Many newbies in our industry have never been without the ability to ILI a pipeline. ILI is now considered a normal and essential part of owning and operating many pipelines. However, we should take a moment to make sure we are not losing perspective. Let’s recall our origins. When ILI first became a practical tool, […]
Results for PoF
Probability of Failure
Pipeline Geohazard Risks
Here’s a advance draft of an article to be included in an upcoming ASME textbook. Geohaz Essay ASME wkm Rev C
Risk is PoF x CoF—Where Should the Focus Be?
Risk is PoF x CoF—Where Should the Focus Be? This simple equation: Risk = PoF X CoF shows us that there are two general ways to reduce risk. We can reduce PoF or CoF. On which are our energies best spent? While both are essential, there is a compelling argument to be made […]
Facilities / tanks / pumps / compressors / appurtenances / etc, General, Modeling, Risk Assessment, Risk Assessment Methodologies
Pipeline Risk Assessment
Risk assessment on any facility is most efficiently done by first dividing the facility into components with unchanging risk characteristics. For a cross-country pipeline, this involves collecting data on all portions of the pipeline and its surroundings and then using this data to ‘dynamically segment’ the pipeline into segments of varying length. Risk algorithms are […]
ILI vs DA—The Risk View
A rather common issue these days is decision making involving comparisons between In Line Inspection (ILI) vs Direct Assessment (DA, and, in particular, External Corrosion DA or ECDA). You may need to research these techniques, if not already familiar to you, since we will assume the reader is fairly familiar with both. Both are acceptable […]
The Test of Time Estimation of Exposure
In the absence of more compelling evidence, an appropriate starting point for the exposure estimation may be the fact that a component or collection of components has not failed after x years in service. This involves the notion of having ‘withstood the test of time’. A component having survived a threat, especially for many years, […]
Getting in the Ballpark
There exists a type of risk analysis that is even more preliminary than a rudimentary assessment. This might be termed more of a risk conceptualization rather than assessment and is based solely on basic deductive reasoning. Illustrated by an example, an analyst may posit that a pipeline’s future risks will mirror the losses shown by […]
Damage vs failure: a risk assessment needs to know the difference
To measure resistance in a way most useful to a risk assessment, we must estimate the possible presence of weaknesses, the rate of emergence of future weaknesses, and the role of each weakness in strength reduction. By W. Kent Muhlbauer, WKM Consulting, Austin, TX, USA Since several of our recent columns have dealt with management-of-risk […]
Download RA certification test data
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Measuring Failure Potential—What is Attacking?
How Effective are Defenses? Can it Survive? In several previous columns, we have noted the need for a very specific approach to measuring failure probability (PoF). Three factors must be independently measured/estimated in order to fully understand PoF. Let’s explore those factors a bit deeper here. Regardless of the definition of ‘failure’ being used, failure […]