Webinars - UK - Statistical analysis of inspection data

There is a growing interest from the Oil and Gas industry in the application of statistical analysis methods in the integrity management of assets. A major area of application is statistical analysis in the planning and evaluation of inspections carried on out equipment where there is potential for in-service degradation. This area is of growing relevance as operators seek to more effectively manage the risks associated with in-service degradation and developments in inspection technology make available more quantitative information. Statistical analysis allows an improved understanding of asset condition, taking into consideration the capability and limitations of the inspection methods, and this leads to improved decision making. There are substantial benefits to operators with respect to risk management and business performance.

A major area of application of statistical analysis is in the planning and evaluation of sampling inspections where coverage is less than 100%. The aim of sampling inspections is to obtain sufficient information to allow reliable estimates for the regions not inspected. Statistical analysis underpins sampling approaches, in providing the basis for estimates for the uninspected area and also in assessing the reliability of the estimates.

Statistical analysis in support of sampling inspection is now widely applied in practice - it is for example a fundamental requirement of NII of pressure vessels where a Type B strategy per the HOIS Recommended Practice for NII (DNV-RP-G103) applies.

This free webinar will give attendees and overview of statistical analysis as applied to planning and evaluations of inspections in support of integrity management of process equipment. The webinar covers the following topics.

• Introduction to application of statistical methods in integrity management
• Statistical characteristics of in-service corrosion
• Basic theory covering extreme value analysis (EVA) and use of wall thickness distributions
• Planning for effective sample inspections
• Key inspection parameters, including coverage, accuracy and probability of detection
• Use of statistical analysis for Type B NII cases
• Example applications and case studies

Your presenter: Mark Stone Bsc Eng (Mech), PhD

Mark is responsible for Sonomatic?s integrity support area and leads a team delivering integrity-related services to clients. He is a Mechanical Engineer with over 25 years experience of working closely with NDT inspection colleagues to ensure better integration of inspection as part of more effective integrity management approaches.

His experience covers planning for reliable inspection approaches and assessment of inspection results from an integrity perspective. A major part of his role covers development of methods to ensure best use is made of inspection data as input to integrity management decision making. This addresses a wide range of applications where statistical analysis is used for planning and evaluation of limited coverage inspections. Examples include development of strategies for non-intrusive inspection of pressure vessels, storage tanks, processing piping and unpiggable pipelines. He is primary author of the HOIS Recommended Practices for Non-intrusive inspection (NII) and Statistical Analysis of Inspection Data.