Maintenance Strategy Development for Subsea Cables

Abstract

This work applies a holistic methodology for the qualification of maintenance strategies for subsea cables, which is a critical subsystem for offshore installations. The proposed approach first estimates the criticality of different failure modes identified and then, through a structured decision tree, the most appropriate maintenance strategy qualifies among different options: corrective maintenance, condition-based preventive maintenance (through inspections or continuous monitoring) or planned preventive maintenance. The outcome of this assessment will then allow for the optimal combination of maintenance activities to be selected, supporting a reliability-centered maintenance, and contributing to the reduction of operational expenditure and life cycle costs. For the subsystem studied, a total of 37 failure modes were identified and analyzed during workshops with industry experts, investigating the corresponding causes and effects, and qualifying appropriate maintenance strategies. Three indicative examples of the most critical failure modes are then presented in detail. The proposed approach can be expanded and applied to different subsystems, applications and industries.