RBI is used to identify and understand risk, risk drivers, and where equipment is in its lifecycle.

RBI can
indicate whether inspection is needed; however this requires additional data that is extremely targeted
to reduce the underlying uncertainties associated with the risks about the current and future predicted
damage state of the equipment.

The philosophy of setting inspection intervals in the past mainly focused on condition based strategies
that aligned with turnaround intervals. With the advent of risk based decision making, we determined
that we weren’t as good as we would like to be at assessing and communicating risk. About the same
time, the API was developing RBI into a usable work product and it was a good fit for many of our newly
developing risk assessment work processes. As we globalize our business, risk based decision-making for
setting inspection intervals has become a global standard within Shell.

Risk based inspection is the process of developing a scheme of inspection based on knowledge
of the risk of failure. The essential process is a risk analysis. This is the combination of an
assessment of the likelihood (probability) of failure due to flaws damage, deterioration or
degradation with an assessment of the consequences of such failure.

The information gained from this process is used to identify (a) the type of damage that may
potentially be present, (b) where such damage could occur, (c) the rate at which such damage
might evolve, and (d) where failure would give rise to danger. Areas at high risk usually have
credible damage mechanisms combined with high consequences from structural failure, the
release of hazardous substances or stored energy. A suitable inspection scheme will deploy
techniques at a frequency that provides adequate confidence about the condition, taking account
of the damage mechanisms and the reliability of the inspection techniques used.

P&ID is the acronym for “Piping and instrumentation diagram”, i.e. a very detailed diagram showing the
processes happening within a plant, the involved equipment, and their interconnections.

The ISA S5.1, ISO 10628, and BS 5070 cover the standardization of P&ID symbols and guide process
engineers in their plant design activities.