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Corrosion management

Moving from damage resolution to proactive inspection and predictive risk management with advanced digital solutions

Identify & correct corrosion before it's a problem

With Accenture’s digitally-enabled corrosion management services and solutions, companies are doing just that–achieving a radical step-change in the way they operate and maintain their assets.

Most companies rely on invasive and costly maintenance and inspection practices that come with their own set of limitations including radiation exposure, high-levels of required expertise and reliance on visual observations that often miss early signs of corrosion.

Now using the Internet of Things (IoT), advanced data analytics and data visualization tools, Accenture is transforming maintenance and inspection planning and execution from presumptive and costly to predictive and data-driven. Accenture’s comprehensive services and solutions leverage advanced digital technologies to help companies create superior risk-based inspection programs and inhibitors strategies that take the guesswork out of corrosion management.

Digital corrosion management

Corrosion management for upstream pipeline network

Using digital tech to predict & prevent corrosion

Potential consequences

From oil and gas refineries to chemical plants to water and wastewater networks, poor corrosion and asset integrity management can have major consequences on core operations, including:

  • Leaks and equipment failures
  • Corrosion at unexpected locations
  • Poor asset integrity performance
  • Health, safety and environmental (HSE) incidents and unplanned downtime
  • Increased costs
  • Reputational risk

The challenge

Even the most advanced non-destructive techniques for corrosion inspections can be challenging and costly, leading to further infrastructure damage, additional safety risks, and avoidable downtime.

Uncertainty of zones/lines at risk

Inspection is often reactive and can often lead to further corrosion. Traditionally, inspections are based on a priority list of perceived risks based on known pipe/vessel design parameters and observable equipment condition only. As a result, sites of corrosion can easily be missed or equipment over inspected.

Unnecessarily large scope & frequency

At times, large areas of insulation may be removed and vessels taken offline unnecessarily, due to a lack of supporting data to enable effective decision-making.

Time consuming & costly

Removing insulation and taking assets offline is time consuming and costly and requires significant downtime and/or equipment isolation. Additionally, cutting plugs introduces a fresh source of potential moisture penetration and hence further corrosion.

Safety concerns

To perform inspections, workers need to access hazardous areas and/or work from heights. Additionally some non-destructive techniques require the use of radiation which introduces additional risks.

Our solution

Accenture’s digitally-enabled corrosion management services and solutions take companies through a journey that harvests data in a revolutionary way enabling actionable insights.

Acquire & monitor: Enhanced visibility and system

  • Risk-based Inspection Methodology
  • Pipeline Integrity Management Systems (PIMS)
  • Asset Integrity Division Readiness
  • System and Data Integration enabled by Accenture’s Asset Data Analysis and Processing Tool (ADAPT)

Predict and optimize: Advanced analytics

  • Image and Video Analytics to detect surface defects and signs of corrosion
  • Advanced Analytics and Deep Learning using maintenance, design, operations, environmental, and historical data

Apply and close loop: Cognitive automation

  • Real-time, Interactive Equipment Monitoring by combining 3D modelling with Accenture’s Active Network Model for Corrosion Management
  • Pipeline Inspection using robotic crawlers and drones
  • Digital Inspection Technologies, including nanotechnology, ultrasound, laser spectrometry and optical non-destructive testing

Key benefits

Transforming maintenance and inspections through predictive corrosion management

Digitally-enabled corrosion management empowers companies to go beyond siloed maintenance and inspection activities to achieve optimum asset value. By using a digitally enabled corrosion management approach, companies can develop a holistic and proactive maintenance and inspection plan and inhibitors strategies in order to:

  • Increase certainty of zones/lines at risk
  • Reduce scope and frequency of inspections
  • Reduce costs, time spent, and asset downtime due to inspections
  • Increase asset life
  • Improve worker safety

The results

10-20%

Reduced costs of inspection between 10 and 20%

10%

Increased uptime and productivity by more than 10%

20%

Increased asset integrity, resulting in increased asset life by over 20%

Greater productivity via digital transformation

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Meet the team

Michael Poland

Managing Director – Industry X, Intelligent Asset Management Global Lead
LinkedIn

Jurgen Weichenberger

Chief Data Scientist
LinkedIn

Related capabilities

Industry X

Digital products and digitalized operations for business – become the future of your industry.

Intelligent asset management

The power of data and digital to increase asset reliability through self-optimizing operations.

Capital projects

Digitizing large infrastructure projects to bring them in on time and budget.