Mechanical Integrity (MI) is the management of critical process equipment to ensure it is designed, installed, operated and maintained properly to meet the intended purpose.
Mechanical Integrity is one of the 14 elements of the Process Safety Management (PSM) regulation found in the OSHA 1910.119 standard. Oil, gas and chemical production facilities that process threshold quantities of many fuels and chemicals must implement robust PSM (including MI) programs to avoid their release and ensure the safe operations and reliability of the facility.
In the 47 years of designing, implementing and managing MI programs for various facilities, observations range from good to not-so-good. The conclusion is that a facility’s MI program is the lifeline of its process equipment. A facility will illustrate its reliability and availability of success as determined by the effectiveness of the facility MI program and the personnel that implement it.
Successful MI starts with leaderships commitment, oversight and the understanding of MI roles and responsibilities. Additionally, facility employees working in process areas are essential to ensuring that procedures and best practices are followed. These employees are the eyes and ears, and the boots on-the-ground. It is imperative for the facility to have a dedicated MI expert, champion or even a group or team who are knowledgeable and understand the systems and processes in MI that are responsible to implement, manage and facilitate the everyday MI compliance needs of the facility.
Critical process equipment must be designed and constructed utilizing the appropriate codes and standards, following Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (RAGAGEP) supported by complete design documentation.
Established and effective inspection and testing programs and practices to include predictive and preventive testing are imperative to achieve success. Computerized repositories are required to store all the inspection and testing data and to perform calculations that predict remaining life and next inspection dates.
Trained and qualified personnel performing the essential daily tasks of operating, maintaining, observing, inspecting and monitoring the critical equipment is a requirement. Third party professional organizations offer certifications to qualifying personnel. Recertification of the personnel is required periodically after receiving refresher training. The trained and qualified individuals that perform these functions are direct employees or a contractor workforce. Both are excellent ways to manage the MI program, although normally the least costly of the two is the certified contractor workforce.
Having experienced results of both successful and poor MI programs, there is nothing more important than having a strong, effective mechanical integrity program. It ensures both the success and safety of producing, storing, transferring and transporting various chemicals, gas and petroleum products. Implementing and following a strong effective MI Program also ensures the reliable operations of process equipment, preservation of the environment and safety of all personnel.
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