When it comes to operating equipment and machinery that are governed by environmental rules and regulations, there are many reasons it is unquestionably a good idea to be in compliance. Fines for failing to do so are massive, often in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. More tangibly, compliance also cuts costs and saves money by not losing valuable product from leakage. In fact, the EPA estimates that facilities can save $730,000 per year (per facility) by complying with Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) regulations. Proper functioning of refinery equipment is also better for the long-term functioning of the machinery that helps avoid dangerous breakdowns and expensive fixes.
Beyond cost savings, LDAR regulations exist for obvious environmental reasons. High amounts of volatile pollutants and hazardous chemical compounds are released into the air by petroleum refineries and chemical manufacturing plants. LDAR rules help lower emissions and protect the planet, atmosphere, and health of employees and everyone living in proximity.
LDAR compliance is thus an integral part of any processing or manufacturing plant, and the cumulative benefits of its enforcement are huge. However, despite being so vitally consequential, the systems in place for monitoring and detecting failures have largely been unreliable, inaccurate, and difficult to work with. Many legacy systems use outdated technology that requires generating multiple reports to obtain even rough assessments. Workers with limited time are forced to deal with complicated test results, messy interfaces, and risky data interpretations. When accuracy is crucial, coherent and clear design is of utmost importance.
The phrase “revolutionize the industry” is thrown around a lot in technology, and easy-to-read, intuitive design in the LDAR industry means accomplishing nothing less. Better presentation of complex information is vital to understanding the state of operating equipment. Tools to monitor and catch leaks must be straightforward, definite, and reliable. There should be no mismatches or duplicates in data, and it should easily render into a user-friendly interface so the results can be quickly and precisely analyzed.
In addition to having clear, systematic displays, applications must be lightweight, flexible, and easy to use. Workers need to be able to input data relevant to their location and industry. They also need the ability to transfer legacy data from an old program. They should be able to produce reports instantly, convert to other formats swiftly and easily, and integrate them with other apps and browsers smoothly and flawlessly. No third-party apps or clunky installs should be required. When leaks are detected, support options and maintenance requests should be immediately available, along with the option to schedule inspections and repairs.
A revolution in the LDAR industry provides the ability to accurately interpret data, quickly load information, comply with regulations, and schedule repairs and inspections. It eliminates unclear results, confusing data conflicts, or overwhelming and hard-to-understand reports. With clean interfaces and instinctive user-centered workflows, an app’s precision can actually be used and relied upon. Everything needed is right there. The result is a powerful, flexible, and, most importantly, dependable monitoring platform.
