Rigorous inspection prevents catastrophes

March 2012. Uncontrolled gas leaked out on the "Elgin’’ drilling rig in the North Sea. The French operator Total was unable to detect a rusty pipe which eventually led to a billion-dollar damage for the company. And even worse, it led to significant risks for employees and the environment. While Total has learned their lesson and dramatically increased their inspection efforts to detect leaks before they grow and eventually break, it is just one of many examples across industries. Despite the variety of catastrophic scenarios, there is one simple commonality: You do not want heavy, dangerous machines to break.

Today, the importance of proper inspection is not a secret, but unfortunately it conflicts with the constant need to reduce costs. Regrettably, competitive pressure leads companies to trade cost savings for safety either in the form of reduced inspection frequency or inappropriate inspection conditions. Morally, neither one is acceptable. On top of that, several inspection jobs are more or less impossible for humans to perform. As a result, industrial inspection is not done as it should be.

Read the full article at Medium.com.