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ETABLISSEMENT PAU LACQ
At the TotalEnergies Jean Féger Scientific and Technical Center (CSTJF) in Pau, Maïder Estécahandy leads the GRIF (GRaphical Interface for reliability Forecasting) project, a software suite dedicated to modeling dependability. Maïder is a reliability engineer and decodes a profession where complex calculations play a central role to guarantee the reliability, availability and safety of facilities - all key factors in the energy transition context. Interview
Maïder, can you summarize your career in a few words?
Having graduated in mathematical methods from the University of Pau, I discovered dependability during my final year internship at the CSTJF in Pau. The internship focused on the GRIF (GRaphical Interface for reliability Forecasting), with a specific focus on the development of the "Petro" module, designed to evaluate the performance of oil & gas facilities - and in particular to forecast barrel production over 20 years. Later, I wrote a thesis on optimizing the software’s safety calculations. After an initial experience at Alstom, looking at the reliability of train traction chains, I was hired at the CSTJF in 2021 as a Reliability Engineer, in charge of the GRIF project.
What exactly is GRIF?
GRIF is a software suite that includes mature calculation engines, developed at the CSTJF in Pau. The Company has been using it for around forty years. It can be used to run production availability studies, and since its creation, the tool has been constantly evolving and is now used in all the TotalEnergies transition projects. The software has also been on the market since 2005 and is used by over 300 industrialists around the world, across the board.
How does GRIF contribute to TotalEnergies’ energy transition?
GRIF is a highly versatile software application, designed using generic mathematical methods, which means it can be adapted to a number of different sectors, including renewable energies. We have already tested it as part of the Aramis project (link to article) for CO2 capture & storage. Thanks to the Petri module of GRIF, we were able to run an availability study which proved conclusive. The Aramis project highlighted GRIF’s full potential for energy transition projects (wind, solar, etc.) as, up to now, the software was used mainly in the context of fossil energies.
On the strength of this initial result, we are currently developing "WIND", a module dedicated to offshore wind farms. This time, we drew on the MBSA (Model-Based Safety Assessment) methodology, which helps structure our approach and analysis toward emerging sectors such as wind, or energy storage in batteries. The versatility of the software is a truly a major asset to support the environmental and energy transitions.
What are your missions as a Reliability Engineer?
My mission is twofold: On the one hand, we run production availability and safety studies using the GRIF software. With safety studies, the aim is to evaluate the probability of barrier failure on our multi-energy Company’s oil & gas facilities. These barriers are fitted with smart sensors that monitor critical settings - such as pipeline pressure - in real time. In the event of an anomaly, corrective measures are taken immediately to prevent any serious incidents occurring. Our role is to calculate, as from the design phase, the probability of failure of these systems, to guarantee the safety of facilities, people and the environment. As regards production availability studies, the challenge is to predict the performance of facilities depending on their design and maintenance and operations policy, so that project teams can evaluate the profitability or compliance with the Company’s energy challenges (e.g. reducing CO2 emissions).
And on the other, I work on the continuous development of GRIF, which is still a strategic software suite for our missions. The team is currently developing a module to visualize - in the operational phase - the status of critical safety barriers. The project is run in collaboration with the TotalEnergies One HSE branch - a major partner of the GRIF project since 2017.
Is there a specific kind of profile to work in your department?
For the RAM* service in the Maintenance department of the Operations Division at TotalEnergies OneTech, we are specifically looking for ultra-specialized profiles that develop an in-depth expertise in GRIF and the underlying mathematical methods. This position makes us stand out from the other professions at TotalEnergies, where in-house mobility is more frequent. It also enables us to work with standards committees and with external research bodies, such as the Risk Management Institute, and to share experiences with industrialists who use GRIF in different sectors: nuclear, aerospace, defense, energy, etc. Sharing best practices strengthens our collective expertise in dependability.
You work at the CSTJF in Pau. What do you see as the specificities of this world-renowned center of expertise nestled between the Pyrenees and the Atlantic Ocean?
The CSTJF is well known and recognized in the Aquitaine Basin to offer its staff a privileged work setting, owing both to its geographical location, and the sheer size of the site, spread out over 27 hectares, and which gives access to powerful technological resources, such as the Fablab with its additive manufacturing capacities, or the Pangea supercomputer, world renowned in this field. Actually since 2016, GRIF has been connected to Pangea and benefits from its computing power to run models in just a few minutes, compared with several hours on a standard PC. The tools contribute to the Company’s reach and innovation, thanks to the multidisciplinary tools present on site, and also the Platform for Experimental Research in Lacq, which is annexed to it. The methods and tools developed are a perfect illustration of the Company’s know-how in the scientific sector, strengthened by long-standing partnerships with the local ecosystem, like the one with the University of Pau and the Pays de l’Adour, where I was lucky enough to study around 10 years ago, and where I now have the opportunity to contribute to training tomorrow’s engineers.
* Reliability Availability Maintainability
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