Generating project value through design for reliability: on the development and implementation of a potential value framework

The current trend to economically exploit deepwater hydrocarbon reserves is to reducethe capital expenditure; accomplished by deploying subsea equipment. The financialbenefit afforded is offset by the risk of high operational costs associated with failure.Recognition of the life cycle cost implications of subsea reliability have led to thedevelopment of the reliability strategy. This strategy adopts a risk based approach todesign for reliability where only analyses (and their subsequent recommended actions)perceived to add to whole project value are implemented. While life cycle costing hasbeen developed to address through life cost, analyses are traditionally considered asource of cost accumulation rather than value creation.This thesis proposes a potential reliability value decision making framework to assist inthe design for reliability planning process. The framework draws on the existingconcepts of life cycle costing to explicitly consider the through life value of investing inreliability analyses. Fundamental to the framework are the potential reliability valueindex and an associated value breakdown structure intended as central decision supportfor decentralised decision making.Implementation of the framework is reliant on synergies within the project organization;including relationships between organizations and project functions. To enhancesynergy between functions and dismantle some of the recognised barriers toimplementing the reliability strategy an organizational structure, for projects, guidedcentrally by the reliability value framework is proposed. This structure requires thebroadening of each project functions’ skill set to enable the value added implementationof the strategy’s activities. By widening the scope of application, the reliability analysistoolkit becomes the central guidance of the design process and awareness of the causesof unreliability and how they can be avoided increases. As this capability improves sothe cost-efficiency with which reliability is managed in design (introduced as thereliability efficiency frontier) also increases.