A risk based approach for prioritizing electrical equipment replacement and repair

Electrical infrastructure equipment in the petrochemical and/or oil and gas industry in North America is generally 40 or more years old. The life and reliability of electrical equipment in this age range can be compromised due to operating conditions such as exposure to moisture and chemicals, loading, temperature, vibration, and mechanical stress over the life of the equipment. Electrical equipment operating and life cycle philosophies tend to vary from age based replacement to run-to-failure. This results in an ad-hoc approach for determining the appropriate time for equipment replacements or major repairs. Limited resources, funding, and other competing projects exacerbate the issue. An operating and life cycle management philosophy using preventive and predictive maintenance results to prioritize equipment replacements and/or improvement will help optimize how to determine when equipment repair or replacement is justified. This paper will describe a systematic risk based approach of prioritizing electrical equipment replacement and repair projects to improve electrical reliability and safety. The approach uses probability and consequence techniques for equipment repair or replacement.