preventive. The fundamental difference between predictive and preventive maintenance is that predictive maintenance is a continuous process based on the current condition of equipment whereas preventive maintenance is performed in scheduled intervals based on the age and remaining life of a piece of equipment.
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance depends on the probability of failure and the consequences of a potential failure. The frequency of inspection and maintenance is based on the probability and consequences of failure.
Typically, preventive maintenance is planned and requires engineers and technicians to review past and current inspection and maintenance data in order to predict damage that may result in failure. The purpose is to eliminate unnecessary inspection and repair tasks and reduce maintenance costs. Examples of preventive maintenance may include simple tasks such as cleaning, tightening bolts, changing oil, or lubricating equipment or added parts such as filters to separate dirt and other impurities from contaminating products.
Predictive Maintenance
The purpose of predictive maintenance is to prevent unscheduled shutdowns by predicting damage and failures before they occur. This can be done through inspection methods or utilizing sensors to collect data and measure the current condition of equipment during operation. For this reason, predictive maintenance is sometimes called condition-based monitoring. Although installing predictive maintenance measures can be costly, the result of such an investment shows an overall reduction in maintenance costs and facility downtime.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance is performed on equipment in order to restore a failing piece of equipment back to its operating conditions. Here, it’s important that if maintenance technicians need to replace a component, that they follow specifications and if possible, replace components with original equipment manufacturers. Example of corrective maintenance repairs include welding, sealing, adjusting fixtures, etc.
Reliability Centered Maintenance
Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is a framework that ensures that preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance tasks are practiced in an efficient, reliable, and safe manner. The benefits of a well organized RCM framework include maintaining the integrity of components, extending the life of equipment, and eliminating unplanned shutdowns.
RCM programs are unique to every company. However, there are several critical factors to consider.
- Maintenance programs should follow a cradle-to-grave approach and evolve as the facility incorporates new equipment and decommissions aging infrastructure.
- It’s also important to document all equipment, data, procedures, and facility objectives. All maintenance procedures should be documented in a detailed manner so that successive tasks can be performed efficiently.
- Establishing clear objectives also helps engineers and inspectors align their decisions to meet facility goals.
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Inspection Mechanical Integrity (MI)
Articles about Maintenance
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March/April 2019 Inspectioneering JournalBy Stephen J. Thomas at PK Technology
Creating a proper work scope and developing and executing an effective work plan are essential for a successful turnaround. However, behind the scenes exists the glue that pulls the entire effort together: logistics.
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May/June 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy James R. Widrig at Quest Integrity, and James Wilson at Quest Integrity
As assets age and production demands grow, it becomes increasingly critical to implement sustainable long-term AIM strategies and programs. This article dives into the elements that will help ensure the successful management of assets throughout their life-cycle.
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May/June 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy Dheeraj Narang at Haldor Topsoe India Pvt Ltd.
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January/February 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy Jonathan Martinez at PK Technology
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March/April 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy Ibrahim Kodssi at Independent Consultant
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January/February 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy David Aldrich at North Highland, and Teri Mendelovitz at North Highland
This article covers where to start, what to look for, and how to execute a data and systems-focused performance improvement project that can drive large overhead savings.
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September/October 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Tata L.N. Murthy at Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd
For all operators, a system made up of a variety of equipment must be available to carry out continued operations. Planning plays a vital role in the success of major maintenance projects. Integrating all departments in the maintenance plan can save operators time and money, can increase equipment availability, and can help ensure the activities are conducted in a safe and efficient manner.
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July/August 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Mike Johnston at T. A. Cook Consultants, Inc.
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BlogJuly 8, 2016 By Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC., and Josh Means at Inspectioneering, LLC
Here are five common misconceptions about RBI that should not prevent you from gaining a more advanced understanding of the true state of your site's equipment. After all, the more we know, the better we can manage equipment integrity and make run/inspect/modify/repair/replace decisions.
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March/April 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek, and Mark Bell at Ethos Mechanical Integrity Solutions
We have seen many different inspection recommendation management systems. Most of them struggle to effectively manage all inspection recommendations. However, a few of them are excellent. What makes an effective system?
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Laying Off “Safety”: Managing Knowledge Transfer Through the Downturn to Maintain Industry Best PracticesMarch/April 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Fletcher at North Highland Worldwide Consulting, and Josh Arceneaux at North Highland Worldwide Consulting
It is estimated that there have been more than 250,000 layoffs in the oil and gas industry since the price of oil began to drop precipitously in late 2014. With oil not expected to rebound significantly for at least the next year or so, we should be ready for even more workforce reductions. In addition, there is the ongoing reality of baby boomers retiring from the workplace – also known as the impending shift or crew change.
