Asset Integrity Management – “The AIM Game” A New and Different Learning Experience

N1. Nick Jackson (a), N2., Amy Annand (b), N3., Claire Ruggiero (c)
(a)
Lloyd's Register Energy EMEA
(b)
Lloyd's Register Energy EMEA
(c)
Lloyd's Register Transportation

Article Information Abstract

Keywords: Purpose:
Asset This paper illustrates how we developed and used an innovative approach, The AIM Game”,
Integrity to deliver asset integrity management training to improve safety performance.
Management Method:
Training
Awareness Asset integrity management is central to safe and efficient asset performance. There are
many instances where asset risks have not been adequately managed, resulting in tragic
consequences often with significant financial costs to the companies involved (e.g. Piper
Corresponding author: Alpha, the Potters Bar Rail incident in UK and Texas City). It is clear when you examine these
Nick Jackson failures that the incident was not caused by a single event, but by many events and
Tel.: +44 1224 267400 conditions, often systematic and embedded deep into the company culture.. At every
e-mail: nick.jackson@lr.org organisational level there must be the understanding about how all processes and activities
Address: 25 Union Terrace, contribute to the safe and effective management of the assets. This applies equally to any
Aberdeen AB10 1NN, UK physical asset be it rolling stock, track infrastructure, electrification or signalling systems. It
also applies to the 'softer' integrity issues such as competence, contracting policy, and
communications. Everyone from Board members, who make decisions on investments or
Amy Annand cost reduction, to the maintenance and train crews need to have an understanding of how the
Tel.: +44 1224 267400 decisions they make, and the activities they undertake, directly affect the asset’s condition
e-mail: amy.annand@lr.org and hence its integrity.
Address: 25 Union Terrace,
Working together with one of our most prominent clients BG, Lloyd’s Register explored
Aberdeen AB10 1NN, UK
some of the challenges relating to asset integrity and process safety in a major operating
environment including the need to raise awareness and understanding of asset integrity
management throughout this multi-national organisation.
Claire Ruggiero
Tel.: +44 7881626677 Result:
e-mail: claire.ruggiero@lr.org Having considered and rejected some of the more traditional approaches, the joint BG/LR
Address: 71 Fenchurch Street, team created an innovative and interactive 2 day training experience, which revolves around
London, EC3M 4BS a board game based on the Dakar Rally. Over the 5 stages of the rally the participants are
responsible for safely managing their asset – a rally truck. At the end of the game, the team
which managed its asset and budget most effectively, resulting in the lowest time penalty
wins. How do you deal with an ageing asset? How quickly can you deal with equipment
failures? Is it prudent to invest in planned maintenance and sound management systems? All
of these questions and more are addressed. As the rally progresses healthy competition
develops as each stage requires teamwork and effective risk assessments and decision
making in order to succeed. Interspersed with playing the interactive game, the team
presents material to re-enforce the learning tying it directly back to the assets the attendees
are responsible for managing in their organisation.
Discussion & Conclusion:
This approach had many benefits including:

• A break from the traditional 'here's another by PowerPoint' training methodology as

research has shown that less than 20% of key information is retained by this approach;
• Interactive, participative coaching has been proven to deliver much higher levels of
knowledge transfer;
• Interactive learning via the game re-enforced with material and real life examples
resulted in embedded learning, for example, participants directly see the effect of their
decisions on the performance of their truck and their rally plan;
• Managing their truck together enabled team work, and allowed non-technical people to
get actively involved with asset risk management;
• Participants having a greater understanding of asset risk and how they influence asset
integrity management, whatever their role;
• Attendees enjoy the learning experience in a fun, competitive, and team-based working
environment;
• Feedback suggests that big improvements in Asset Integrity performance indicators are
achieved.
N1. Surname et al. (or N2. Surname2) Title or short title

1 Raising the Game…..Case Study

Introduction for Workshop

This case study is based upon the development and

delivery of an innovative and interactive learning
experience relating to asset integrity/process safety
management. Industries that must manage major
hazards (e.g. upstream and downstream energy, rail,
aviation) recognise that the safety and integrity of their
assets is fundamental to the effective operation of their
businesses. This means that hazards must be identified
and understood, and associated risks controlled and Figure 2. The AIM Game board
managed. This requires the workforce (at all levels) to
have an awareness of asset integrity and how it relates to
1.2.1 Principles of cooperative learning
their own roles.

