Chapters authored
Decision-Making Model for Offshore Offloading Operations Based on Probabilistic Risk Assessment
To explore offshore oil fields in deepwater, the use of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit coupled to a shuttle tanker is economically and technically feasible. Shuttle tankers like system for oil transportation are increasingly being accepted as a preferred transportation method for remote and deepwater offshore developments. The offloading operation is considered one of the riskiest operations in offshore environment. The chapter presents a risk-based analysis method aiming at defining the risk profile associated with an offloading operation. For offloading operations, the risk profile is usually evaluated considering that the offloading operation has an approximate duration of 24 hours. The method follows three basic steps: identification of hazard, definition of failure scenarios and their probability of occurrence, and evaluation of failure consequences. The decision-making theory is used to evaluate the possibility of emergency disconnection during the operation. The method is applied to evaluate the risk profile of an offloading operation in Campos Basin, Brazil, considering a FPSO moored with Differentiated Complacent Anchoring System (DICAS). The method is used to model the risk scenario associated with shuttle tanker main engine failure as initiating event. The changes in environmental conditions have great influence in risk profile and increase the probability of disconnection.
Part of the book: Probabilistic Modeling in System Engineering
Maintenance and Asset Life Cycle for Reliability Systems
This chapter presents tools, methods, and indicators, in order to develop a successful and modern maintenance program. These are based on reliability engineering that improves the reliability of a system or complex equipment. Frequently, the industry implements maintenance schemes, which are based on equipment’s manufacturer’s recommendations and may not apply changes throughout the asset life cycle. In this sense, several philosophies, methodologies, and standards seek to assist this process, but most of them do not take into consideration their operation characteristics, production necessity, and other factors that are regarded as being important to one’s company. This method is based on the analysis of preventive component replacements and the subsequent critical consequences. These analyses may be used as a decision-making tool for defining component replacement decisions. In this chapter, the first section introduces and justifies the importance of this topic being approached from the perspective of asset management. Next, it discusses key maintenance concepts and techniques, with the aim of establishing the foundation of a maintenance management. The purpose of the final section is to present a maintenance strategy model, and it presents the findings of the case study about model implementation at home cleaning service company.
Part of the book: Reliability and Maintenance