CAN – Your Trusted Partner

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching”… a quote by author C.S Lewis that is equally a shared tenet of CAN Group. Now in our 40th year of business, CAN continues to uphold a reputable standing in the asset integrity arena. Key to the success and sustainability of CAN are our people, our corporate competence and of course our CAN-do attitude to deliver our expert services and solutions to our clients - safely and with integrity. 

Industries and technology have evolved significantly since our formation in 1986 when CAN pioneered industrial rope access in the North Sea. Fast forward to the present day, with many significant innovations and industry milestones achieved along the way, CAN’s agility and versatility to adapt to changing markets have ensured it maintains its position as an industry leading provider of independent and impartial asset integrity solutions.

Over the last 40 years, CAN has seen many changes in the North Sea. Some Operators and Service Companies alike have come and gone or merged and changed their name. The ever-cyclic oil price has created industry booms and enhanced revenues but conversely, barrel price crashes have brought challenges that have impacted many, with businesses having to react, often restructuring and downsizing their organisations to become fit for the here, now and future. Alongside this, the once shiny new platforms have aged, and managing the integrity of ageing assets comes with further cost challenges to owners and operators, and increased tax levies have resulted in tougher decisions being taken with respect to asset viability. Through these times though, the one constant that has remained is CAN’s dedication to safety and our unwavering commitment to fostering long-standing Client relationships to assure them of an honest and reputable service; a trusted partner that can listen, advise, adapt and deliver. CAN firmly believes that when challenges come our Clients way, our open and honest relationships that we have forged over the years become even more important and integral. 

Recently, we have seen a number of long-standing Operators accelerate decommissioning programmes which has resulted in the need to scale back operations and expenditure, but without any detriment to safety and asset integrity. This is where CAN’s expertise, expansive service lines, technology and ‘out of the box’ thinking adds further value by rebasing inspection and maintenance strategies and unlocking opportunities to optimise resources and reduce spend.

Where Integrity Meets Innovation

For example, ENGTEQ, CAN Group’s Engineering Business Stream, embarked on a full top-down cleanse of a Clients Integrity Management System following an accelerated decommissioning program on two of their North Sea assets. It quickly became clear that the inspection program, driven by the Risk Based Assessment (RBA) and Maintenance Management System (MMS) processes, were now no longer fit for purpose and as a result, ENGTEQ’s approach focused on a number of key areas: Re-running all RBA using an “RBA Lite” approach, reviewing & cleansing all Preventative Maintenance (PM) inspection routines within MMS, reviewing and re-risk ranking all Inspection Backlogs and Integrity related Repair Orders. 

Risk assessment was at the heart of the entire exercise, taking into account a Hydrocarbon free inventory, the re-purposing of existing equipment for plug and abandon (P&A) activities and carefully tracking which equipment would be positively isolated, engineered down and cleaned. This safely removed unnecessary inspections and repairs from the program and optimised the regime, with focus remaining on safety critical scopes and the items of inventory required for P&A.

ENGTEQ’s solution-driven approach achieved a 70% reduction in planned pressure systems inspections for the remaining life of field of one asset, and 53% on the other. It also derived a more streamlined inspection strategy, with CAN’s Inspection team utilising a find & fix / find & arrest approach, and Potential Dropped Object sweeps for the out of service plant; reflecting the shift of the asset risk profile to prioritise the structural integrity. 

Despite a reduction in Risk Based Inspection manhours, having further accountability of the wider asset inspection & maintenance plans presented opportunities for CAN Group to proactively identify and propose scopes that fell within our wider corporate competency which would typically have been conducted by ad-hoc or campaigned teams. Through upskilling and/or substituting personnel disciplines, scopes were absorbed within core teams, leading to a reduction in mobilisations (including 3rd party Vendors), which brought greater efficiencies and added value through using asset familiar personnel without any detriment to safety or integrity.

Integrity is truly at the core of CAN’s business, keeping sight of both plant integrity and the integrity of our services. Solutions-driven and always aiming to exceed client expectations, CAN Group is your trusted partner for asset integrity. 

This article feautured in OGV's Asset Integrity Magazine, to read the magazine please click here.