Minimising the burden of hazardous area inspections
Iain MacKenzie A * , Bruce Hill B and Sakeena Dawood CA Woodside Energy Ltd., Mia Yellagonga, Karlak, 11 Mount Street, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
B Woodside Energy Ltd., Karratha Gas Plant, PO Box 517, Karratha, WA 6714, Australia.
C Woodside Energy Ltd., Mia Yellagonga, Karda, 108 Mounts Bay Road, Perth, WA 6000, Australia.
The APPEA Journal 63 S315-S317 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22254
Accepted: 7 March 2023 Published: 11 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.
Abstract
The requirement for hazardous area inspections is a mandatory, licence to operate, requirement for oil and gas installations and requires a significant resources and maintenance budget. The conventional requirement is to inspect every item of hazardous area electrical equipment once every 4 years. In Woodside Energy’s Australian assets alone, there are over 150 000 items requiring inspection. In some areas where there are issues with having personnel inspecting equipment and where exclusion zones have been put in place, inspection has required us to utilise robotic inspection techniques. This has included use of Boston Dynamic’s Spot, a walking quadrupedal robot and an ExRobotics certified Ex-R2 crawler. Our initial method of close visual inspections was to have an inspector sitting outside the exclusion zone and manipulating the robot until they had a good visual image of the equipment which was recorded as evidence of the inspection. In the case where the equipment item was at high level, a drone was used in the same way. The efficiency gained from using this technique was estimated by the inspection team to be double that of manually inspecting the equipment. While this technique is newly being developed and requires the inspectors to be continually monitoring the inspections, it is hoped that in the future, machine learning would allow the robots to autonomously inspect the equipment items and report anomalies based on changes from previous inspections. To date we have trialled this onshore only, but we do see great potential in utilising this offshore also.
Keywords: continuous supervision, drone inspections, hazardous area electrical equipment, machine learning, risk-based inspections, robotic inspections, sampling strategy.
Iain MacKenzie graduated from RGU in Aberdeen with a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and a Postgraduate Diploma in Offshore Engineering. He first worked for Brown and Root in electrical design for 13 years in North Sea developments and Ras Lanuf Refinery, Libya. He then moved to Melbourne with Davey McKee for 2 years, and then joined BHP Petroleum for almost 19 years. During that time Iain held various roles: Chief Electrical Engineer, Engineering Manager, Field Manager for the Griffin Field, and Field Abandonment Planning Manager. Iain has always been keen to use new technology and design fit-for-purpose solutions. Currently, he is Chief Electrical Engineer for Woodside Energy. |
Bruce Hill is an experienced EEHA (Electrical Equipment in Hazardous Areas) Advisor with a strong background in electrical instrument technology. He began his electrical career at a nickel smelter where he honed his skills and expertise. With 19 years post-trade experience, and over 16 of those years spent in construction and maintenance in the oil and gas industry, he holds a Diploma in Project Management and has worked in various roles at Woodside. His hands-on experience trained him to think critically and come up with innovative solutions to complex problems. Bruce is committed to staying ahead of the curve by continuously updating his knowledge on the latest advancements in safety standards and technologies. |
Sakeena Dawood graduated with a BEng (Mechatronics) degree from Curtin University and joined Woodside as an Electrical Engineer in various production and project roles. Sakeena’s passion for automation, efficiency, and problem solving led her to robotics engineering in the Technology Development Team. Her primary focus is driving process improvements and optimising workflows. With experience in the ICE discipline, EEHA maintenance strategies and site operations, Sakeena brings a practical approach to understanding Operation’s needs and making informed decisions. |
