Denis Marshment of Asset Dynamics Asia, discusses how instrumentation should be treated in RCM Analyses…

Process industries are increasingly reliant on Instrumentation.  Instrumentation used in process control maintains product quality, reduces operating costs and helps to maximize production output by delivering instantaneous and highly accurate readings for adjustment of process parameters.  Instrumentation also plays a vital role in ensuring that plants remain safe and meet environment regulations. 

When instrumentation fails, the results can be disastrous.  The BP Texas City Refinery explosion that led to the death of 15 workers, injuring more than 170 others and costing BP billions in damages was in a large part caused by a failure of the instrument control and protection systems. 

So is RCM the best place to analyze instrumentation assets to improve safety and reliability?

The uncertainty over this question has led some to remove the instrumentation assets from RCM analysis entirely and develop new methods such as IPF (Instrument Protected Functions).  This may seem like a neat & tidy solution to the problem but it can also result in an RCM analysis detached from the process. 

Our experience has been that instrumentation is as much a part of RCM analysis as rotating equipment and should most definitely be included in the analysis.  The question remains then, how should instrumentation be treated in RCM2? 

 Let’s review the elements of the RCM2 process when applied to instruments… http://www.thealadonnetwork.com/PDFs/Instrumentation_RCM2_Denis_Marshment_ADA.pdf

Denis is a Director of Asset Dynamics Asia with over 14 years experience in mechanical engineering and management consulting and is a licensed practitioner of the Aladon RCM2 network.  Prior to joining Asset Dynamics Asia, Denis was a principal consultant with Price Waterhouse Coopers where he led the Physical Asset Management Group in Asia.   Denis has extensive experience in implementing reliability improvement initiatives in the oil & gas industry and has help large multinationals in Asia and the Middle East make the transition from reactive to proactive maintenance through the application of leading technologies and methods. 

January 28th, 2011   Sandra DiMatteo   RCM - Safety and Environmental   Leave a Comment »