GE Digital Announces Certifications and Updates to APM Integrity’s Risk Based Inspection Capabilities for Oil & Gas and Chemical Processing Industries

SAN RAMON, Calif. – June 8, 2020 -  GE Digital today announced that its APM software V4.4 release incorporates the latest requirements of the American Petroleum Institute (API) RP 581 standard into GE Digital APM’s Risk Based Inspection (RBI) 581 calculator.  Trinity Bridge, LLC CEO Lynne C. Kaley, Master Editor of the Third Edition, partnered with GE Digital to ensure full compliance with the latest addendum.

With this latest APM release, the GE Digital APM Integrity solution includes new requirements in API 581 Third Edition , 1st addendum, released in April 2019.  Major updates include:

• Calculation of thinning damage factor for cladded components
• Updated fluid properties to allow modeling of 100% toxic fluids without a flammable process carrier
• Redefining release hole diameter for each hole size to a maximum of the hole diameter.

This will impact the consequence calculations of small-bore piping.

"API codes, standards and recommended practices are developed by groups of industry specialists from major oil and petrochemical companies to create industry best practices that improve equipment safety and availability," said Kaley, who has been working with API since the early 1990s to develop RBI methodologies.

Kaley continues, “The latest version of API RP 581 Third Edition, 1st Addendum was released April 2019 with important improvements to the probability and consequence calculations. It is important to make changes to the software in order to maintain consistency with the documented methodology to provide the users with the most technically accurate results possible. Trinity Bridge and GE Digital will continue to work closely to provide users with future updates that will be released soon in the Third Edition, 2nd Addendum release planned later this year and the Fourth Edition planned in 2021.”

GE Digital continues to ensure that its RBI-581 functionality is updated whenever there is a major change in the API-581 specification to ensure reliable risk calculation, which is the basis of a sound inspection planning process. GE Digital will begin working with Trinity Bridge to incorporate the 3rd Edition, 2nd Addendum once it is published by API.

GE Digital is also announcing recertification of its Risk Based Inspection (RBI) 580 capabilities as compliant with the API RP 580 (3rd edition) methods and work processes. Additionally, the software product development process was assessed as compliant with SIL 1 requirements, per IEC61508 (part 3) standard.

Dave Butler, Senior Safety Engineer with exida, said, “We’ve assessed and certified GE Digital’s RBI-580 Fixed Equipment Criticality Engine as compliant with the API RP 580 methods and work processes since 2006.  By engaging exida, an accredited certification body, to assess and certify the product, operators using APM can be assured that the component is compliant with the requirements of API RP 580 and that the software has been produced and tested properly based on accepted software development requirements.”

APM Integrity, part of GE Digital’s integrated Asset Performance Management software solution suite, enables a closed loop mechanical integrity program across the enterprise to reduce risk, lower inspection costs, and manage regulatory compliance of your fixed equipment. Using an integrated set of tools, APM Integrity calculates risk, inspection priority, and the remaining useful life of assets to generate, implement, and execute optimized inspection strategies, while streamlining auditability and compliance governance.

APM Integrity v4.4 is now generally available from GE Digital. More information can be found here.