What has Information Management to do with North Sea Asset Ageing?

Date: 7/9/2010

Are you aware of the latest HSE review plan? Key Programme 4 (KP4) came into effect on 28 July 2010 and will last until 2013, focusing on Ageing & Life Extension of Offshore Installations.

With 60% of platforms in the North Sea already exceeding their life expectancy and future reserves estimated to last another 50+ years, the safety and integrity of offshore installations has come into question. Duty Holders will be required to:

• Demonstrate that the Company is aware of ageing issues at all levels
• Show that staff have the experience and competency to manage ageing issues
• Define key responsibilities of management, communications and resources
• Highlight management measures that define life extension projects from daily problem shooting

Complete and correct information and documentation are required to support all the above conditions; KP4 requires information to be available and in a format that can be read and used today.

Mature assets generally suffer from each information handover at change of owner, Duty Holder or Engineering Contractor, exacerbating any problems of accessing original project documents to ascertain build standards and design specifications.

Lack of information, meaning that the Duty Holder is not able to satisfy the regulatory requirements, can lead to shutdown. In one example, the Pipeline Works Authorisation document was eventually found in an archive box in someone's garage.

With advances in technology, there are now systems that can assist in the discovery of historical documents whether they are held in paper or electronic formats, and regardless of whether the software is now obsolete (e.g. WordPerfect, Lotus 123, etc).

A "health check" of a company's information by experts equipped with the right software tools could be a critical success factor in your asset's KP4 inspection. Any gaps are highlighted, identifying further work required to recover information in preparation for KP4 programme. It's especially worth thinking about if you've forgotten all about that pile of dusty boxes in your garage.

"Ageing is not about how old your equipment is; it's about what you know about its condition, and how that's changing over time"

Taken from HSE presentation "Introduction to Ageing & Life Extension Inspection Programme - KP4"
28 July 2010

Mike Grant

 

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