ASSET INTEGRITY PROGRAMS
Asset Integrity Failures Are the Leading Cause of Losses in the Chemical Industry. Most Programs Don’t Address Why.
An effective Asset Integrity program is one of the most important programs for any facility handling hazardous chemicals. Losses due to poor asset or mechanical integrity programs are the leading cause of losses for the industry — loss of primary containment, equipment failures, unplanned shutdowns, and the fires, explosions, and chemical releases that follow.
Yet the implementation of asset integrity programs has had persistent, systemic problems that most compliance audits fail to identify, let alone resolve. These are not technical problems. They are management system problems — failures in how programs are designed, governed, and executed at the organizational level.
The Systemic Problems
Asset integrity programs consistently struggle with four interconnected challenges:
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- Utilization of Recognized and Generally Accepted Good Engineering Practices (RAGAGEP) — programs that reference RAGAGEP without actually implementing the specific requirements, creating compliance exposure under OSHA’s enforcement interpretation
- Linking equipment failure modes to proper inspection, testing, and preventive maintenance (ITPM) strategies — programs that apply generic schedules rather than failure-mode-specific approaches
- Setting ITPM schedules based on degradation rates, operational performance, and risk evaluation — rather than arbitrary calendar intervals that waste resources on low-risk equipment while under-inspecting high-risk assets
- Utilizing degradation and incident data to optimize ITPM solutions — closing the feedback loop between what inspections find and how the program adapts
Relationship to Management System Assessment
Asset integrity is a critical element of the overall Process Safety Management System. The Management System Efficacy & Optimization Assessment evaluates the governance framework within which asset integrity operates. This dedicated Asset Integrity page addresses the specialized technical and programmatic depth required to assess and optimize the asset integrity program itself. The two assessments work in concert — governance failures identified at the management system level often manifest most visibly in asset integrity performance.
Services
- Asset integrity program assessment and optimization
- RAGAGEP identification, implementation, and compliance verification — aligned with OSHA enforcement memorandum requirements
- Failure mode identification and ITPM strategy development for all equipment types
- Risk-based ITPM schedule optimization — reducing unnecessary inspections while strengthening coverage of high-risk assets
- Fitness-for-service evaluation programs
- Degradation data analysis and program feedback loop design
- Loss of primary containment reduction strategies
- Asset utilization improvement through reliability-centered maintenance
What Clients Achieve
Reduced loss of primary containment incidents and personnel exposure risk
RAGAGEP compliance that satisfies OSHA enforcement scrutiny
Optimized ITPM schedules that reduce costs while improving coverage
Improved asset utilization, on-line time, and bottom-line performance
Defensible asset integrity programs in the event of regulatory inspection or litigation
Kenan’s Background in Asset Integrity
Kenan served as Reactive Chemical, Mechanical Integrity, and Process Safety Discipline Manager at Dow Chemical from 2002 to 2009, where he was directly responsible for developing technology, management systems, and hazard/risk assessment tools for mechanical integrity across Dow’s global operations. He led teams that upgraded Mechanical Integrity, Combustible Dust, and Safety System Impairment Standards globally. He has contributed to CCPS publications on Mechanical Integrity, with deep practical experience designing and evaluating asset integrity programs within broader management system frameworks.