Process plant comissioning & Startup

[AndreChE]

Dear all

I would like to have good information regarding Process Plant Comissioning & Startup.

I will be deeply involved in a Steam Cracker major revamp.

I already have the book Process Plant Comissioning but I would like to study and compare different approaches.

It's not our first big project but even so, I want to gather as much experiences and knowledge, from different areas, as possible.

AndreChE

 

[maddocks]

Andre:

This is a difficult question. Each project requires different coordination, different planning systems, and unique approaches to commissioning. The only way I learned was by constantly being in touch with the senior commissioning engineer and watching/learning his method, techniques and helping out. You just can't read a book on this stuff - it's real world experience.

 

[AndreChE]

Yes, agree.

It's not a book reading I'm looking for.

I was comissioning engineer for two projects in "my" plant but now I'll be the comissioning manager for the ongoing project. However, my experience is only Steam Cracker.

In fact I always disagree on several things in the previous manager decisions. I know the plant, I'm planning and preparing the comissioning and startup and most of all I feel the team involved and .

I would like to see if "other worlds" behave like ours and compare them, converging the best practices we know with the others we might learn from different experiences and processes.

A book like "What went wrong" is amazing and I wonder if something like that or similar exists for comissioning...

 

[roadwhore75]

The best source of information won't cost you much. You should look at management of change procedures, I prefer those with checklists. You may also want to talk to anyone who has done ISO-9001 commissioning. These are step-by-step procedures for commissioning, validating and handing-over process equipment and processes. You may also want to check out validation practices followed in the pharmaceutical industry, familiar to some as IQ/OQ.

IQ: checking the process against drawings and documentation.
OQ: confirming that the process does what it is supposed to do and how it is is supposed to.

Again, it is best to talk to someone who has done it, or watch and learn while you do it together.

I am an editor at Chemical Processing magazine. Some of my articles may be useful for start-up and commissioning.

There are several useful checklists available and much technical literature around that can help you. If you follow the MOC procedures with your company you will gain much insight into the correct ways of starting up equipment. Things have improved much since I left school. Imagine: in my day we were thrown to the wolves.

 

[roadwhore75]

Here's some more.

 

[roadwhore75]

And, some more.