Reliability and Maintenance

 Reliability and Maintenance

The integrity of a physical asset is its ability to carry out its functions effectively and efficiently, contributing to meeting the objectives of individuals, collectives,or interest groups, while preserving their status and conservation, safeguarding at all times the environment and safety.

This vision of the operational behavior of a particular piece of equipment, system, or facility is based on integrated management of the following aspects during the operational stage of the assets at a hydrogen plant:

Performance of the physical asset or level of effectiveness achieved by an asset in terms of availability (ability to meet the functional demand of the physical asset), reliability (ability of the asset not to fail to fulfill its functions), and maintenance (ability to preserve and recover the functionality of the physical asset in the event of degradation processes or damage).

Risk associated with operating the physical asset, which is the damage that could occur during a particular interval of time as a result of the appearance of damage, must be managed appropriately with a proactive approach that prioritizes preventive actions over reactive behaviors, minimizing negative impacts that could arise from that damage.

Incurred cost, used to obtain a sustainable profit over time, constantly generating revenue that exceeds the costs associated with undertaking the business activities.

Asset integrity requires adopting optimized maintenance and reliability strategies for the equipment, infrastructures, and safety barriers, with tools such as those established in standard ISO 55000 for facility optimization.

Each facility and operating environment requires an analysis process to define the activities, techniques, tools, and implementation sequence that is best suited to each case, taking into account the operational reality, objectives, interests, capability and resources, degree of organizational maturity, and available period of time.

For example, the following, among others, are highly useful and regularly used in the Oil&Gas and Energy industrial sectors, and are recommended by insurance companies:

RAM Studies (Reliability, availability, and maintainability), to quantify the probability of potential equipment failures, estimating the availability of the hydrogen generation plant and focusing maintenance actions with an optimal cost-to-profit ratio.

RCM Studies (Reliability-centered maintenance), used for optimal assignment of available resources for the maintenance of a facility, focusing on the most critical assets for the functionality of the facility and, as a result, for business continuity. RCM determines the type and level of maintenance that must be used for the equipment based on the risk associated with potential failures.

RBI Studies (Risk-based inspection), to monitor the status and evolution of the static components at the facility, based on conducting inspections to verify the mechanical status and integrity of the equipment based on the risk introduced by each element. It prescribes a series of inspections and tests to obtain as much information as possible on the remaining life of the elements and equipment.

An appropriate strategy of asset integrity and application of the tools will increase the reliability and availability of a hydrogen plant, minimizing risks and guaranteeing the return on investment made in its implementation.