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Renzo explained his role and involvement in the reliability of systems and equipment operated in harsh environments, the critical challenges, five to 10 year vision and what he is looking forward to at the event.
Q: Could you briefly explain your role and involvement in the reliability of systems and equipment operated in harsh environments?
Renzo Tostini (RT): I have been working as a Rotating Equipment Lead Engineer for large EPC Contractors in the Oil and Gas field for the last ten years. Dealing with harsh environments is quite frequent in my sector. I have designed, purchased, tested and installed equipment for operation under extreme temperatures, corrosive atmospheres, operating corrosive, toxic and aggressive fluids – all equipment requiring very onerous reliability and availability requirements.
Q: What is the number one challenge in the quest to improve anticipation of the problems that can occur when trying to maintain reliability in harsh environments?
RT: Good engineering design is the key. Reliability can be measured and predicted. Harsh environments add design constraints needs be taken into consideration in the early stages of a project. Selection of proper materials, coatings, sealing systems, winterisation, tropicalisation, start-up and shut-down strategies, operational philosophy and maintenance plans are a part of the design process that follows a typical PDCA cycle, converging towards the required result./p>
Q: What is the most exciting development in this field at the moment, either within your company or in the industry in general?
RT: The current industry scenario, affected by the recent drop of Oil price, makes equipment and plant reliability, together with Life Cycle Cost Analysis, key drivers in plant design and project execution. A significant effort is made to minimise cost of maintenance and cost of deferred production. Moreover, the increasing sensitivity to health, safety and environmental factors has played a significant role to the improvement of concepts like predictive maintenance, condition monitoring and performance optimisation.
Q: Where do you see developments heading in the next 5-10 years regarding the design and management for reliability in extreme conditions?
RT: We must be realistic when we talk about fossil fuels. They are the main source of energy for the humankind and their availability is limited. Whilst alternative energy sources are becoming more prevalent and economical, fossil fuels will still have a role to play in our energy and commodity markets in the near-term future. However, the sources and locations of these fossil fuels will become more challenging. We will be forced to explore areas where the conditions are extremely uncomfortable, such as extremely cold environments, sour gas reserves and deep-sea exploration. The increase in the cost of natural resources will make those sites economically viable. The applied technology will benefit from investments. The latest findings in research and development of recent technologies and materials and the improvement of the existing ones will be applied in the field of high reliability design and operation.
Q: What are you most looking forward to by attending and presenting at the seminar?
RT: I am really looking forward to attending this seminar because I would like to share my Oil and Gas experience about reliability of systems and equipment operated in harsh environments, comparing it with other sectors and industries. I am confident that analysing different approaches and hearing about the latest applied technologies will be a precious resource of knowledge for all of the attendees.
About the conference
Renzo will be speaking at Reliability of Systems and Equipment Operated in Harsh Environments on 6 March 2018 in London. Join him and other experts from Rolls-Royce, SSE Engineering Centre, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Limited, Sellafield Ltd., BAE Systems Plc, DNV GL Noble Denton Marine Services and more.
Key programme highlights:
- Bechtel share case studies on rotating equipment in harsh environments within the oil and gas sector
- Rolls-Royce discusses design for service in relation to gas turbine engines
- Find out about onshore wind turbines in harsh environments from SSE Engineering Centre
- Gain key insights about in-service reliability for combat aircraft systems from BAE Systems Plc
- Hear from IBM about the rise of the machines and reliable self-healing assets
- Learn from Sellafield Ltd. about how they engineer reliability at their site.
For further information, visit the Reliability of Systems and Equipment Operated in Harsh Environments.