Environmental Science & Engineering - www.esemag.com - May 2005
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Time to examine best practices in pipeline management
By Brian Mergelas, Ph.D
In asset management of water transmission
mains, we can draw parallels
from the experience of the oil
and gas sector. In the 1970s this
sector was faced with an aging, and
deteriorating, infrastructure. In fact, as
this sector’s pipelines were depreciated
over their design life, many of the
older oil and gas pipelines were
“worthless” on a company’s balance
sheet.
Consequently, the decision was
made to try and extend the life of these
lines. This led to new management
practices, which required operators to
demonstrate that they were managing
the risk of operating these lines beyond
their design life. In principle, operational
risk incorporates both the consequence
and the probability of failure.
Risk management means acting to
reduce either or both. Consequence of
failure is difficult to control and is
largely related to where the pipe is.
Even though the majority of failures
in the oil and gas sector can be
attributed to third party damage, an
increased understanding of failure
modes has determined that knowledge
of the physical condition of a pipeline
is critical. Consequently, condition
assessment has become an integral
component of any risk management
strategy, especially in high consequence
areas. Today, the water and
wastewater sector is in a similar position
to where the oil and gas sector was
in the 1970s. In 2003, Infrastructure
Canada estimated that the cost to rehabilitate
Canada’s municipal infrastructure
stood at $57 billion.
Many operators use condition-based
asset management to make informed
decisions. Adoption of this management
approach is being driven by both technological and economic factors.
Proven technologies exist that allow
pipeline distress to be accurately identified
and quantified. The data provided
by condition assessment inspections
allow informed decisions to be made
that help dictate what levels, and types,
of maintenance are performed on each
individual pipe in pipelines. In combination
with continued preventative
maintenance, this minimizes operational
risk while maximizing the effectiveness
of budgetary allocations.
The best practice in the conditionbased
asset management of water transmission
pipelines can be understood to
include: determining the actual condition
of the pipeline by using an appropriate
condition assessment technology,
then using this information to make
informed decisions while continuing to
conduct preventative maintenance by
periodically inspecting pipelines.
Dr. Brian Mergelas of the Pressure
Pipe Inspection Company is cofounder
of the Canadian Pipeline
Management Alliance.
E-mail: Mergelas@ppic.com.
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