In Australia, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) recently reported the results of an inspection program it undertook in 2010-11 on the issue of Preventative Maintenance Management (PMM) systems in use on MODUs, FPSOs, production platforms, and unattended wellheads.
According to NOPSA (The Regulator Bulletin, December 2011), the inspections covered onshore interviews with Integrity and Maintenance Engineers and offshore interviews with Maintenance Supervisors.
Although Preventative Maintenance Management systems were found to differ in quality, they were found to be fit for purpose.
There were, however, areas in which PMM systems could be improved, and the following issues are worth considering further:
• Lack of appropriate auditing and independent verification was the most significant failing identified;
• Some of the PMM systems inspected had limited supporting documentation available;
• Variation between the documented PMM and how maintenance is actually conducted;
• Formal deferrals processes are not always in place and do not always include consideration of the risks of deferral and assess the impacts/consequences of not performing preventative maintenance on safety critical equipment;
• PMM systems that differentiated between ‘critical’ and ‘non-critical’ temporary repairs with no common understanding on the definition of ‘critical’.
• A lack of assessment of 3rd party service-providers as part of a contractor prequalification process; and
• A tendency for the Maintenance Supervisor’s position to become an administrative function; and
• A lack of supervision by the Maintenance Supervisor of the workforce, technical support and worksites.
Alongside NOPSA, we at the Risk Tool Box recommend that Operators consider their PMM system in the context of the issues outlined above.