Audit of ageing management in plants at major accident hazard

The management of ageing of industrial equipment is a complex task, especially in establishments at major accident hazard. To counteract this phenomenon, various technical and managerial activities are envisaged, including non-destructive controls on pipes and vessels. Many factors can accelerate or slow down the ageing. Industrial managers must include controls within an organic plan, taking into account the potential of the most innovative technologies. The aim of this work is to present a synthetic methodology that can be useful for the Seveso inspectors and auditors, who have the difficult task of evaluating in a short time the adequacy of the monitoring plan. They cannot get into the details of the assessment, thus they must go straight to understand if schedules and techniques are congruent with the different ageing mechanisms in place and with the conditions that have been found. The result is a benchmarking method that is suitable both for internal audits and for inspections by control bodies.