According to Brown & Ciuffetelli, students make

considerable achievements through cooperative learning,
meaning that they work towards a group goal and are
reliant on each others' learnings [1]. The five elements
cooperatative learning are as follows:

Positive interdependence: Students must fully participate

in a group. Each group member has a task or role for
which they must take responsibility.
Face-to-face promotive interaction: Group members assist
one another, promote each others' successes and explain
and share lessons learned
Individual accountability: Each group member is
accountable for their own individual learning.
Figure 1: Action from the Dakar Rally
Social skills: Essential for successful cooperative leaning,
social skills include: leadership, decision-making, trust-
1.1 BG experience building, communication and conflict-management.
Group processing: Groups must assess their own
effectiveness to identify improvements.
Some years ago, BG (a major player in the global energy
industry and Lloyd's Register client) encountered a series
of high potential asset-integrity related incidents. The
pursuant investigations and assessments recommended
a number of corrective actions, including the need to raise
asset integrity awareness amongst their workforce: staff
and contractors, at all levels, in all operations - globally.
Meeting this need created challenges in that BG's assets
ranged from LNG shipping, onshore/offshore installations,
power generation and natural gas transmission and
distribution. BG's international portfolio spans the globe;
they therefore must accommodate diverse cultures, with
varying levels of education and different management
approaches. BG desired a consistent message, method Figure 3: Each team member has a role for which they take
and approach, but it was clear that the traditional 'chalk,
talk, and PowerPoint' approach was not going to be responsibility
effective.
Although the AIM Game programme was not specifically
designed to include cooperative learning elements, its
1.2 Let's do something "different" team-based interactive approach embraces the majority of
these principles.
BG saw this as an opportunity for an innovative
educational approach and engaged Lloyd's Register to do
something different. We tapped into the universal appeal 2 Drivers, start your engines….on your
of board games and combined it with web-based activities
that are common-place throughout today's society. marks, get set, go!

We based the AIM Game on the Dakar Rally so that

delegates could work with a recognisable asset (a truck!)
in an easily imagined operational environment (the five
stages of the rally). This was important because it
created a level playing field, meaning that people from all

April 6th – 8th, 2011, Madrid,Spain Proceedings of the WCRT2011

N1. Surname et al. (or N2. Surname2) Title or short title

levels of the organisation could participate in an equitable
and consistent manner. Each team is responsible for
managing their truck (and support vehicle) over five
stages of the rally. At the end of the game, the team with
the lowest number of lost hours wins. The Game is
played out on a large-scale, map-styled game board.
Features include: wildcards, creeping change challenges
and rewards, hazards and helpful hints. The game is
highly competitive and reproduces real-life, yet humorous
situations. Rally teams must demonstrate practical skills
like risk assessment, Cap-ex and Op-ex budget
management, planning and procurement. Individual team
members typically take on responsibilities for inventory
control, budget management, planning, and defining
inspection and maintenance routines.
situations and delegates are encouraged to share their
operational experiences as well.
3 And the winner is…..
Unlike the real Dakar, at the end of this rally, there are no
losers. One of the teams does overcome stiff competition
and goes onto win the rally. However the real winners are
the participants who gain experience and knowledge from
playing the game, which they then take back into their
workplace. Delegates' feedback has indicated that they
found it to be a fun way of learning that promoted team-
building, increased asset integrity awareness and
prompted beneficial change in working routines.
Participants return to their workplace with a greater
understanding of how to apply asset integrity
management thinking to the achievement of business
goals. The relationships between safety, integrity, finance,
human resources, and sound business planning are
debated, tested and challenged in a fun, risk-free
environment. BG recognised these benefits, but also
identified tangible improvements, as evidenced by the
considerable increase in their asset integrity KPI ratings
during the programme roll-out.

Figure 4: Rally Teams decide where and when to do planned

maintenance and inspection & testing

2.1 Aiming to win

Teams must use risk assessment as a planning tool to

decide how they will invest in their assets, namely
through: equipment inventories, inspection and
maintenance routines, support systems and processes,
such as training, communications and stakeholder
Figure 5 There's more than one winner
management. Throughout the rally, as their assets age
and deteriorate, each team must decide how and when to
invest in order to combat equipment failures, creeping Acknowledgement
change, and the uncertainties that face them on their
journeys. The hazards, uncertainties, bonuses, and
surprises which the rally teams will encounter typically Lloyd's Register is indebted to the inspiration, help and
come in the form of wildcards. These wildcards can technical support that has been received from the
reflect the physical deterioration of the truck, external following individuals and organisations:
hazards, people issues (such as competency, fatigue,
error, communication, and distraction), social interactions, Ron Murray – BG, Vice President Asset Integrity
and off-the-wall silliness! Bo Malmqvist – BG, Vice President Asset Inetgrity
Artech Visual Communication
2.2 Learning Modules Global Web Internet and Software Solutions

At pre-determined stop points along the route, teams

References
"down tools" to share and learn. Teams recount their [1] Brown, Hilary, Darlene Ciuffetelli Parker, Ph.D.
experiences in the rally and then compare them to their (2009). Foundational Methods: Understanding Teaching
real-life asset management challenges. Learning and Learning. Third Ed. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson
modules are presented, which include: risk assessment Custom Publishing
and planning, asset integrity management systems,
testing, inspection & maintenance, management of
change, and learning from experience. The teams take
the opportunity to discuss what worked well (and what
worked against them), including challenges that they
planned for, the surprises they encountered and the
changes they had to manage. Every opportunity is taken
to apply the learnings from the programme to real life

April 6th – 8th, 2011, Madrid,Spain Proceedings of the WCRT2011