RISK-BASED

INSPECTION
5 Steps to Effective Asset Integrity Management

Copyright 2023 Penspen Limited. All rights reserved.

Penspen and the logo are registered trademarks of Penspen Limited.
Safety-focused and cost-effective, Risk-Based Inspection
(RBI) as an inspection scheme targets threats to the
integrity of critical energy assets. An essential part of Asset
Integrity Management, the methodology enable teams in
complex processing industries to find the answers related to
inspection activities, five of which will be addressed in this
paper to help facilitate improved reliability of global energy
access.

Why Risk- It is critical for inspection teams to know where to focus based on the available
inspection resources and budget, when to perform the inspections, and which
Based inspection technique is the most suitable to help to identify the actual state of
an asset. Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) provide confidence and serves as a tool for
Inspection? future inspection planning. This in turn facilitate better decision-making, which
ultimately is reducing loss of containment events at the facility.

RBI is a systematic tool for managing risk by prioritising equipment for inspection
activities. It is a sound and proven asset integrity methodology and an excellent
tool for prioritising and optimising inspection activities, identifying and
understanding risk drivers, and creating effective risk mitigation strategies.

In an operating plant or installation, a relatively large percentage of risk is

associated with a small percentage of the equipment items. Typically, 80% of
the risk of equipment and piping systems failure is associated with only 20% of
equipment. RBI allows the shifting of inspection and maintenance resources to
provide a higher level of coverage on the high risk items and an appropriate effort
on lower risk equipment. The Pareto Principle of 20/80 fits well for this purpose.

120 120%

100 100%
CUMULATIVE %AGE OF ASSET RISK
FREQUENCY OF FAILIURE

80 80%

60 60%

40 40%

20 20%

0 0%
Asset Asset Asset Asset Asset Asset Asset Asset Asset Asset

NUMBER OF ASSETS
Figure 1: The Pareto Principle

Copyright 2023 Penspen Limited. All rights reserved.

Penspen and the logo are registered trademarks of Penspen Limited.
Risk-Based RBI is an asset integrity management methodology that uses relative risk as the
basis for prioritising and managing the efforts of an inspection program, including
Inspection recommendations for monitoring and testing. It provides focus for inspection activity to
specifically address threats to the integrity of the asset and the equipment’s capacity to
Methodology operate as intended, resulting in improved process safety and asset reliability.

The risk is calculated by combining probability of failure (POF) and consequence of failure
(COF) for individual assets. Risk = Probability of Failure X Consequence of Failure.

Effective risk assessment should be a reasonable, logical, organised process that contains
at least two key steps:

1. Determine how significant the risk is, and

2. Determine whether the risk is acceptable to the asset owner.

The RBI procedure can be applied qualitatively, quantitatively, or by using aspects of both
(semi-quantitatively depending upon the depth of the assessment and details of the data).
Each approach provides a systematic way to screen for risk, identify areas of potential
concern and risk drivers, and develop a prioritised list for more in-depth inspection or
analysis. Each approach develops a risk ranking measure to be used for evaluating the POF
and the potential COF separately.

By targeting high-risk areas, a recommended inspection plan (inspection effectiveness)

can be implemented on complex systems to minimize unplanned shutdown(s), improving
the integrity of the facilities by reducing the loss of containment.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has published two recommended practices, API
RP 580, Risk-Based Inspection, and API RP 581, Risk-Based Inspection Methodology. API
RP 580 details basic minimum and recommended elements for developing, implementing,
and maintaining an RBI program while API RP 581 provides quantitative procedures
to establish an inspection program using risk-based methods for pressurised fixed
equipment.

CONSEQUENCE
OF FAILURE

DATA & RISK INSPECTION MITIGATION

INFORMATION RANKING PLAN (IF ANY)
COLLECTION

PROBABILITY
OF FAILURE

REASSESSMENT

Figure 2: RBI Assessment Process

Copyright 2023 Penspen Limited. All rights reserved.

