The existing method of pipeline health monitoring, which requires an entire pipeline to be inspected periodically, is both time-wasting and expensive. A risk-based model that reduces the amount of time spent on inspection has been presented. This model not only reduces the cost of maintaining petroleum pipelines, but also suggests an efficient design and operation philosophy, construction methodology, and logical insurance plans. The risk-based model uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multiple-attribute decision-making technique, to identify the factors that influence failure on specific segments and to analyze their effects by determining probability of risk factors. The severity of failure is determined through consequence analysis. From this, the effect of a failure caused by each risk factor can be established in terms of cost, and the cumulative effect of failure is determined through probability analysis. The technique does not totally eliminate subjectivity, but it is an improvement over the existing inspection method.
Analytic Hierarchy Process Analyzes Risk of Operating Cross-Country Petroleum Pipelines in India
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Analytic Hierarchy Process Analyzes Risk of Operating Cross-Country Petroleum Pipelines in India
Abstract
Author
Univ. of the West Indies, Dept. of Management Studies, Cave Hill Campus, P.O. Box 64, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies.
Received: December 28, 2000
Accepted: March 29, 2002
Published online: October 15, 2003
Copyright © 2003 American Society of Civil Engineers