Process industry, in general, is based on net overall commercial benefits to its stakeholders keeping the safety risk as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP). Managing the risk and the factors around it is a continuous exercise and requires special measures for mitigation. It is a widely accepted presumption that when operating beyond its safe limit, the process shall be shutdown to a safe state. There are factors though that this presumed safe-state may actually not be that safe either. If that happens, not many mitigation measures remain available for further risk reduction. One such significant factor that may lead to this potential safety risk is if the valves, that are supposed to hold the process upstream and downstream isolated, tend to leak. Valve leaks may lead to excessive pressurization of the process equipment & piping, toxic emissions and various other events that may be deemed as hugely unsafe. The presentation shall focus on what is at stake if the isolation valves fail to provide their primary service in case they tend to leak.

Gul Mohammad Shah (Author/Presenter)

Senior Instrument and Control Engineer - Maintenance

Kuwait Oil Company (KOC)

Gul Mohammad Shah is a seasoned Senior Instrument and Control Engineer with over 33 years of experience in Engineering Design Reviews, Construction, Commissioning, Start-up, and Maintenance of varied types of instrumentation systems in various process industries including 24 years in the Oil and Gas sectors.

Currently, Gul is employed at Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), as he has been for 18 years.

Gul is an Engineering graduate from the National Institute of Technology (N.I.T) Srinagar, India, and is a certified Microsoft Systems Engineer, a TUV-certified Functional Safety Engineer, and a Senior Member of the International Society of Automation (ISA).

Senseven and i.safe MOBILE will present an overview of the current challenges of valve inspection in the industry and how they can be overcome with the help of software and artificial intelligence. Studies show that 5-10% of valves in industrial plants are suffering from internal leakage, leading to economic losses, health and safety issues, or to environmental pollution. In oil and gas plants, e.g., leaking valves in production processes lead to continuous burning of gases via flare stacks, which has significant financial and environmental implications. However, valve inspection today is complex and requires expert knowledge. In particular, the interpretation of measurement results is dependent on experience and know-how, which makes it difficult for companies to achieve reproducible results. To tackle the problem and make valve inspection easy for every maintenance team, Senseven, and i.safe MOBILE developed a smart and mobile inspection system for hazardous areas. The solution builds on the well-established acoustic emission (AE) technology, extended with digital features. It allows to inspect valves for internal leakage without interrupting the production process. An in-house developed software analyses sensor signals and provides immediate results on-site with the help of algorithms and AI. The challenge was to build a non-expert system, that could generate reproducible results, analyze data automatically, and store it in such a way that companies could use it for preventive maintenance purposes. We discuss on-field findings and present how the system can help companies to protect assets in-house, make processes more efficient, and use recorded data immediately.

Martin Haaf (Author/Presenter)

CEO & Co-Founder

i.safe MOBILE

Martin Haaf is CEO and co-founder of i.safe MOBILE GmbH, a global market leader and one of the most innovative developers of mobile communication devices for safe use in hazardous areas and robust use in the industry. Martin Haaf has decades of experience in the industry. Before founding i.safe MOBILE, Haaf, who holds a degree in electrical engineering, worked as a Development Manager in the field of explosion-protected products. Prior to this, the industry professional gained many years of practical experience as a Development Engineer and a 'Global Innovation' leader for fans and motors. Through his training as a telecommunications electronics engineer and his engineering studies, he can build on well-founded practical experience. His passion for innovations and his great thirst for knowledge also benefit him in his activities in various committees: He is a member of the research and innovation group of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and the VDE Frankfurt Explosion Protection Working Group.

Michael Hettegger (Presenter)

CEO

Senseven

Michael Hettegger (CEO) is an experienced entrepreneur and engineer with a remarkable track record. In 2014, he founded his first company pioneering industrial AI solutions for global leaders such as Mondi, Audi, Henkel or Voestalpine. With expertise in industrial inspection and valve leakage, Michael leads Senseven's mission to revolutionize the valve inspection sector through digitization and AI.

Senseven and i.safe MOBILE will present an overview of the current challenges of valve inspection in the industry and how they can be overcome with the help of software and artificial intelligence. Studies show that 5-10% of valves in industrial plants are suffering from internal leakage, leading to economic losses, health and safety issues, or to environmental pollution. In oil and gas plants, e.g., leaking valves in production processes lead to continuous burning of gases via flare stacks, which has significant financial and environmental implications. However, valve inspection today is complex and requires expert knowledge. In particular, the interpretation of measurement results is dependent on experience and know-how, which makes it difficult for companies to achieve reproducible results. To tackle the problem and make valve inspection easy for every maintenance team, Senseven, and i.safe MOBILE developed a smart and mobile inspection system for hazardous areas. The solution builds on the well-established acoustic emission (AE) technology, extended with digital features. It allows to inspect valves for internal leakage without interrupting the production process. An in-house developed software analyses sensor signals and provides immediate results on-site with the help of algorithms and AI. The challenge was to build a non-expert system, that could generate reproducible results, analyze data automatically, and store it in such a way that companies could use it for preventive maintenance purposes. We discuss on-field findings and present how the system can help companies to protect assets in-house, make processes more efficient, and use recorded data immediately.

Martin Haaf (Author/Presenter)

CEO & Co-Founder

i.safe MOBILE

Martin Haaf is CEO and co-founder of i.safe MOBILE GmbH, a global market leader and one of the most innovative developers of mobile communication devices for safe use in hazardous areas and robust use in the industry. Martin Haaf has decades of experience in the industry. Before founding i.safe MOBILE, Haaf, who holds a degree in electrical engineering, worked as a Development Manager in the field of explosion-protected products. Prior to this, the industry professional gained many years of practical experience as a Development Engineer and a 'Global Innovation' leader for fans and motors. Through his training as a telecommunications electronics engineer and his engineering studies, he can build on well-founded practical experience. His passion for innovations and his great thirst for knowledge also benefit him in his activities in various committees: He is a member of the research and innovation group of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and the VDE Frankfurt Explosion Protection Working Group.

Michael Hettegger (Presenter)

CEO

Senseven

Michael Hettegger (CEO) is an experienced entrepreneur and engineer with a remarkable track record. In 2014, he founded his first company pioneering industrial AI solutions for global leaders such as Mondi, Audi, Henkel or Voestalpine. With expertise in industrial inspection and valve leakage, Michael leads Senseven's mission to revolutionize the valve inspection sector through digitization and AI.