Collection of best quotation from many sources

1. Reliability and safety—two sides of the same coin

Ref. https://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/magazine/2019/july-2019/columns/digital-reliability-and-safety-two-sides-of-the-
same-coin
Sub Ref.cited:
1) Wachsman, M. W., “Survey: Industrial IoT deployment thriving,” ZDNet, March 1, 2019, online: www.zdnet.com/article/survey-
industrial-iot-deployment-thriving/
2) Miklovic, D., “Why 10% of your operations cause 50% of your safety incidents,” LNS Research, Industrial Transformation Blog,
January 26, 2016, online: www.blog.lnsresearch.com/why-10-of-your-operations-cause-50-of-your-safety-incidents
3) Green, N., “33 accidents happened at oil refineries as EPA delayed updating disaster rule, says environmentalist group,” Daily
Breeze, April 3, 2018, online: www.dailybreeze.com/2018/04/03/environmentalists-blast-epa-for-inaction-on-rule-update-intended-to-
bolster-refinery-safety/

1) According to a survey by Tech Pro Research in January 2019, 79% of respondents use or plan to use IoT for predictive
maintenance.1 This is the highest of any application. Predictive maintenance is attractive to many companies because it has a fast
return on investment. Refineries can immediately see the condition of their assets, which gives benefits in terms of reducing
unplanned downtime, increasing safety, reducing maintenance costs, and increasing the intervals between preventive
maintenance (PM).
2) Within the last 5 yr, a shift has been seen in technology that makes online, real-time predictive maintenance more accessible.
Wireless sensor prices have dramatically dropped, cloud computing provides scalability and data storage, and advances in
machine learning increase the analytical power to make sense of the data. This means that valves, rotating equipment, electrical
panels, and other semi-critical assets can be monitored.
3) While unplanned downtime is usually the primary driver for wireless PdM (PreDictive Maintenance), it can have a significant
impact on reducing safety risk. In general, several scenarios are frequently identified where real-time asset information can
lead to safer operations, as detailed in the following sections:
1. Reliability and safety—two sides of the same coin

The most dangerous time for a refinery is when it is in transition

According to a 1998 study of 500 safety incidents, “A typical refining or petrochemical facility will spend less than
10% of its time in transient operations; yet, more than 50% of process safety incidents occur during these
operations.”2 One of the reasons for this is that people spend most of their time in normal operating conditions, and
they are not practiced enough in abnormal conditions. Tens of thousands of procedures are performed during a
refinery turnaround; an error in any one of these could cause a serious safety incident

PM tasks are often set by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or a criticality analysis.
Sensorizing assets and being notified of any changes allows maintenance teams to extend the
intervals between PMs. For example, instead of rebuilding a pump on a schedule, real-time asset
condition monitoring can allow for rebuilding it only as needed. This results in not only
significant cost savings, but also a reduction in abnormal situations and an increase in safety.
1. Reliability and safety—two sides of the same coin

Real-time asset condition goes beyond safety

One company collected 1.4 MM readings with permanent wireless sensors, compared with
5,000 that an analyst would have collected in the same 6 mos. The sheer volume of data would
be unmanageable for a team of analysts collecting data every few weeks
Machine learning algorithms can sort through huge quantities of data, acting as an assistant to
the analyst. They can create a single, trendable asset health score that flags problem assets
Continuous sensors can go beyond predicting health to optimizing asset performance. By
correlating asset conditions with process conditions, the system can identify abnormal
variations before they cause problems in mechanical equipment
One example is pump optimization. Periodic monitoring of vibration alone will not
determine whether the pump is operating below its best efficiency point. Instead, multiple
parameters are needed to understand performance
1. Reliability and safety—two sides of the same coin

Better reliability equals better safety

Most refineries install condition monitoring because the cost of lost production can amount to
millions of dollars per day. A failure in a production-critical asset has significant consequences,
and maintenance teams want to see asset condition to predict and prevent unplanned
shutdowns.
Ultimately, better-running machinery means improved safety. The consequences of failure are
often so high that preventing one safety incident could pay back the entire system. The OSHA
fine alone for the BP Texas City refinery explosion was $50.6 MM. This amount does not include
the civil suits or the investments BP is making to improve working conditions
In 2017, there were at least 33 fires, explosions and chemical releases at US oil refineries and
industrial plants.3 After the BP Texas City explosion, OSHA officials found that oil refineries
accounted for more worker deaths than any other industry category. Seventy percent of
citations were related to process safety.