by Stephen Elmer, 10/27/2025
Tags: API 580 API 581 Data Analysis Data Collection Data Management Data Migration Data Validation Risk Based Inspection Technology Value
Data collection is an RBI project bottleneck, often taking a very significant percentage of total effort due to manual interpretation of old, varied engineering documents. AOC developed AI-driven tooling to automatically extract, classify, and normalize this data, achieving a very high accuracy and significantly streamlining the process for faster, more reliable RBI implementation.
by Michael Hurley, 10/22/2025
Tags: API 581 Mechanical Integrity Process Safety Management Risk Analysis Risk Based Inspection Risk Management Technology
In 2021, I published a proposed change to the API 581 PoF calculation. While I believe API 581 is solid as a recommended practice, I believe that inspection planning can be further optimized and fine-tuned to adapt to organizational needs. Since then, the original article has prompted a variety of comments and questions and so I have rewritten the original article for, hopefully, a little more clarity, and I have consolidated the top questions along with my comments.
by John Dickerson, 10/15/2025
Tags: API 580 API 581 Risk Based Inspection
Deciding between API 580 and API 581 for Risk-Based Inspection? This guide helps you choose the right approach for your site's unique needs. Learn whether the qualitative, experience-based framework of API 580 or the data-driven, semi-quantitative methodology of API 581 is the best fit for your facility.
by Michael Hurley, 7/11/2024
Tags: API 580 API 581 Damage Mechanisms Mechanical Integrity Risk Based Inspection
What are equipment/inspection strategies in relation to mechanical integrity (MI) and risk based inspection (RBI)? It is a simple answer, but can be complicated to produce a documented set. API RP 581 has gone as far as the RAGAGEP can go since it is up to the Owner/User to define them as they are responsible for their risk. Knowing strategy/effectiveness tables are likely to be used without modification therefore AOC created a set that can be used as inspection recommendations out of the box.
by Michael Hurley, 2/4/2021
Tags: API 581 Mechanical Integrity Process Safety Management Risk Analysis Risk Based Inspection Risk Management Technology
This article deals with a proposal for a risk analysis option that allows for individual damage mechanism risk calculation. This is an example of how it can be applied and how it domonstrates value.
by Michael Hurley, 1/27/2021
Tags: API 581 Mechanical Integrity Process Safety Management Risk Analysis Risk Based Inspection Risk Management Technology
This article deals with a proposal for a risk analysis option that allows for individual damage mechanism risk calculation. This allows for these individual damage mechanism risks to be compared to a risk target that when reached generates an inspection task with its own due date.