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January/February 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Melissa Ramkissoon at Petrotrin
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January/February 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Mike Johnston at T. A. Cook Consultants, Inc.
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January/February 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Vipin Nair at GE Digital
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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Fernando Vicente at ABB, and Khulani Ndimande at ABB Consulting
This article highlights several benefits of sound reliability and mechanical integrity practices and how they serve as the cornerstone of effective asset management. Moreover, we believe effective asset integrity management is not only important, but essential, to overcoming the challenges presented by operating in the current oil and gas market.
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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy David A. Hunter at Neptune Research, Inc.
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September/October 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Brad Moore at PinnacleART
Operators in all industries are trying to increase equipment availability, yet oftentimes critical process equipment is not available due to planned or unplanned maintenance. To increase equipment availability, steps must be taken to reduce downtime. One way to achieve this is to ensure that spare parts are organized and available in the event repairs are needed.
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July/August 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Rarely is there a new and unknown cause of a major Fixed Equipment Mechanical Integrity (FEMI) failure in the petrochemical and refining industry. This article briefly summarizes five major fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) failures from the petrochemical and refining industry.
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July/August 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Melissa Ramkissoon at Petrotrin
Aboveground Storage Tanks (AST) are essential to any successful oil and gas operation and must be properly managed to ensure operations function in a safe and reliable manner. In this 2-part series, I will identify some common failures related to ASTs in crude oil service and recommend strategies to prevent and/or mitigate such failures.
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May/June 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Amanda Nurse at BP, and Josh Havekost at BP
Assessing risk is an integral part of working at a refinery. Infrastructure supporting the miles of piping, process vessels, and the platforms and ladders used in daily unit operations are often taken for granted. The Civil Structures Management Program (CSMP) at the BP Whiting Refinery was developed in 2004. Since the program’s inception, millions of dollars have been spent in the yearly execution of refinery structural repairs.
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March/April 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Walt Sanford at PinnacleART
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March/April 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Matt Midas at GenesisSolutions
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BlogJanuary 6, 2014 By Nick Schmoyer at Inspectioneering
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Successfully operating and maintaining power plants is an ongoing challenge, but Dan Gray has accomplished this since 1972 in dozens of plants, both as a full-timer and consultant, because he remains committed to principles that still hold true - even in today's changing industry environment.
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September/October 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Abdullah Al-Harbi at Kuwait Oil Company
Since its inception, one of the core businesses of the MS&R (maintenance, safety and reliability) Team for Kuwait Oil Company's NK (North Kuwait) Facilities has included carrying out Preventive Maintenance (PM) activities as directed by the established shutdown schedule. We understand that the PM business is diverse and is vital to maintain the safety and integrity of the Production Facilities.
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September/October 2011 Inspectioneering JournalBy Barry Snider at Small Hammer Incorporated
Maintenance has been around since prehistoric man fixed a broken, trusted spear instead of fashioning a new one. One concept of maintenance is any activity that extends the useful life or enhances the performance of an item of interest. A broad concept for sure but for most of recorded history, maintenance has been synonymous with fixing or repairing.
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The Role of Life Cycle Management in Achieving Excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and ReliabilityJanuary/February 2011 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
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January/February 2007 Inspectioneering Journal
Since the publication of NACE MR0175/ISO 15156, "Petroleum and natural gas industries- Materials for use in H2S-containing environments in oil and gas production," in December 2003, the ISO Maintenance Panel set up to maintain this widely used standard and the Oversight Committee, NACE Task Group (TG) 299, has reviewed and approved 15 proposals for change to the standard.
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September/October 2000 Inspectioneering JournalBy T.C. Ridgeway & Staff at TCRI
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January/February 2000 Inspectioneering JournalBy Gene R. Meyer at The Dow Chemical Company
Part 1 provided a review of RBI for pressure vessels and piping and an introduction to application of RBI to rotating equipment and the differences between approaching the two different types of equipment. As promised, Part 2 will delve more deeply into the details of rotating equipment RBI analysis, highlighting additional differences between this and fixed equipment analysis and cover: - RBI for Rotating Mechanical Equipment: Likelihood - Qualitative Risk Assignment - Forming the Risk Reduction Plan - Moving from RBI to Risk-CM
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January/February 1999 Inspectioneering JournalBy Joseph E. Pascente at Lixi, Inc.
