Tru-Fit®
Tru-Fit® is the only SBT inspection method that complies with Energy Institute and HSE good inspection practice requirements for ALARP risk management
Tru-Fit®
To help resolve the issues around SBT leaks, production losses and ineffective SBT inspection methods Paragon developed Tru-Fit® a non-invasive, portable, handheld, highly accurate inspection system that identifies and automatically grades assembly issues using Paragon’s propriety Grade-Tech® software. Tru-Fit meets industry good practice inspection requirements for Health and Safety Executive & the Energy Institute and is also classed as a Category A – Highly Effective Inspection Method for risk-based inspection requirements. Tru-Fit® has also been recognised by the Net Zero Technology Centre as an emissions reduction technology saving 1,000 tons CO2e per asset.
Tru-Fit Client testimonial
“Industry 4.0, digitalisation and advanced technology is crucial to realise the opportunities we have identified. The Tru-Fit system provided fast accurate results, whilst eliminating the break and remake of conventional inspection methods increasing safety and inspection reliability. The integrity and validity of inspection data is crucial, our teams can use the enhanced data from the Tru-Fit system to make better decisions improving the efficiency and reliability of operations allowing more effective resource allocation and spend while reducing risk and unplanned downtime. Ultimately, our teams can use the data to predict potential failures and perform precise targeted maintenance when needed optimising operational and maintenance costs whilst monitoring asset efficiency and reliability”
Onsite Maintenance Supervisor, Bonga FPSO, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited.
Tru-Fit®
The problem
Small bore tubing connectors have been used for over 50 years in multiple industries including shipping, transportation, oil and gas, nuclear and hydrogen with over 45 million installed in the UK North Sea alone. SBT failures are amongst the highest causes of hydrocarbon releases in the UK oil and gas industry with SBT a major cause of production loss costing £500 million lost production annually in the UK sector with 250,000 tons CO2e released.
Industry safety alerts and experience has shown that the root cause of many SBT failures is due to poor assembly practice and a lack of competency surrounding the makeup and installation of SBT fittings and instrument pipework compounded by the lack of effective inspection methods. Commonly used inspection methods such as visual inspection has an SBT assembly defect detection rate of 46% whilst using manufacturers gap gauges for inspection had an even lower success rate of 30%.
75% of connectors identified as having a fault by visual and gauging methods are opened unnecessarily.
The UK HSE and Energy Institute Guidelines both require risk to be kept to As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) a legal requirement which requires good inspection practice to be adopted as a minimum. Good inspection practice is defined by a high probability of defect detection, minimum 80% in the case of HSE.
Both HSE and the Energy Institute Guidelines also recognise SBT assemblies as one of the largest contributors to the incidence of loss of process containment in potentially hazardous plant and that there is considerable room for improvement in terms of inspection practices. SBT assemblies are vulnerable to failure due to poor installation practice and lack of effective inspection programmes and if good practice is not being applied throughout the whole SBT assembly life cycle, there is a relatively high probability that an integrity failure event will occur at some time during service *
*EI Guidelines.
The brief
Develop a fast, simple to use, non-invasive inspection system that can
find and grade internal issues without system break and remake.
The system must comply with HSE ALARP and Energy Institute ALARP good
inspection practice inspection requirements of minimum 80% correct defect detection rate and maximum 20% false defects recorded for effective risk management improving safety whilst reducing risk, cost, leaks and downtime and allowing effective risk-based inspection to be performed.
The solution
Tru-Fit was developed to meet the requirements above. Tru-Fit is a non-invasive inspection method that uses sensor information and data analysis software to determine if the connector has been assembled correctly or not. The fault may be internal or external and is automatically graded by the analysis software from 1-5 with 5 being the most severe. The grading is produced by the software independent of the operator.
An independent capability assessment of SBT inspection methods by the University of Strathclyde found the Tru-Fit system was the only method to comply with ALARP good inspection practice requirements for HSE and Energy Institute Guidelines (green box area in graph).
Tru-Fit was found to have a 99% Probability of Detecting (PoD) typical SBT defects that cause failures in-service whilst visual inspection had a 46% PoD and using manufacturers gauges had a 30% PoD – slightly better than a random guess.
Visual and Gauging methods were also found to have an unacceptably high number of unnecessary system openings (false positive rate) with both methods failing to meet UK HSE good inspection practice requirements to comply with ALARP risk management and general industry good inspection requirements of 90% PoD with 95% confidence.
The Benefits
Tru-Fit is the only SBT inspection method that complies with HSE and Energy Institute Guidelines ALARP good practice inspection risk management requirements allowing Duty Holders to build an effective strategy for the management of SBT. Tru-Fit is also the only SBT inspection method recognised as an emissions reduction technology by the UK Net Zero Technology Centre
- Demonstrate compliance with Health and Safety Executive and Energy Institute ALARP requirements for risk management, in-service inspection & construction quality – reduce corporate risk.
- Reduce plant risk, downtime, unplanned shutdowns, lost production, leaks and fugitive emissions while optimising POB.
- Monitor construction quality and optimise your supply chain.
- Non-intrusive, perform faster, safer, more effective inspection at less cost with less time spent in hazardous areas.
- Avoid unnecessary shutdown, opening, checking and re-instatement of pressurised connectors containing hazardous fluid or gases indicated by conventional inspection methods. Reduce pressure testing requirements
- Integrate into existing maintenance management or risk based inspection systems, reduce maintenance backlogs, predict and prevent leaks before they happen, perform specific targeted maintenance.
- Move to digitilisation and Industry 4.0 with highly accurate inspection and intelligent data to perform targeted maintenance where the risk of failure is highest.
Potential Savings
Less Personnel on Board
Less inspection costs with increased safety
Reduced downtime - avoid unnecessary disassembly
Predictive targeted maintenance
Less Commute Hours
0
Training Savings
$
0
Better Skilled People
0
Environmental Impact
-
0
kg Co2
Tru-Fit additional uses –
Tru-Fit users are trained and certified by Paragon. Tru-Fit may also be used to verify and manage new construction integrity – a
critical HSE and Energy Institute requirement for effective risk based inspection when equipment is commissioned and in-service.
Use of the Tru-Fit® inspection system allows the Duty Holder and Technical Authority to demonstrate SBT inspection good practice required for ALARP compliance