Maintenance is one of the key success factors for
ensuring safe and reliable operations on the Norwegian
continental shelf (NCS). Periodic maintenance is still a large part
of the maintenance portfolio even if the ambition is to shift
towards dynamic strategies. Therefore, one can conclude that,
currently, the availability of offshore production facilities on the
NCS is significantly influenced by maintenance programs that
are based on predetermined periodic maintenance tasks.
This paper reviews current practices and experiences for
determining intervals for performing maintenance tasks. The
mapping is performed by comparing theoretical and practical
industrial approaches to determine the preventive maintenance
task intervals. The paper highlights some practical issues and
challenges that maintenance engineers face in the determination
of task frequencies/intervals on the NCS.
The study shows that the biggest challenge for the
maintenance engineers is to determine the “optimal interval” for
the maintenance tasks. A frequent task will increase the
maintenance costs, whilst an extended interval could increase the
risks related to unexpected failures. The maintenance engineers
use their engineering judgment by combining manufacturer
recommendations, regulatory requirements and operational
needs to determine optimal intervals. The NCS, however, needs
more dynamic maintenance strategies that are data driven but
without the inhibiting computational and practical issue