Penspen and the logo are registered trademarks of Penspen Limited.
How Do You Risk reduction over time can be achieved by effectively implementing and maintaining the
RBI assessment. Turnaround inspection planning optimisation and postponing internal
Reduce Risk? pressure vessel inspections by focusing on high areas are two of the activities that RBI can
help to reduce risk over time. A conceptual result of this methodology is illustrated by the
lower curve in Figure 3. The lower curve indicates that with the application of an effective
RBI program, lower risks can be achieved with the same level of inspection activity. This is
because through RBI inspection activities are focused on higher risk items and away from
lower risk items.

Figure 3: Risk Reduction

Mitigating The major objective of RBI is to give direction to management for the decision-making
process of prioritising resources to manage risk. Inspection affects the uncertainty of
Risk the risk associated with pressure equipment, primarily by improving knowledge of the
deterioration state and predictability of the POF. Although inspection does not reduce risk
directly, it is a risk management activity that may lead to risk reduction. The impending
failure of pressure equipment is not avoided by inspection activities unless the inspection
triggers risk mitigation activities that change the risk.

RBI can be a good tool in determining the most appropriate line of action to mitigate
risk. The possible mitigations are focusing on inspections to increase confidence in the
actual damage state of the equipment, fitness for services requirements, any repairs
or replacements needed, lining installation, quality of coating, and corrosion inhibition
requirements.

Figure 4: Risk Mitigation

Copyright 2023 Penspen Limited. All rights reserved.

Penspen and the logo are registered trademarks of Penspen Limited.
Cost The primary objective of an RBI assessment is not usually to reduce inspection costs,
however, it is normally a side effect of optimisation of inspection planning. When the
Benefits inspection program is optimised based on an understanding of risk, one or more of the
following cost reduction benefits may be achieved:

1. Elimination of ineffective, unnecessary, or inappropriate inspection activities.

2. Elimination or reduction of inspection for low-risk items.
3. Deployment of online or non-invasive inspection methods may be substituted for
invasive methods that require equipment shutdown.
4. Replacement of less effective, frequent inspections with more effective, infrequent
inspections.

Figure 5: Cost benefits illustration

1. Current & Informed Risk 1. Relative Risk

2. Risk Drivers Identification
3. Optimised Inspection Plan
4. Optimisation of Resources
5. Management of IOW’s
6. Cost Benefits
2. Conservative Model
3. No Functional Failure Calculation
4. Assessment on Asset Level
5. Assumptions Taken

Figure 6: Benefits and Limitations

Copyright 2023 Penspen Limited. All rights reserved.

Penspen and the logo are registered trademarks of Penspen Limited.
Implement Penspen’s knowledgeable and experienced teams have provided consultancy services
to major companies across Oil and Gas, Power, and Engineering, Procurement and
RBI Construction worldwide for nearly 70 years. Paired with the necessary certifications,
memberships, and related industry expertise, our capable Asset Integrity teams can
Effectively provide outstanding solutions to help implement RBI effectively.

About Penspen is a global team of engineers who design, maintain, and optimise energy
infrastructure to improve access to energy for communities worldwide. We help meet the
Penspen world’s evolving energy needs by providing consulting, project, and engineering solutions
across the entire energy asset lifecycle.

For the past 70 years, our teams have delivered more than 10,000 projects to in excess of
100 countries. By helping countries access lower carbon fuels and by extending
the useful life of existing energy infrastructure, we help to bring cleaner energy to millions
of people in thousands of communities across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, the UK,
and the US.

Penspen is a proud member of Dar Group, a leading, privately-owned professional services

group with award-winning impact and global reach. As an engineering, architectural, and
planning consultancy that values specialty expertise, Dar Group is united by a commitment
to providing clients with multidisciplinary solutions rooted in quality, innovation,
collaboration, sustainability, and technology to deliver social and community impact

CONTACT OUR ASSET INTEGRITY TEAMS

Email: contact@penspen.com | Website: penspen.com/contact

Author Credit: Ashfaq Ali

Copyright 2023 Penspen Limited. All rights reserved.

Penspen and the logo are registered trademarks of Penspen Limited.