Data Management Software

Contents

Introduction

Build or Buy

Access to the Software

Output

Scheduling

Historical Data

Mass Emissions Calcs

Reporting

Security

Supplier Directory

Introduction

Good information management is at the core of every effective LDAR Program. It would be hard to imagine an LDAR Program without some type of data management software to support it.

Every LDAR Program is a reflection of the person or people who manage it. Likewise for LDAR software and how it is configured. Below are a list of topics pertaining to LDAR software along with questions designed to help you identify what data management criteria are important to your own LDAR Program.

Build or Buy - Should you create your own database or purchase an off-the-shelf LDAR software product?

If you have “hundreds” of components to manage and you want to handle it in-house, you could do your scheduling and keep records manually with a spreadsheet. A commercially available LDAR software product becomes essential when:

a) The component count is in the thousands;

b) You want your LDAR Program to be organized, structured, and audit-ready;

c) The complexity of applicable regulations make it impossible to manually maintain reliable/defendable records.

The R.O.I. comes from two places; minimizing the labor of everyone involved with the LDAR program, and automatic maintenance of LDAR specific records that can be used to document compliance. 

LDAR software is not your “LDAR Program.” It’s a tool you use to help manage your LDAR Program. If the LDAR Program Administrator function in your company is considered a temporary assignment, then it makes sense to choose LDAR software with features that automate the process of managing fugitive emissions compliance.

Access to the LDAR software

Offering wide access to LDAR software is usually not necessary. Because LDAR has evolved into its own unique discipline, people who are not directly involved with it on a regular basis will typically ask the “LDAR person” to supply information when needed.

When setting up the software, ask these questions:

q    Who will be using the software?

q    Monitoring Technicians?

q    LDAR Administrator/Supervisor?

q    Environmental Coordinator/Engineer?

q    Maintenance Supervisor?

q    Subcontractor?

q    Restrict use to one PC, or make the LDAR software available on the network?

q    Who will use the LDAR software more than anybody else?

q    How often will others need access and what information will they be looking for?

Output

Output from LDAR software can be divided into two categories: 

Operational - Information related to day-to-day monitoring and repair activities is required by the LDAR Program Administrator and whoever is responsible for ensuring repairs are completed.  

Compliance - Compliance related information may be used by environmental engineers or managers as well as the LDAR Program Administrator.

What output do you want from your LDAR software?

4        Reports for regulatory submittal:

q    Monthly?

q    Quarterly?

q    Semi-annually?

q    Annually?

4        Work notification that repairs are needed?

4        Anything else?

Scheduling inspections

Criteria for when each component should be inspected is specified by each regulation you need to comply with or rules that you establish for your own facility.  Part of that criteria takes into consideration the leak history of the component.  With some regulations, if components have not leaked for a certain number of monitoring periods, the inspection frequency can be relaxed (i.e., components requiring quarterly inspections could be inspected semi-annually instead). 

q    Should actual inspection schedules be determined manually by the LDAR administrator / supervisor?

q    Or should the software have logic built in to automatically determine, based on regulatory criteria, the minimum number of times each component needs to be inspected each year?

q    Before automatically adjusting the inspection frequency or criteria, should automated scheduling software include the ability to have a prompt for the user to review and accept the adjustments?

q    Should the software remind the user when deadlines are approaching?

Access to historical data

q    Is there value in having ready access to information for each component?

q    Previous inspection results, when monitored and by who?

q    Leak history?

q    Repairs that have been done, when and by who?

q    Conditions noted in the field, when and by who?

q    Next scheduled inspection?

q    Which components are out of service and when will they return to service?

q    Old tag numbers correlated to new tag numbers?

q    Should the software base its logic on the most stringent regulation affecting each component or should it apply the criteria of each regulation separately and record historical information accordingly?

Mass Emissions Calculations

q    Is mass emissions reporting required?

q    What method(s) should be used? 

q    EPA Correlation Equations?

q    SOCMI factors?

q    Unit Specific Factor?

q    Leak/No Leak?

q    Stratification?

Reporting

q    Should required reports be produced automatically by the software, or only on demand?

q    What pre-defined LDAR specific report formats come with the software?

q    Should there be a way to customize existing reports or create new ad hoc reports?

Security

q    Will there be people accessing the LDAR software who have varying levels of involvement and accountability?

q    Should there be multi-level security configurable by the LDAR Administrator/Supervisor?