Over the last two years, NACE International has embarked on a study that goes beyond the economic effects of corrosion; it emphasizes how to integrate corrosion technology with organizational management systems to optimize corrosion decisions with respect to both cost savings and concern for safety and the environment. IMPACT—the International Measures of Prevention, Application, and Economics of Corrosion Technologies study—is nearing completion and results will be available to the general public worldwide in March 2016.
When the IMPACT study was launched, a critical component of the research was to collect data on how organizations in various industries and countries conduct their corrosion control activities, with emphasis on corrosion management practices and how they fall within an overall organization’s management system.
First, a Corrosion Management Practice Model was developed to provide a repeatable framework for assessing the structure, approach, and features that comprise a corrosion management system within an organization. From there, a comprehensive 70-question self-assessment survey was developed that encompassed nine management system domains:
• Policy, including strategy and objectives
• Stakeholder integration
• Organization
• Accountability
• Resources
• Communication
• Corrosion management practice integration
• Continuous improvement
• Performance measures
The survey was subsequently conducted in a broad spectrum of industries worldwide that ranged from aerospace and aviation to chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas, and water and waste water. In addition, focus groups of personnel from various management and technical levels were organized in several industries and countries to obtain further insight into their corrosion management philosophies and practices.
Following data collection, the study team performed a series of analyses, two of which included comparisons across geographical regions and industries, and thus derived a set of observations and recommendations that are detailed in the IMPACT report.
The IMPACT study and its Web site will launch on March 7 during CORROSION 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to the survey results, the study features sections on the economics of corrosion, the Corrosion System Management Framework (see the MP article, “IMPACT Study to Provide Tools for Corrosion Management”), case studies from different countries, useful cost-analysis tools, recommendations on best practices, education and training trends and needs, and more. Companies will also have the opportunity to benchmark their own corrosion programs against those of the survey respondents by answering self-assessment questions on the IMPACT Web site.
IMPACT is being conducted by DNV GL, the global corrosion research and consulting firm in Dublin, Ohio, and APQC, a member-based nonprofit organization in Houston, Texas that conducts research on business benchmarking, best practices, and knowledge management. A number of other nonprofits, government groups, and companies are cosponsors of the study.