Risk-Based Gas Network Maintenance Planning

Fixed inspection cycles were no longer enough for a network where leakage risk varies by asset characteristics and operating context. A gas infrastructure operator moved toward risk-based maintenance planning, combining leakage models, segmentation and optimization to adapt inspection frequency to asset risk and workforce constraints.
Remote gas pipeline station in a dry hilly landscape, with valves, telemetry equipment, service access and a field technician inspecting the site.
33% reduction
Kilometres monitored per year
20% improvement
カーボンフットプリント
1–6 years
Risk-based inspection intervals
Dual-horizon planning
Annual and monthly optimization
Gas utility technician inspecting a valve assembly beside an open service van, representing focused maintenance follow-up on priority network assets.
Turning Gas Maintenance into a Risk-Led Operating Model

The initiative created a planning model that connects leakage risk, network segmentation, proximity and workforce capacity across annual and monthly horizons, giving maintenance teams a more adaptive basis for preventive action.

Direct field effort where network risk matters most.
目的
Replace fixed two- and four-year preventive inspection cycles with frequencies shaped by leakage risk, while optimizing both long-term and monthly planning around real workforce constraints and changing operating conditions.
機会
Extend the documented approach across gas distribution and transmission inspection planning to reinforce a standardized risk-based decision process, using asset condition, criticality and work requirements more consistently as maintenance priorities evolve.
Breaking the Fixed-Cycle Maintenance Model

The operator needed to move from static inspection frequencies and manual scheduling to planning that could reflect network risk, changing conditions and workforce reality without losing confidence in how priorities were set.

主な課題
Industrial gas regulation facility with multiple pipe sections, valves, gauges and control equipment, illustrating varied asset conditions that fixed inspection cycles must address.
1: Inspection cycles did not reflect asset risk
Fixed two- and four-year cycles did not fully account for leakage risk, material, gas type, connections, age, length or pressure.
Two maintenance planners reviewing a large network map, schedules and technical documents, illustrating the complexity of coordinating gas inspection plans with workforce constraints.
2: Manual planning constrained adaptability
Planning needed to respond to internal and external workforce constraints as well as changing operational conditions.
Field technician using a rugged laptop beside remote gas pipeline instrumentation, showing asset and operational information distributed across field systems and maintenance workflows.
3: Critical maintenance information was dispersed
Asset, condition, maintenance and operational information was distributed across different systems, formats and organizational teams.
Gas utility crew working inside a protected urban excavation around a pipeline valve and joint, representing the need to connect risk decisions with traceable field interventions.
4: Prioritization had to remain explainable
Work needed to be prioritized by risk and operational relevance while preserving traceability from evidence to maintenance or investment decisions.
解決策
An Evidence-Led Planning Model for Gas Network Maintenance

The approach combined subsection-level risk modelling, segmentation, optimization and a common decision workflow so annual and monthly maintenance plans could be built, validated and adjusted consistently.

チェックアイコン
Model risk at subsection level

Built leakage-risk models at pipe-subsection level so planning could reflect the documented differences in network risk.

チェックアイコン
Optimize annual and monthly plans

Created monitoring zones, optimized annual planning by frequency and proximity, and optimized monthly plans using workforce constraints and planning groups.

チェックアイコン
Connect asset and operational information

Integrated relevant asset and operational data into a common decision workflow and applied analytical or rules-based logic to identify priorities.

チェックアイコン
Validate plans and link them to execution

Provided a dashboard to validate and modify standardized plans, while connecting analytical insight with planning and maintenance execution.

影響
Lower Inspection Distance, Sharper Risk Focus

The documented results include a 33% reduction in kilometres monitored per year and a 20% improvement in carbon footprint. The approach also enabled more adaptable maintenance planning under changing operating conditions and a standardized risk-based decision process, while focusing inspection attention according to risk.

ドラッグ