Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on Engineering Asset Management

Athens, Greece
28 - 30 September 2009

A RISK BASED INSPECTION (RBI) PREVENTIVE MAINTANANCE PROGRAMME: A CASE

STUDY
By P.N. Botsaris, A. D. Naris, G. Gaidajis
panmpots@pme.duth.gr,thanasisnaris@hotmail.com, geogai@pme.duth.gr
Department of Production Engineering and Management
Demokritus University of Thrace , School of Engineering
67100, Xanthi, Greece, Kimmeria campus

The current study has as main objective the Risk Based Inspection (RBI) method, a method of planning
preventive maintenance and inspection. The (RBI) method intend to create an inspection and a maintenance
program, by taking into consideration the probability of failure and the consequences that result from failure of
the equipment. There are three approaches for the application of the method, depending on the desirable level of
precision. These approaches are qualitative, semi quantitative, and quantitative. After the approaches of method
are analyzed, it will become a case study of the qualitative and semi quantitative approach, in a heat exchanger
(E102), in the unit of Ammonia, in the Phosphoric Fertilizers Industry (P.F.I.) S.A., which is found in New
Karvali, Kavala, Greece.

Key Words: preventive maintenance, inspection, equipment, level of precision, approaches of method, risk based
inspection (RBI).

1 INTRODUCTION

The method which dominated until a few years ago in the programming of the inspections and the maintainance of the
equipment of most industries, was by log. This means that a program is kept which has been written based on some general
directions of the manufacturers, and the experience of the engineers and technicians in charge. Nevertheless, this method is both
rigid, since it does not contain feedback, as well as it does not provide as a measurable quantity the risk of failure of the various
parts of the equipment. This has as a consequence that the risk of the various parts of the equipment is not exactly known, and the
priorities set during inspection and maintainance are not fully documented, but they are based on the knowledge and the experience
of the engineers and the technicians of the industry.
Nowadays, due to the increased competitiveness and globalization, all costs, consequently the cost of inspection and
maintainance as well, should be compressed, maximizing at the same time the benefits.
The aim of this study is to suggest a new method of programming inspections and maintainance, which should have the
following characteristics:
- First, with its application, the risk of each separate piece of equipment should become a measurable quantity, so that there is
comparison, for the best possible distribution of funds for inspection and maintainance.
- Second, in case the findings demand it, it should suggest shuting down the unit, so that repairing or replacing takes place, in
order to avoid failure of the equipment during operation.
- Third, because this method is going to be applied to chemical industries, the consequences of failing to the health of the
workers as well as the integrity of the equipment should also be taken into account.

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 - Forth, in case a change in the operating conditions of a procedure is suggested (eg. Higher pressure or operation temperature),
it should be possible to estimate in terms of quantity the impact of this change on the risk of the equipment. This will be a very
important tool for the people in charge so as to decide if this change is at their interest or not. And that is because, if the change
suggested relocates the equipment in question at a high risk area, this would have as a result a higher frequency of inspections and
maintainance so as to avoid failure during operation. This means that the cost of each choice could be estimated and the decision
making will be easier.
- Fifth, this specific method should be dynamic. This means that the findings of the inspections and the maintainance should be
analysed so that the position of the various parts of the equpment whould change on the risk chart, so as the time span between
inspecions and maintainance whould change as well. In this way, the new data would provide feedback to the new system which
will be set for the integrity of the equipment.
- Sixth, all enfeeblement mechanisms which are applied to the equipment should be identified and their negative impact in the
integrity of the equipment should be put into terms of quantity. It should be noted that the results of the enfeeblement mechanisms
are not always in linear relation to time.
The method which can make all the above come true is the programming of the inspecions and the maintainance based on the
risk of failure (Risk Based Inspection), which has been applied to the biggest chemical industries internationally. The right
application of the method requires that there is the knowledge of all the enfeeblement mechanisms that act on the equipment in the
order they appear. After that, the control techniques that are applied should be the appropriate ones, the corresponding instruments
should be accurate, and they should be operated by people which are adequately trained.RBI (Risk Based Inspection), considers
that the estimation of risk on some equipment depends on the probability of failure and the consequences that will come as a result
of this failure. This comes down to:
Risk Estimation= Failure Probability x Failure Consequences [1]
As shown in figure 1, the horizontal axis estimates the impact of the failure while the vertical axis estimates the probability of
failure. The top right corner of the chart contains equipment which has been considered to be high risk, so, there the time span
between inspections and maintainance should be small, while on the opposite side the bottom corner contains equipment which is
considered to be low risk, so there the time span between inspections and maintainance should be big. From this augmentation in
time spans comes the obvious financial benefit for the company which will apply the RBI method. The hidden financial benefit
which is also very important as a size, derives from the funds that the company saves from the non-failure of the equipment during
operation.These failures create both direct as well as indirect damage to the company, related to:
Production loss, environmental restoration cost, mending or replacing damaged equipment cost, compensation cost, raise in
insurance fees, bad public image, since it indicates a company which values nothing compared to short term profit, legal fees cost.
There are three ways to approach the RBI method depending on the degree of elaboration required. These approaches are the
qualitative, the semi-quantitative, and the quantitative. The usual action plan is to apply the qualitative approach throughout the
entire equipment, because the time of realization is limited. Afterwards, the semi-quantitative method will be applied to equipment
which will be considered as medium or high risk. Finally, to specific parts of the equipment, which require a greater amount of
attention, the quantitative method will be applied, which is the most time consuming in its realization. Once the entire equipment is
represented in the RBI chart, then, with the help of the technical module subfactor, the inspection and maintainance program will
be designed.In figure 2 the action chart is shown, in order to create the program based on the RBI method.

2 THE RBI PROCESS

As it was mentioned before, there are three approaches of the method, depending on the required level of control, and the
realization time available. The qualitative approach is the first level of control, and, in order to be realized, a very good knowledge
of the unit is required. It gives a preliminary, clear picture of the equipment condition, regarding to the risk of failure. The failure
probability factor is graded from 1 to 5 (1 low risk, 5 high risk), while the consequence factor is graded from A to E (A low risk, E
high risk).The probability factor is estimated after taking into account the following factors: Equipment factor, Damage factor,
Inspection factor, Current Condition factor, Process factor, Mechanical Design factor.

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