Asset Integrity Management (AIM): What is it?

Asset Integrity Management (AIM) is the practice of ensuring an asset is able to perform its function as effectively and efficiently as possible throughout its lifecycle. Equipment failure, unplanned shutdowns, and deferred production are all costly and dangerous side effects of inefficient asset integrity management. These issues may also lead to major health and safety hazards for both employees and the environment. Therefore, success in Oil and Gas, Renewable Energy, and any other asset-intensive industry relies heavily on proper Asset Integrity Management.

The costs associated with unplanned shutdowns in the oil and gas industry have been cited to be on average between $38 to $88 million USD a year. In 2016 the oil and gas industry saw 29 accidents where a total of 50 lives were lost, averaging almost two fatalities per plant incident. The types of equipment used in these industries may vary from pipelines to pressure equipment to electrical equipment. What these all have in common is the fact that fatigue cracks, corrosion, and other deterioration processes which can be spotted on the instruments do not necessarily symbolize damage or a need for maintenance, making it more difficult to assess when and where attention is required. This is where a well-integrated and effective Asset Integrity Management solution can make all the difference. It will help your business thrive in terms of safety and proper asset function.  

To safeguard the functionality of your equipment, proper maintenance must be put into place. This is where Asset Integrity Management software comes in. Asset Integrity Management software provides plants with the capability to calculate optimal intervention periods and lays out efficient maintenance strategies.  The maintenance strategies put into place will be optimized to make sure that the operation runs at an optimal cost and that downtime is reduced to a minimum. Further, this will ensure that the workers and the environment remain safe.  

Since there are various different needs when it comes to asset integrity, Asset Integrity Management (AIM) Software comes in various shapes and forms. Based on the chosen equipment type, process and plant, the right software will be determined. . There are solutions that are cloud-based, available for offline usage, and follow a subscription model, and there are solutions that still use perpetual licensing and require installation on every device. To find out more about the various living types, check out our blog post: Integrity Management Software: SaaS or Perpetual License. Selecting an Asset Integrity Management Solution will therefore vary on your different needs. Important questions to consider include: What is your industry? What is your equipment? and how many processes are you looking to maintain? 

The term asset-heavy or asset-intensive industry refers to industries that rely on using many assets.  For example, this could be pipelines, pressure, and electrical or rotating equipment. Examples of these industries beyond Oil and Gas and Chemicals are; pulp & paper, utilities, mining, food & beverage, and pharmaceuticals. However, it is in industries where leaks are dangerous and shutdowns costly that Asset Integrity Management (AIM) software is most used.

Cenosco offers an Asset Integrity Management (AIM) Software Suite that is unified, cloud-based, and available offline. This means that you no longer need to find different tools for each of your processes. Instead, you can use the same solution for a wide range of equipment types, unifying your asset integrity. With Cenosco’s IMS Suite, you can make sure your solutions all work together regardless of what different processes you are maintaining.  

IMS is an end-to-end asset integrity management suite. It consists of unified solutions which operate across all your equipment types and processes. Furthermore, our solutions support users in making smart inspection and maintenance decisions. Therefore, these ultimately lead to increased safety, asset availability, and lower asset management costs. Our solution was created together with multinational oil and gas leader Shell. Therefore, with our solutions, you can benefit from years of direct industry experience.