Asset Management Optimization via Risk-Weighted Cost Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current asset management systems in industrial plants face challenges in optimizing inspection, maintenance, and repair schedules due to reliance on heuristic approaches, which fail to balance economic costs and risk effectively, leading to increased costs and potential catastrophic failures.
Innovation Solution
A computerized system that uses reliability, hazard, and integrity optimization software to predict asset failures, calculate risk-weighted costs, and determine optimal management plans, considering multiple degradation modes, inspection methods, and maintenance options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If heuristic approaches are used for asset management, then implementation is simple, but optimization of total costs fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces heuristic/manual asset management approaches with an automated computerized system that uses probability of failure curves and optimization algorithms to determine inspection and maintenance schedules, substituting computational automation for manual decision-making processes
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters used in asset management from simple heuristic rules to quantitative probability of failure curves that incorporate multiple degradation modes, inspection methods, and cost factors, enabling optimized scheduling based on calculated risk rather than经验-based decisions
2Reliability
If conservative inspection and maintenance schedules are used, then risk of catastrophic failure is reduced, but profit margin decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic inspection and maintenance scheduling that adjusts inspection frequencies and maintenance timing based on calculated probability of failure curves for each asset, rather than using fixed conservative schedules, allowing optimization of the balance between risk reduction and cost
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculations of probability of failure curves and risk-weighted costs before determining inspection and maintenance schedules, enabling proactive optimization of asset management plans that balance risk reduction with cost efficiency
3Measurement precision
If multiple degradation modes and risk-weighted costs are considered, then optimization accuracy improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the asset management problem into distinct components: probability of failure curve development for each degradation mode, risk-weighted cost calculation, and optimization algorithm execution, allowing complex multi-factor analysis through structured modular processing
Solution Approach 2:
The computerized system acts as an intermediary that processes multiple degradation modes, inspection methods, and cost factors through standardized algorithms, transforming complex input data into optimized inspection and maintenance schedules without requiring manual integration of all factors
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and software for reliability, hazard, and integrity optimization are disclosed. In at least some embodiments, the software includes an input module, a failure model module, a simulation module, and an optimization module. The input module accepts a list of assets to be managed and determines design data and process data for each asset. The failure model module determines probability of failure curve parameters for each asset degradation mode. The simulation module simulates an asset management plan to determine a total management cost that includes costs for predicted failures as well as risk-weighted costs for each degradation mode of each asset generates alternative management plans for evaluation by the simulation module and provides a selected management plan for display to a user. In each embodiment, the total management costs may account not only for direct costs, but also for safety costs, environmental costs, and business costs.