The key to sustaining the value from a reliability-based mechanical integrity (RBMI) program begins with program ownership and continues with best practice management systems. We began our RBMI program with a pilot study in 2006 at one of our refineries. The pilot involved migrating our time-based fixed equipment inspection program to a RBMI program for eight process units. The study cost approximately $400,000 and was completed in less than four months. The return on that investment yielded a payback in less than twelve months and a value that exceeded $2.5 million in turnaround cost savings and quickly delivered almost seven million dollars in risk reduction. We have since completed the RBMI program for six of our seven refineries where we have realized over $160 million in risk reduction along with expectations for ongoing savings for turnaround plans while optimizing inspection costs. Another significant benefit is the alignment of inspection methodologies across an enterprise with five different corporate heritages. This has been accomplished by way of the development of unified inspection strategies, business processes, procedures and practices based on a common RBMI Quality Assurance Manual. As we migrate from a project-driven success story to a sustainable-program we also recognized the need to cause behavioural change across the organization through effective change management tools and metrics.
展开▼
