Roles, Responsibilities, Training, and Qualifications
RBI is a team product
A credible assessment cannot be produced by one person working alone. Typical roles include:
- Owner/user management – defines risk acceptance criteria, approves the assessment, and authorizes resources and actions.
- RBI team leader/facilitator – plans the study, keeps the team on the method, and owns the documentation.
- Inspectors – supply condition, inspection history, and method capability knowledge; typically hold recognized certification for the equipment type (pressure vessels, piping, tanks).
- Corrosion/materials engineer – identifies damage mechanisms, credible rates, and material susceptibility.
- Process engineer – supplies operating conditions, fluid composition, and consequence inputs.
- Operations and maintenance – provide field history, operability constraints, and practical feasibility of recommendations.
- Consequence/safety specialists – support release, dispersion, and impact analysis.
Competence
Team members need both method knowledge and equipment knowledge. Method competence is demonstrated by training and, commonly, certification in RBI methodology; equipment competence by inspection certification and experience with the specific damage mechanisms and processes involved. Because damage mechanism identification drives everything downstream, at least one team member must be specifically competent in materials and degradation.
Traps
- Assuming the inspector alone can complete the assessment.
- Confusing certification with competence; experience with the specific process and mechanisms is required.
- Overlooking the need for an independent review of the analysis before approval.
- Failing to record who participated and what qualifications they held.
Rule of thumb
Every assessment should be traceable to a named, qualified team; if a discipline is missing, the analysis is at best provisional and should be documented as such.