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GRaphical Interface for reliability Forecasting
GRIF in line with the most advanced modeling techniques recommended by ISO
As every year, World Standards Day (October 14, 2024) highlights the work of thousands of experts from around the world – including several TotalEnergies employees – who write technical application reports published as international standards. This year's edition focuses on the theme "A shared vision for a better world," in support of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Interview with Nicolas Clavé, head of the RAM entity at TotalEnergies OneTech, correspondent of the ISO TC67 committee on standards related to the gas and oil industry, petrochemicals, and low-carbon energies.
"TotalEnergies reliability specialists have been actively participating in this working group for over thirty years now."
Nicolas Clavé, Head of the RAM entity at TotalEnergies OneTech
What is the ISO TC67/WG4 group you participate in working on?
Nicolas Clavé: First of all, the ISO TC67 committee is responsible for developing international standards related to the oil and gas industry, petrochemicals, and low-carbon energies. Within this committee, Working Group 4 (WG4) develops normative documents related to production assurance, reliability, and cost management. The reports produced by this group can be applied to R&D programs, new projects, or existing installations. They provide standardized guidelines for collecting data on equipment failures and maintenance, conducting production availability or reliability studies, structuring operating cost data collection, or classifying production losses.
TotalEnergies employees are part of this group, what is their role?
Nicolas Clavé: TotalEnergies reliability specialists have been actively participating in this working group for over thirty years now. Their goal is to share best practices, particularly in the field of Production Availability and Reliability modeling, as well as in setting up reliability data collection. This foundational activity is an effective way to improve the expertise of our partners and subcontractors and to have our methods and tools recognized by all industry players. Many of the documents published by WG4 have been almost entirely written by our reliability experts, which testifies to the international recognition of TotalEnergies' expertise in the field.
"This foundational
activity is an effective
way to improve the
expertise of our
partners and
subcontractors and
to have our methods
and tools recognized
by all industry players"
"To facilitate participants' learning, TotalEnergies provided a temporary version of its GRIF software free of charge"
Maïder Estécahandy, a reliability engineer at TotalEnergies and a member of the ISO/TR 12489 group
Recently, Maïder Estécahandy gave a course on the use of ISO/TR 12489, a document dedicated to various modeling techniques. What is your view on this new activity? And on the use of the GRIF software in application examples?
Nicolas Clavé: The fact that Maïder Estécahandy, a Reliability Engineer within the OT/TL/OPS/MAINT/RAM team, was appointed by ISO TC67/WG4 to give courses is a very positive sign, both internally and externally. It shows that she is now recognized as an international expert in reliability modeling. Through these activities, our entity perpetuates the legacy of our experts. Moreover, the use of GRIF – a tool developed for over 40 years by TotalEnergies – for the various application cases presented in these courses demonstrates that this software is one of the best on the market for implementing the most advanced modeling techniques.
"The various application cases presented in these courses demonstrates that this software [GRIF] is one of the best on the market for implementing the most advanced modeling techniques"
ISO/TR 12489 Standard : Practical work with GRIF software
On September 16 and 17, Maïder Estécahandy, conducted courses on the use of this ISO technical report on reliability modeling, safety system calculations in the oil and gas industries, and low-carbon energy (standard.no). The objective was to master the theory and know how to put it into practice. "In this module, we emphasize the quality of data and the selection of appropriate mathematical methods to obtain increasingly precise and realistic results." To facilitate participants' learning, TotalEnergies provided a temporary version of its GRIF software free of charge.
The training brought together 18 participants from 8 countries (France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Poland, United States, Monaco) and 4 speakers among which:
- Maïder Estécahandy, TotalEnergies, French expert member of the ISO/TR 12489 project group.
- Jean-Pierre Signoret, TotalEnergies Professeurs Associés, project leader for Ed.1, French expert member of the ISO/TR 12489 project group.
To learn more? WG4 - Reliability engineering & Technology (iso.org)
TotalEnergies involved in standardization
3 QUESTIONS TO…
"Participating in the development of standards makes us proactive with experts who carry our technical, economic, and financial interests at the national and international levels"
Inigo Del Busto, Head of International Standards and Technical Harmonization at TotalEnergies
What is your role at TotalEnergies?
Inigo Del Busto: I am responsible for all standardization activities for the One Tech branch. My scope includes Oil & Gas activities and renewable energies. Within the branch, about a hundred experts contribute to the development of standards within several standardization organizations such as AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation), the National Petroleum Bureau, the National Gas Bureau, the European Standardization Center…
What is TotalEnergies' influence on standardization?
Inigo Del Busto: Our experts participate in various working groups to develop or evolve standards related to our fields. Around the table, there are several stakeholders, including companies in the sector that are the first to be impacted by the standards, on operational sites as well as on new projects. The goal is to develop a "balanced standard" that meets technical, environmental, and societal requirements but does not hinder innovation. Industrial companies like TotalEnergies play an important role because they have the vision of the field and the normative application.
What are the challenges for the Company?
Inigo Del Busto: The first challenge is operational. Standards are used as internal technical rules. They are the backbone of our reference system (rules, general specifications, guides, and manuals…) and, in a way, our library of know-how. There is also a performance challenge. Participating in the development of standards makes us proactive with experts who carry our technical, economic, and financial interests at the national and international levels. We negotiate to reach an acceptable compromise accepted by all stakeholders. On average, it takes three years to validate a standard.
A few words about the ISO TC67 committee and the WG4 working group?
Inigo Del Busto: The ISO TC67 committee (Oil and gas industries, including low-carbon energies) is behind 243 published standards and 53 in progress. Several working groups have been formed to work on topics such as enhanced oil recovery, aluminum alloy tubes, drilling, production, and injection equipment, low-carbon green energies… Maïder Estécahandy, is a member of the WG4 Reliability Controls and Technology working group. Recognized as an expert in her field, she is one of the 100 One Tech experts involved in standardization. As part of the update of the ISO/TR 12489 standard, she conducted a series of courses on reliability modeling, safety system calculations in the oil and gas industries, and low-carbon energy (standard.no).