One of the greatest challenges facing many of refining, fossil power, and pulp and paper industries is: How to effectively examine their insulated piping?
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November/December 1995 Inspectioneering JournalBy David A. Mauney at Southwest Research Institute
Many critical industrial plant components are in the aging part of their life cycle. This is because many of the US plants were built during the 50's and 60's. In the aging portion of life, the failure rate is exponential. This creates a need for predictive maintenance expenditures to maintain reliability
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July/August 1995 Inspectioneering JournalBy Curtis Plumlee at Plumlee Associates, Inc.
One thing is certain - major changes in maintenance programs are being implemented in process plants. These changes are spawned by an increased demand for equipment availability, longer, safer run-times and government and industry compliance.
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May/June 1995 Inspectioneering JournalBy Paul Pausky at F.B. Dunn & Associates, Inc., and Mark Fitzgerald at F.B. Dunn & Associates, Inc.
Equipment maintenance methods and philosophies continue to evolve. What has taken many by surprise is the rate of change and the sense of urgency that now surrounds issues related to Mechanical Integrity (MI) in the field of maintenance management.
Companies
Videos related to Maintenance
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Published on April 24, 2018The CSB has released an animation detailing the events leading up to the February 8, 2017 explosion at the Packaging Corporation of America's DeRidder, Louisiana, pulp and paper mill. The incident killed three contract workers and injured seven.
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Published on October 16, 2017The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a new 8-minute safety video describing the events leading to the November 22, 2016 fire at ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge refinery, which severely burned four workers. The video, entitled "Fire in Baton Rouge," details the CSB's Key Lessons stemming from the 2016 incident.
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Published on July 26, 2017The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released a 3-minute animation describing the events leading to the November 22, 2016 fire at ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge refinery, which severely burned four workers. The fire erupted during maintenance activities in the refinery’s sulfuric acid alkylation unit.
White Papers related to Maintenance
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Petrochemical Update provides their most up to date & in-depth overview of the North American downstream industry in their latest Market Outlook and Insights white paper.
Downloads & Resources related to Maintenance
Events related to Maintenance
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June 11 - 12 2019Location: Houston, Texas, United States
Hosted By: Petrochemical Update
Dates: June 11, 2019 - June 12, 2019
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November 18 - 21 2019Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Hosted By: American Petroleum Institute
Dates: November 18, 2019 - November 21, 2019
Exhibitions & Trade Shows Standards & Committee Meetings -
August 13 - 14 2019Location: Houston, Texas, United States
Hosted By: Asset Optimization Consultants
Dates: August 13, 2019 - August 14, 2019
Training Courses -
May 21 - 24 2019Location: Grapevine, Texas, United States
Hosted By: American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers
Dates: May 21, 2019 - May 24, 2019
Conferences Exhibitions & Trade Shows Seminars & Workshops
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July 8 - 10 2019Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Hosted By: Exxocon
Dates: July 8, 2019 - July 10, 2019
Conferences -
Sep 30 - Oct 3 2019Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Hosted By: Refining Community
Dates: September 30, 2019 - October 3, 2019
Conferences Exhibitions & Trade Shows Training Courses -
November 4 - 6 2019Location: Houston, Texas, United States
Hosted By: IQPC
Dates: November 4, 2019 - November 6, 2019
Conferences Exhibitions & Trade Shows -
November 18 - 21 2019Location: Mumbai, India
Hosted By: Refining Community
Dates: November 18, 2019 - November 21, 2019
Conferences Exhibitions & Trade Shows Training Courses
News related to Maintenance
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NewsReuters, May 16, 2019
Sinopec's Qingdao Refinery plans to shut down later this month for a planned major overhaul, the state-run refiner said on its website on Wednesday.
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NewsChron, April 5, 2019
Marathon Petroleum will reportedly spend $1.2 billion over the next 3 years upgrading its 585,000 bpd Galveston Bay Refinery.
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NewsForbes, January 2, 2019
The oil and gas industry has seen an increase in the usage of drones and the vital role they have to play in the industry.
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Press ReleaseManaging Aging Plants USA, September 27, 2018
The conference program for the upcoming 2018 Managing Aging Plants USA Conference is now available.
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Press ReleaseManaging Aging Plants USA, April 2, 2018
Managing Aging Plants USA is seeking presentations for their 2018 conference, scheduled to take place November 13-14, 2018 in Houston, TX.
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NewsU.S. Chemical Safety Board, June 11, 2015
The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has released its draft investigation report into the 2009 massive explosion at the Caribbean Petroleum, or CAPECO, terminal facility near San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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