scope:

General

This recommended practice (RP) covers the integrity management of hazardous liquid facilities. This RP provides guidance on:

- high-consequence area impact determinations;

- data integration;

- threat identification;

- risk assessment;

- inspection and reinspection;

- preventive and mitigative measures (P&MM);

- performance measures.

Facilities include terminal and pipeline station piping systems within terminal and pipeline facility boundaries and includes off-plot piping. Off-plot piping includes, but is not limited to, piping between facilities, piping that comes from or goes to a refinery or other type facility, or piping that may cross a road, ditch, or other property outside the confines of a terminal facility. This RP covers the integrity management of all pressure-containing components directly used in the transport or storage of hazardous liquids within a liquids pipeline facility.

Piping for transportation of hazardous liquids, such as but not limited to crude oil, highly volatile liquids (HVLs), gasoline, diesel, biofuels, lubricating oils, jet fuel, and aviation fuel are covered by the scope of this document.

This RP does not apply to refinery piping, sanitary waste piping, cast iron piping, or nonmetallic gravity flow piping systems. Tanks are considered and reviewed as part of the high-consequence area analysis and risk assessment. For guidance on the inspection and maintenance of tanks, refer to API 653 or API Std 2610 ^[1].

This RP builds on concepts developed in API RP 1160, Managing System Integrity for Hazardous Liquid Pipelines. Additional guidance is available in documents such as API 570 and API Std 2610.

Integrity Management of Facilities

General Considerations

A facility integrity management program is a documented set of policies, processes, and procedures to manage facility risk. Integrity management is more complex for facilities than for mainline pipe due to the nature and complexity of facility assets and operations. Attributes of facility piping that can distinguish it from mainline piping are:

- variable operating stresses;

- multiple types and sizes of piping and tubing, both aboveground and belowground, which may be insulated and/or on pipe supports;

- smaller sizes of pipe often joined by nonwelded fittings;

- piping used infrequently leading to low or intermittent flow, and/or piping configurations that result in deadlegs where water may accumulate;

- difficult-to-inspect and unpiggable piping;

- complex system loads such as pulsation and mechanical vibration from equipment and turbulent flow paths;

- variety of different materials;

- located where access is controlled by the operator and often protected with secondary containment.

Plan-Do-Check-Act

The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is a four-step model for carrying out continuous assessment and improvement. This methodology can be applied to the facility integrity management program as well as to individual elements and processes within the program. The PDCA principle is at the core of many management systems, and its principal aim is to encourage creating strategies and plans, executing those strategies and plans in line with guidelines, checking those actions for conformity, and using those results to adjust the next generation of plans. This cycle is iterative and is maintained to achieve continuous improvement. See Figure 1 for a diagram illustrating the PDCA cycle.

There are inputs (e.g. data, information, and resources) to the processes within each element yielding a set of outputs (e.g. prioritized work that reduced risk and ultimately improved safety performance). The operator defines facility integrity management program inputs and outputs within the execution of each of the essential elements. The operator defines these inputs and outputs for each of the elements to be described, and through the public awareness program reviews them periodically.

The PDCA cycle is useful when starting a new facility integrity management program; when developing a new or improved design of a process, product, or service; or when defining a repetitive work process.

The PDCA cycle is also useful as a model for continuous improvement and when planning data collection and analysis; when selecting and prioritizing threats or causes; and when implementing any changes.

The components of the PDCA cycle are:

1) Plan-This step entails the establishment of the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with the organization's policies and the expected goals. By establishing output expectations, the completeness and accuracy of the process is also a part of the targeted improvement.

2) Do-This step is the execution of the plan designed in the previous step.

3) Check-This step entails the review of the results compared with established objectives; comparing those results to the expected goals to ascertain any differences; and looking for deviation in implementation from the plan.

4) Act-This step is where a pipeline operator takes actions to continuously improve process performance, including corrective actions on significant differences between actual and planned results; analyzes the differences to determine their root causes; and determines where to apply changes that will include improvement of the process or product.

Reflecting the cyclical nature of PDCA and the dynamic/evolutionary nature of the facility integrity management program, the entire process begins again from the start. Each cycle through PDCA produces opportunities for improvement. The application of PDCA logic to individual elements within the process can provide similar insights and opportunities for improvement within that element.