oil refinery turnaround preparation

[0707]

I would like to have forum feed back up dated experiences on oil refinery turnaround preparation. Site web articles and presentations would be appreciated.

Regards

Luis

 

[epoisses]

From which point of view? process engineering, project engineering, maintenance, operations, safety....? I'm afraid your question is too generic for any answer to be very useful.

 

[0707]

Excuse me for being so generic. I would like to have some feed back on the planning of Maintenance Turnarounds. From my point of view to plan a turnaround is not only responsibility of the maintenance. To plan a turnaround needs multifunctional teams such as operations process, technology, inspection, engineering and maintenance. All these task teams should be involved in the same goal, which is complete, the turnaround in time with the best equipment reliability, safely and with no delays.

Any feedback or presentation on this subject would be appreciated.

Regards

Luis Marques

 

[epoisses]

It's still a huge subject to cover, but I'll kick off.
First IMHO you should define the order of priorities of the objectives you mention. The usual order is:
1. safety
2. quality
3. time
4. money
but depending on the circumstances you may opt for a different order but it's important that everybody is aware as it makes decision-taking easier.

I have good experience with dividing the refinery into areas and have multifuncional (PMT) teams manage them (both preparation and execution). After having given these teams their objectives, the TA management team should only supervise them and not mess with details unless things go out of control.

Some work should be centralised, like off-site heat exchanger cleaning, and there should obviously be site coordinators e.g. for transport (where to put the cranes), but the more responsibility is delegated to people actually out on the units, the faster and more smoothly things (should) go.

 

[Ashereng]

One decision that is sometimes overlooked, but may be important, is when doing checkouts, do the teams follow:
- find and fix, or
- find and go on

If this is not clarified, then the teams will be off doing different things.

One solution that has worked well is all the fixing is done during day shift (all the trades are usully available during the day), regardless of which option the checkout teams follow.

Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[0707]

Tank you for your replies


We are going to start preparing our next main turnaround, which will take place somewhere in 2008. We will start with workshops involving people from inspection, technology, process operations, engineering, maintenance and safety.

We have already defined the main big works and now with the outputs from RBI crossed with historic inspections reports and inspectors experience we will define a PIE (inspection plan testing for each equipment item).

With these PIE´S we will obtain the previous turnaround equipment list.

After that in workshops forums, unit-by-unit we will discuss that previous equipment list to achieve a consensus for the final detailed turnaround equipment list.

After revision of all PIE according to final turnaround equipment list we will send them 1,5 year before turnaround date to maintenance planning for contractors purchase and materials procurement. With the definition of the critical path the planning process will be close six months before turnaround start date.

As soon as contractors are selected we will promote meetings to discuss work details, related with process shut down, safety, inspection, planning and maintenance so that the turnaround scheduling of each contractor be aligned with turnaround critical path.

Any feedback, presentation or others experiences on this subject would be appreciated.

Does any one knows what is application of Emotional Intelligence ( EQ) for much labour intensive jobs like Column Tray replacement for much labour intensive jobs like Column Tray replacement?


Regards

Luis Marques

 

[epoisses]

The application of EQ in column tray replacement is as follows:
if you send a guy into a smelly and dirty place where he will suffer from a bizarre mixture of claustrophobia and vertigo, especially at night, to do stupid work with nobody to supervise him, EQ will lead you to consider the possibility that his quality standards will drop very soon to an unacceptable level. As an example, when he discovers bolts that he cannot loosen, he will cut them, he will then forget to take new ones with him to replace them and will close the manways using only the remaining bolts. During the TA after that, you and your engineering team will spend 50 manhours on how the heck all those manways have been blown out.
EQ means (I guess) putting yourself in the place of another person rather than being surprised about his behaviour after the fact.

 

[0707]

In a turnaround where you have lots of people working together inside special confined dirty spaces like reactors or columns and where you have several work disciplines teams such as cleaning, mechanical, welding etc. it is important to deal with their emotions in the sense to smooth the work, so that the people involved in the work feel motivated and proud of their role for the success of the job. When you entered inside a column with all that noise of pneumatic tools and hammer strikes mixed with “slag songs” and whistles of “strange singers and musicians” it is a signal that the work is going pretty well. On the contrary if everybody is quarrelling and arguing with bed humour is because there is something wrong with the supervising of those teams. Most of the time is better to have a very good emotional intelligent supervisor that a cognitive one.

This is my understanding for the meaning of Emotional Intelligence ( EQ)

Regards

Luis

 

[epoisses]

a good reason to get an explo proof radio up the column!

 

[STI666]

You may also want to consider using some Gamma Scanning to inspect the operation of the columns before you shut down. This may reduce the number of columns you actually need to enter for inspection/repair or can indicate the extent of the repairs that will be required so you can plan time, equipment and personnel. Check out information on what Gamma Scanning inspections can and can not do at

http://www.scanningtech.com

Regards,
Don Carriere

 

[svanels]

When you entered inside a column with all that noise of pneumatic tools and hammer strikes mixed with “slag songs” and whistles of “strange singers and musicians” it is a signal that the work is going pretty well

If there is no supervision present these musicians will only play when some white hat is coming. Hammering a layer of coke has nothing romantic. Imagine the guys inspecting the waterseal of the flare, it stinks!! The supervisor there must have the face and the manners of mean pitbull, or else he will be devoured by the craft.
Not to talk about the guy that is smoking near a open pit, with the sewers full of flamable stuff, or the crew that is breaking a line while on a plaform 6 feet higher someone is playing with a torch.
Probably you will have 5 times your normal workforce on site, and probably they won't go to church on sunday morning.
Put someone with weight in charge to be the mobile equipment coordinator (this person calls the shots where and when the cranes, forklift trucks, lifts go) because everybody wants the same equipment at the same time.

It is stress time