SPE Expert System

Overview

The Static Pressure Equipment (SPE) Expert System contains all necessary functionality to manage pressure equipment risk assessment, inspection enactment and dashboarding. It is seamlessly integrated with NEXUS standard functionality such as anomaly management and libraries.

The SPE expert system is tailored to piping, vessels, tanks and heat exchangers. It can be configured to suit any client risk matrix and can perform qualitative, semi-quantitative or fully quantitative Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) (API 581) interchangeably.

The SPE expert system includes:

  • In-built material specifications

  • tmin calculation

  • All API 571 DMs assessed

  • All API 581 corrosion models

  • CML trending and remaining life calculation

  • Alignment to any risk matrix

  • Automatic inspection planner

  • CML distribution tool

  • Report generator

Benefits

The SPE expert system offers the following benefits:

  • Fully pre-constructed and tested methodology aligned to industry standards

  • Access to API 581 (and other) engineering calculations/tools as standard

  • Software-led RBI provides:

    • Fast application of RBI rule set and assumptions

    • Quickly identify areas of high risk

    • Consistent report content

    • Repeatability: update of RBI with minimal effort

As a consequence, using the SPE expert system can provide the following commercial benefits:

  • Direct RBI cost reduction (no methodology development time, minimal configuration time)

  • 80% reduction in report cost

  • Follow-up RBI cost reduction of over 50%

Content

The following figure shows the elements that are delivered with the SPE expert system. For more information, click on the nodes of the figure below or see SPE Expert System Content.

SPE Expert System
SPE Expert System
Asset Types
Asset Types
Asset
Information
Asset...
Risk Models
Risk Models
Inspection/
Maintenance Events
Inspection/...
Dashboards
Dashboards
Reports
Reports
Client-Specific
Lists
Client-Specific...Text is not SVG - cannot display

Codes/Standards

  • “Risk-Based Inspection”, API Ref. API RP 580, 2nd Edition, 2009

  • “Risk-Based Inspection Methodology”, API Ref API RP 581, 3rd Edition 2019

  • “Damage Mechanisms Affecting Fixed Equipment in the Refining Industry”, API ref. API RP 571, 3rd Edition, 2020

  • “Guidelines for management of coatings for external corrosion protection”, The Energy Institute, 1st Edition, January 2012.

Deployment Prerequisites

The following configuration is not automatically deployed as part of the “out-of-the box” expert system and needs to be configured manually:

  • Client corporate logos (used in header/footers in reports)

  • Report styles (corporate fonts and colours used in reports)

  • Client risk matrix (corporate risk matrix)

  • Security groups (Wood can recommend typical security groups if required)

Revision History

The following table summarises new and updated features that have been included in major releases of the expert system:

Revision No.

Description

85-106

  • New Asset Type named ‘Anode’ and new Event Type ‘Anode Condition’ used to track depletion of internal vessel anodes.

  • New AIG ‘Anode Inspection Plan and History’ interrogates and summarises latest anode condition.

  • CVI (Internal) campaign interval now considers internal vessel anodes when deriving inspection interval.

  • AS1210 Structural Minimum Thickness calcs updated for Post 2010 nozzles.

  • RBI Update - Ensures all inspections meet a user configurable maximum interval criteria from new field ‘Maximum Allowable Interval’.

  • RBI Update - Allow a default interval to be defined to non RBI’d assets

  • Minor bug fixes and improvements

33-84

  • Rationalisation of design data AIGs to minimise duplication of data entry and visualisation.

  • Upgraded inspection schemes to align with API 581 based logic.

  • Removal of fixed ‘SPE reports’ and creation of a configurable ‘report elements’ reporting template

  • Created new Grid UT event

  • Vessel Data AIG transferred to tube bundles (previously used piping data AIG)

  • Vessel Data AIG: Component geometry types added to vessel data (Piping, tubes, header box, flat head) inclusive of tmin calcs

  • (Optional) Structural min thickness for vessels added based on AS1210

  • Rationalisation of lookup functions to improve performance

Customers with a current subscription to this expert system can access a comprehensive (technical) list detailing all minor UI changes and bug fixes. You can email support@nexusic.com to request the complete list.