Development of an ontology supporting failure analysis of surface safety valves used in Oil & Gas applications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a platform for development of an ontology supporting failure analysis of surface safety valves (SSVs) which will enable the technical dialogue between oil & gas operators, engineering companies and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) when dealing with component failures. Design/Methodology/Approach – The paper describes the use of a functional modelling based ontology in support of root cause analysis (RCA) which combined with the use of a defined definition for failure concepts and a complete database of these concepts relevant to surface safety valves can be applied to characterize degradation at the design stage. An examination of this new methodology was performed through the creation of a case study applying this new method on a hydraulically actuated surface safety valve. Findings – The paper identifies a continuing problem with failure analysis; not just from a technical dimension, but it also encompasses elements related to organisational behaviour and culture and the stakeholders involved in dealing with failure of equipment in service. In today’s digital operations and maintenance activities, addressing the challenge of failure analysis from only one dimension has proven to be unfeasible with significant downtime still occurring in many operations. Originality/value – The overall value is a detailed picture of ontology capable of enabling the technical dialogue between operators, engineering companies and OEMs

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