Advances in inspection techniques and corrosion mitigation technologies have changed the perception of corrosion in industrial settings from being inevitable to something that can and should be managed. However, even the best corrosion mitigation and inspection tools cannot fully alleviate the significant threat that corrosion poses to pipes, tanks, and other metallic structures around the globe. When it comes to critical infrastructure, cutting-edge corrosion mitigation technologies still require an active Corrosion Management System (CMS) to maximize an asset’s lifecycle value, mitigate safety and environmental risks, and provide reliability to critical processes.
What is a Corrosion Management System (CMS)
A CMS helps improve an organization’s ability to manage and mitigate corrosion threats for current and future assets. It is a documented set of procedures for planning, implementing, and monitoring the integrity of your assets with an emphasis on proactive prevention of corrosion over-reactive repairs.
An effective CMS system should include:
Plans for desired asset life
Procedures and best practices for corrosion prevention
Inspection and monitoring of existing assets
Corporate strategies, objectives, and policies
Active management of the CMS system with key performance metrics
Design, Planning and Implementation of CMS
Successful implementation of a CMS requires the full engagement of all levels of an organization, from the teams carrying out the inspections to the executives enacting corporate policies. Completely eliminating corrosion may not be possible, but preventing catastrophic leaks and unexpected outages due to corrosion should be paramount.
Building Blocks of a Successful CMS
Implementation Tips
Realistic Asset Life Plans
Plan your strategy around the expected service life of your facility or the asset within your facility.
Chart out short-term and long-term milestones to measure the performance of corrosion prevention systems.
When new corrosion control systems are implemented establishing a realistic service life and inspection frequency.
Look back at previously installed corrosion control systems and determine the current state of your assets so you can plan for required maintenance and determine if repairs or replacement of certain assets provides the best Return on Investment
Implement Best Practices for Corrosion Prevention
Ensure an understanding of the different coating solutions available for your specific service requirements.
Have a robust maintenance/monitoring plan for your coatings and/or cathodic protection so that you fully understand how well your assets are being protected and can gauge the performance of the various technologies employed in your system.
Many factors can significantly increase the risk of corrosion. Determining the areas that are prone to corrosion and increasing the inspection frequency is a crucial component of a highly effective CMS system. Often a corrosion expert, with specific experience in your industry, should be enlisted to assist.
Inspection and Monitoring
Create checkpoints and ensure communications across organizational departments so that critical lessons are shared and not repeated.
A proactive inspection protocol is crucial for most industries so that failures in the corrosion mitigation technologies can be remedied before significant corrosion can set in. In order to determine the inspection frequency of each asset, you will have to look at both a risk assessment of potential corrosion failure and the expected rate and probability of corrosion.
Crucial Corporate Strategies and Policies
Whenever possible proactive preventative measures should be stressed over-reactive repairs.
Long term mitigation of risk through active corrosion monitoring prevention should be stressed over short term budgetary objectives
Key Performance Indicators
Measurable metrics are crucial to the management of any program. KPIs should be thoughtful, set to ensure that they illustrate the long-term financial value of the CMS.
KPIs can be an excellent way to institute continued improvement into your CMS system. By tracking when and how failures occur, a better understanding of the corrosion in your process can be created.
Defining Roles and Responsibilities
Crucial to the planning and implementation of a Corrosion Management System are the documented roles and responsibilities for various individuals within the organization working across the various critical areas of the industrial process. Having clear, defined roles for all involved ensures that your process is protected at all stages.
In the Nuclear Energy industry, each area has an “owner” who is ultimately responsible for the continued operation of that area. The owner delegates roles and responsibilities to other members of the team. While the owner is ultimately responsible for their sector, discussions amongst owners both within a plant and within the Nuclear energy community-at-large are crucial to the success of this system.
Corporate corrosion specialists are common in many Oil and Gas companies. Experienced corrosion specialists are a valuable asset but the responsibility for day-to-day testing and maintenance must be delegated onsite. Set inspection and reporting protocol along with regular meetings with corrosion specialists will help onsite personnel learn and better employ a successful CMS system.
Prerequisites to a Successful CMS
Most industrial facilities have a high value on the importance of safety management within their organization. A successful safety management system relies on a culture of safety where everyone is empowered to not only look out for their own safety, but for the safety of all those around them. Similarly, an effective CMS system requires a cultural shift from reacting to the inevitability of corrosion to proactively preventing corrosion on their assets. This means talking about corrosion, how we stop corrosion, and the importance of various corrosion prevention technologies from water additives to cathodic protection technologies.
