Tank integrity – a better way

There is no Standard or Code specifically for tank integrity management in the sugar industry. This has led to fragmentation, inconsistencies and inefficiency in tank inspection and engineering assessment. The ultimate purpose of the tank management program is to define the management process, inspections required, and maintenance tasks needed to control, and where possible, mitigate risk of failure. The integrity of tanks should be well managed. They can contain a large inventory of hazardous materials that usually have significant consequence of failure. The other significant issue is the cost of preparation and downtime for inspection. There is a recurring theme through Standards and Codes covering the integrity of assets that store hazardous substances. They require the management of risk through a prescribed process that leads to justifiable and auditable management plans. Properly applied, these plans provide both efficient management and a consistent approach understood by the various stakeholders, including the authority’s engineers and the inspection personnel. Most industries have a perceived low consequence of failure of tanks. This may be incorrect. In general, the sugar industry has overlooked a codified engineering approach to tank inspection and maintenance. This paper proposes a system of tank integrity management and identifies that a risk-based approach can assist asset owners overcome the current lack of detail in Standards and Codes. Key words Tank integrity, risk-based inspection (RBI), damage mechanism (DM), likelihood of failure (LoF), consequence of failure (CoF)