In the largest corporate settlement in U.S. history, British Petroleum has agreed to pay up to $18.7 billion to the federal government and five states. When added to the $43.8 billion BP had already set aside for cleanup costs and civil and criminal penalties, its total pretax charge amounts to $53.8 billion.

Formulated with the recognition that preventive maintenance might have avoided the failure of a cement seal which caused the oil spill, API Spec Q2 requires that all organizations involved in the oil and gas industry document their "procedure for establishment of a preventive maintenance, inspection, and test program (PMITP)." A thorough documentation of any PMITP should address  process, procedure, and work instructions.

The main difference between process and procedure is the level of detail. Process is high level and operates across the organization's varying functions.  Processes lay out what needs to be done and when. A process should consist of a trigger, or starting event, and a terminator, or end result, that accomplishes a desired result. Processes are usually documented using a diagram or flow chart.

While processes are cross-functional and too high level for staff to perform on a day-to-day basis, procedures reside at a lower level and contain detailed descriptions of how the work is to be done and who is responsible. In other words, procedures break process down into steps. They are usually depicted in step-by-step order.

Work instructions are specific and detail exactly how each task is to be done. Work instructions can be thought of as a subdivision of procedures in that they refer to a single role whereas procedures describe instructions for several roles in the organization.

To learn how Accupoint Quality Management Systems Software can provide solutions to help you implement and document a PMITP, contact us.

Asset management is a key component of limiting risk and liabilities in any organization, but none more so than in oil & gas service providers. As this article in the Oil & Gas Journal makes clear, a consistent and thorough plan of preventive maintenance can not only steer your organization clear of costly fines and insurance premiums, but can also save you millions in reduced downtime and damage and, indeed, save lives.

Most often, catastrophic equipment failures are not the result of a single individual or factor. Rather, it is the result of a systemic failure to implement proper procedures, to ensure appropriate training is conducted, and to maintain equipment consistently and effectively.

Created as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident, this is precisely what the API Spec Q2 standards aim to remedy.

According to the API Spec Q2 guidelines, “the organization shall maintain a documented procedure for the establishment of a PMITP [Preventive Maintenance, Inspection, and Test Program]. The procedure shall address record keeping requirements, inspection, maintenance, redress, repair, make-up, testing, and acceptance criteria for service-related product.”

Specifically, this PMITP must include, at a minimum:

1. Actions which address preventive maintenance;
2. Reports that document usage history, repairs or redress, modifications, remanufacturing, inspection, and test activities that allow direct verification for reuse of product;
3. List of critical spare parts requirements by the customer and/or technical requirements including those recommended by the original equipment manufacturer;
4. Controls that ensure equipment integrity to original performance requirements and design acceptance criteria are maintained
   
   

In an organization with dozens, if not hundreds of different products lines, this seems like a daunting task. Many of our adopters had previously managed with only Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. Combine this with additional requirements for training, non-conformities, document control, management of change, and a host of other QMS components, and it is easy to see how overwhelming compliance can be.

However, imagine integrating all of these components, including preventive maintenance planning, into one, seamless application. Moreover, imagine an application that can put all this information in your hands at the touch of a button, whenever you need, wherever you need it.

Contact us at Accupoint to see how we can help streamline your asset management and make your preventive maintenance planning as simple as possible.