Design for Performability Under Arctic Complex Operational Conditions

Abstract

Complex operational conditions such as those in the Arctic regions can affect the performability and its integrated elements in various ways. Historical performability data such as failure and repair data play important roles in performability assessment. Such data should reflect the real conditions that equipment and human experience during operations. However, in practice, in some applications, there are not many efforts for collecting, reporting, and analyzing the performability data together with all associated influencing factors, which are the parameters of the complex operational conditions affecting the performability of a system. A case in point is the Arctic offshore, where compared to normal-climate regions, the performability data and associated influencing parameters (e.g. environmental conditions) are scarce. Hence, operations in such a complex environment are associated with a great deal of uncertainties. Such uncertainties can lead to unforeseen failures or in some cases to expensive over-designed concepts. One of the main reasons for lack of performability data is that most of available databases are not prepared originally for performability analysis of systems in complex operational conditions. For example, OREDA database, which is a database for failure and repair data of different components of oil and gas facilities in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, focuses only on reliability and maintainability that are two pillars of performability concept and thus the required data for other performability elements, including quality, safety, and sustainability, are not addressed accordingly. This chapter discusses the effects of complex operational conditions of the Arctic on the performability of offshore facilities. It also discusses the challenges of available methods for performability data collection, and thereafter, it introduces a methodology based on expert judgments for performability assessment of systems operating in the Arctic.