Plant Maintenance Risk Visualization for Safety-Critical Equipment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current maintenance management technologies in plants fail to effectively quantify the contribution of maintenance work to safety, particularly for equipment with low operational impact but high safety significance, such as those critical for preventing accidents like fires and environmental pollution.
Innovation Solution
A processing method that calculates and visualizes the risk of equipment failures and safety device performance using a plan view and three-dimensional images, allowing for assessment and prioritization of maintenance tasks based on integrated risk values, occurrence frequencies, and failure probabilities, and provides operational steps for potential accidents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If maintenance work is performed at short intervals for equipment having a large impact on plant operation, then plant availability is improved, but maintenance work volume becomes enormous and efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating maintenance intervals based on individual equipment characteristics and risk profiles. Instead of uniform maintenance scheduling, each equipment receives customized maintenance timing based on its specific failure probability, occurrence frequency, and safety device reliability, thereby optimizing both availability and maintenance efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts maintenance parameters (intervals, frequency) based on calculated risk values that combine occurrence frequency and safety device failure probability. This parameter change approach allows flexible optimization of maintenance schedules to balance availability improvement against maintenance workload
2Productivity
If maintenance work is performed at long intervals for equipment having a small impact on plant operation, then maintenance work efficiency is improved, but safety risk increases for equipment critical to preventing accidents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent differentiates safety risk levels for different equipment by calculating specific risk values based on occurrence frequency and safety device failure probability. Equipment critical to safety (even with small operational impact) receives appropriate maintenance attention through localized risk-based scheduling, preventing safety deterioration while maintaining overall maintenance efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses dynamic parameter changes by adjusting maintenance intervals based on calculated safety risk parameters. Equipment with high safety risk receives more frequent maintenance regardless of operational impact, while low-risk equipment receives less frequent maintenance, optimizing the balance between safety and efficiency
3Reliability
If a comprehensive maintenance plan is created for all equipment in a plant, then coverage is improved, but complexity of management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the plant into multiple blocks and further divides equipment into groups based on risk characteristics. This hierarchical segmentation (plant → blocks → equipment groups) enables comprehensive coverage while simplifying management through modular, localized maintenance planning and execution
Solution Approach 2:
The system manages complexity by dynamically adjusting maintenance parameters based on calculated risk values. This allows automated generation of maintenance schedules that adapt to changing equipment conditions, reducing manual planning complexity while maintaining comprehensive coverage
4Measurement precision
If risk calculation is performed for each piece of equipment, then assessment precision is improved, but computational burden and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments risk assessment by calculating risks for equipment groups within blocks rather than individually for every single piece of equipment. This segmented approach maintains sufficient assessment precision for decision-making while significantly reducing computational burden through aggregated analysis
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a technology for executing information processing with respect to a risk calculated in order to grasp a frequency at which an accident occurs in equipment included in a plant, in a manner that facilitates utilization in safety management of operation of the plant. With regards to processing of maintenance management information of a plant for processing fluid, a plan view of the plant is displayed divided into a plurality of blocks, based on risks of a plurality of accidents assumed to have a possibility of occurring in a plurality of pieces of equipment included in the plant. The plan view is displayed on a monitor with assessment information indicating a result of assessing a risk level attached to each of the blocks. A three-dimensional image about equipment included in a block selected from the plurality of blocks is further displayed on the monitor.