The Importance of Preventive Maintenance
Preventative maintenance is always cheaper and less invasive than repairs of assets or full replacement. Enlisting the help of an expert on corrosion control and prevention can be an expense that some organizations look to avoid, however a proper CMS system, guided by a corrosion expert, will provide an excellent return on investment in the long run and help ensure the reliability of your process.
How Advanced FRP Systems Can Help
At Advanced FRP Systems, we’ve been assisting organizations, across a variety of industries, manage the threat of corrosion on their critical assets. Our engineers are experts in corrosion prevention and mitigation. We offer free consultations with organizations that are experiencing excessive corrosion and help many of our customers with assessments of their existing coatings, failure-analysis of problem areas, and customized corrosion risk mapping. Our team of corrosion experts can help you determine areas that are at increased risk of corrosion, assist in the assessment of currently installed corrosion mitigation technologies, and ultimately help you design a customized CMS for your process.
Contact us today for assistance with your Corrosion Management System.
The Complete Guide to Corrosion Management System
Advances in inspection techniques and corrosion mitigation technologies have changed the perception of corrosion in industrial settings from being inevitable to something that can and should be managed. However, even the best corrosion mitigation and inspection tools cannot fully alleviate the significant threat that corrosion poses to pipes, tanks, and other metallic structures around the globe. When it comes to critical infrastructure, cutting-edge corrosion mitigation technologies still require an active Corrosion Management System (CMS) to maximize an asset’s lifecycle value, mitigate safety and environmental risks, and provide reliability to critical processes.
What is a Corrosion Management System (CMS)
A CMS helps improve an organization’s ability to manage and mitigate corrosion threats for current and future assets. It is a documented set of procedures for planning, implementing, and monitoring the integrity of your assets with an emphasis on proactive prevention of corrosion over-reactive repairs.
An effective CMS system should include:
Design, Planning and Implementation of CMS
Successful implementation of a CMS requires the full engagement of all levels of an organization, from the teams carrying out the inspections to the executives enacting corporate policies. Completely eliminating corrosion may not be possible, but preventing catastrophic leaks and unexpected outages due to corrosion should be paramount.
Defining Roles and Responsibilities
Crucial to the planning and implementation of a Corrosion Management System are the documented roles and responsibilities for various individuals within the organization working across the various critical areas of the industrial process. Having clear, defined roles for all involved ensures that your process is protected at all stages.
In the Nuclear Energy industry, each area has an “owner” who is ultimately responsible for the continued operation of that area. The owner delegates roles and responsibilities to other members of the team. While the owner is ultimately responsible for their sector, discussions amongst owners both within a plant and within the Nuclear energy community-at-large are crucial to the success of this system.
Corporate corrosion specialists are common in many Oil and Gas companies. Experienced corrosion specialists are a valuable asset but the responsibility for day-to-day testing and maintenance must be delegated onsite. Set inspection and reporting protocol along with regular meetings with corrosion specialists will help onsite personnel learn and better employ a successful CMS system.
Prerequisites to a Successful CMS
Most industrial facilities have a high value on the importance of safety management within their organization. A successful safety management system relies on a culture of safety where everyone is empowered to not only look out for their own safety, but for the safety of all those around them. Similarly, an effective CMS system requires a cultural shift from reacting to the inevitability of corrosion to proactively preventing corrosion on their assets. This means talking about corrosion, how we stop corrosion, and the importance of various corrosion prevention technologies from water additives to cathodic protection technologies.
The Importance of Preventive Maintenance
Preventative maintenance is always cheaper and less invasive than repairs of assets or full replacement. Enlisting the help of an expert on corrosion control and prevention can be an expense that some organizations look to avoid, however a proper CMS system, guided by a corrosion expert, will provide an excellent return on investment in the long run and help ensure the reliability of your process.
How Advanced FRP Systems Can Help
At Advanced FRP Systems, we’ve been assisting organizations, across a variety of industries, manage the threat of corrosion on their critical assets. Our engineers are experts in corrosion prevention and mitigation. We offer free consultations with organizations that are experiencing excessive corrosion and help many of our customers with assessments of their existing coatings, failure-analysis of problem areas, and customized corrosion risk mapping. Our team of corrosion experts can help you determine areas that are at increased risk of corrosion, assist in the assessment of currently installed corrosion mitigation technologies, and ultimately help you design a customized CMS for your process.
Contact us today for assistance with your Corrosion Management System.