NDTnet 1998 Aug, Vol.3 No.8

Abstract

In the past 5 years there have been extensive changes in the business environment for the operators in the North Sea driven by the CRINE initiative. This has lead many major companies to adopt a policy of concentrating on their core business and looking to out source many services previously undertaken by their staff. Inspection and testing is one such service. The service required, however, was not solely to undertake the testing but also manage its implementation and add greater value by processing the data collected. This gave rise to a need to develop comprehensive "inspection management" software tools.

Accompanying these changes and fundamental to its success has been the establishment of long term commitments (usually a minimum of five years) which is somewhat unusual in the plant inspection business. The form of relationship is one of partnering, where the NDT service provider and the client work together with common goals. Contracts are of a risk/reward type in which the participants share in the rewards of improved asset performance - an alignment of objectives and a significant change from the reimbursable arrangements which are all common in this business. These contractual changes do, by their nature, create a climate in which innovative thinking and the introduction of new technology prosper.

These new arrangements provide great potential and new challenges for inspection companies. The benefits and limitations of this approach are discussed together with details of the software and management systems developed for its implementation.

Abstract Source:
Book of Abstracts, 7th European Conference on Non-Destructive Testing, 26-29 May 1998, ISBN: 87-986898-0-00

Full-Text Source:
Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on Non-Destructive Testing, 26-29 May 1998, ISBN:

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