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Be careful with how you define the role of software in your risk management process!
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Software is a tool to help you run your risk management process. But it is only a tool—it should not dictate the design of your efforts. Too many efforts have suffered from a too-early reliance on commercial pipeline risk software packages. There might well be good, cost-effective programs that meet your exact needs, but better to become a savvy user first.
Software: Design Before You Buy or Build
Common mistakes made by pipeline operators, rushing to build a compliant Integrity Management Program by a mandated deadline, are to develop a GIS for integrity/risk data management and buy a commercial risk assessment application without understanding the company's long-term needs and full implementation costs. Buying or building software before completing a needs assessment, developing system requirements, and pilot testing can cost millions of dollars in unnecessary data management and risk mitigation activities.
Development of a pipeline risk assessment/management tool should follow the same steps used in managing a large pipeline project. For an outline of WKM Consultancy's recommended development process, please read the "Pipeline Risk Model Development" document by clicking on "Risk Model" (button to the left).
The following excerpt elaborates:
Use Computers Wisely
Too much reliance on computers is probably more dangerous than too little. In the former, knowledge and insight can be obscured and even convoluted. In the latter, the chief danger is that there are inefficiencies--an undesirable, but not critical, event. Regardless of potential misuse, however, computers can greatly increase the strength of the risk assessment process. No modern program is complete without extensive use of them. The modern software environment is such that information is easily moved between applications. In the early stages of a project, the computer should serve chiefly as a data repository. Then, in subsequent stages, it should house the algorithm that turns the raw information such as wall thickness, population density, soil type, etc. into risk information. In later stages of the project, data analysis and display routines should be available. And finally, computer routines to ensure ease and consistency of data entry, model tweaking, and generation of required output should be available.
Software use in risk modeling should always follow program development--not lead it.
* Early stage: use pencil and paper or simple graphics software to sketch out preliminary designs of the risk assessment system. Also use project management tools, if desired, to plan the project.
* Intermediate stages: use software environments which can store, sort, and filter moderate amounts of data and generate new values from arithmetic and logical (if-then-else) combinations of inputted data. Choices include modern spreadsheets and desktop databases.
* Later stages: Provide for larger quantity data entry, manipulation, query, display, etc. in a long-term, secure and user-friendly environment. If spatial linking of information is desired, consider migrating to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) platforms. If multi-user access is desired, consider robust database environments.
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These excerpts are from "Lessons Learned" and "The Pipeline Risk Management Manual" (Gulf Publishing, Third Edition, 2004) by W. Kent Muhlbauer. Please visit the "Resources" page (click on the button to the left), "Downloads" section, for a copy of the full "Lessons Learned" paper. Please visit the "Third Edition" page (click on the button on the left) for more information about the book.
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