Abstract:
The current trend to economically exploit deepwater hydrocarbon reserves is to reduce
the capital expenditure; accomplished by deploying subsea equipment. The financial
benefit afforded is offset by the risk of high operational costs associated with failure.
Recognition of the life cycle cost implications of subsea reliability have led to the
development of the reliability strategy. This strategy adopts a risk based approach to
design for reliability where only analyses (and their subsequent recommended actions)
perceived to add to whole project value are implemented. While life cycle costing has
been developed to address through life cost, analyses are traditionally considered a
source of cost accumulation rather than value creation.
This thesis proposes a potential reliability value decision making framework to assist in
the design for reliability planning process. The framework draws on the existing
concepts of life cycle costing to explicitly consider the through life value of investing in
reliability analyses. Fundamental to the framework are the potential reliability value
index and an associated value breakdown structure intended as central decision support
for decentralised decision making.
Implementation of the framework is reliant on synergies within the project organization;
including relationships between organizations and project functions. To enhance
synergy between functions and dismantle some of the recognised barriers to
implementing the reliability strategy an organizational structure, for projects, guided
centrally by the reliability value framework is proposed. This structure requires the
broadening of each project functions’ skill set to enable the value added implementation
of the strategy’s activities. By widening the scope of application, the reliability analysis
toolkit becomes the central guidance of the design process and awareness of the causes
of unreliability and how they can be avoided increases. As this capability improves so
the cost-efficiency with which reliability is managed in design (introduced as the
reliability efficiency frontier) also increases.
