Agile approaches for transitioning to quantitative risk assessment modeling—Part 1

Pipeline operators are increasingly transitioning their pipeline risk assessment approaches to more objective, quantitative risk models that provide for improved decision-making, better ability to manage risk levels to acceptability targets and, ultimately, support their integrity programs to eliminate high-impact events. Many operators have existing relative index-based risk ranking models that, although characterized as “qualitative” in terms of the risk output, utilize a significant amount of data that could also support a more quantitative expression of risk. Industry trending in pipeline risk modeling also indicates regulatory, standards and stakeholder alignment with an expectation fo