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Failures related to aging assets can be catastrophic to a facility. This article presents a framework for evaluating whether to implement a short-term fix or a larger overhaul.
Many facilities in the chemical process industries (CPI) are faced with challenges presented by aging infrastructure and assets. It may seem straightforward to simply replace key equipment, systems, or processes before they fail. However, facilities are often faced with a much more complicated decision - whether to implement a short-term fix or perform a complete system overhaul.
The analysis that surrounds this decision is complex for many reasons. First, it requires a well-established understanding of historical operation and the current state of the aging assets. Second, various options may be available for implementation without a clear optimal choice. Lastly, it takes skilled foresight to ensure that a long-term strategy for an overhaul does not become obsolete shortly after implementation.
This article overviews some of the issues presented by aging infrastructure and describes a methodology to decide between a short-term fix or replacement. It reviews and compares various guidance documents and presents a case study that demonstrates the methodology.
Aging infrastructure in the CPI
A majority of executives in the CPI agree that aging infrastructure and process facilities are currently impacting operations and will continue to be a challenge to their organizations in the coming years (1). Failure of aging assets can have consequences that range from relatively mundane to potentially catastrophic. As one chemical industry executive noted, it typically costs more to respond to a failure related to aging infrastructure than it does to avoid it (I).
Infrastructure is commonly thought of as the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, such as buildings, roads, and power supplies. In this article, infrastructure also refers to assets such as tanks, pumps, reactors, or other components within a facility that could fail due to aging.
Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) publishes an infrastructure report card that grades various categories of infrastructure in the U.S. on an А-F grading scale. Included in the report card are critical infrastructure related to the CPI such as energy, hazardous waste, and wastewater, in addition to traditional infrastructure categories...