This statement hereby confirms that this examination has not previously been accepted for any degree and is not currently eligible for any other degree at any other university. I would also like to thank all the people at the PetroSA GTL refinery who gave me the opportunity to interview them for this research. To all of you I say "thank you". Special thanks to Jabu Mavimbela and Sihle Madlala for their valuable input during the conduct of this study.
The aim of this study was to identify and highlight the challenges experienced during the different phases of the shutdown or turnaround management processes in the petrochemical refineries. Two senior managers from one of the major shutdown and turnaround contractors in South Africa were also included in the sample. The challenges experienced in the different phases were discussed, focusing on the planning, budgeting and closing execution phases of the process.
The results indicated that to be competitive in the petrochemical industry, a refinery must strive to achieve higher productivity from the field execution teams, as well as incorporate proper cost control structures into the process.
COIDA EPC
INTRODUCTION
- Introduction
- Background
- Motivation for the study
- Problem Statement
- Budgeting Process Sub-problem
- Shutdown Execution Sub-problem
- Research Objectives
- Limitations of the Research
- Summary
The research findings will add value to the body of knowledge on shutdown management processes in petrochemical refineries. The research will identify and highlight the critical challenges faced at various stages of the shutdown management process, with a particular focus on the planning, budgeting and implementation stages. The effectiveness of the planning process is directly reflected in the failure or success of the execution phase of the shutdown.
The quality and capabilities of direct field work is one of the main concerns experienced during the execution phase of the shutdown. To identify and evaluate the activities achieved at each stage of the closure or turnaround management process. In highlighting the challenges, the research will focus primarily on the planning, budgeting and closure execution phases of the closure management process.
The ability to understand the challenges that may be encountered during the various stages of the shutdown management process can help a refinery formulate sound and effective shutdown policies and procedures.
LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction
- Shutdown Phases
- Planning
- Work Scope Identification
- Criteria for accepting final work scope
- Detailed Planning
- Pre-shutdown Preparations
- Budgets
- Budget Estimates
- Shutdown Execution
- Safety
- Coordination of Planned Activities
- Summary
The planning phase is one of the most critical stages of the entire outage or turnaround management process. The success of the execution phase depends almost entirely on the success of the planning phase. The execution phase of the closing process takes 3 to 8 weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the event.
The cost of doing a job during a shutdown or turnaround is more expensive than during normal plant operation. During the initial stages of the closure management process, the company must also implement cost control measures. This has a direct impact on the quality of workmanship and contributes to increased closure or return costs due to rework.
The chapter extensively discussed the milestones and deliverables for the various phases of the shutdown management process.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- Introduction
- Background of PetroSA GTL Refinery
- Importance of the Research
- Framework Application of the Theory
- Data collection
- Sources of the Data
- Sample Size
- Research Methods
- The Planning Process
- The Budgeting Process
- The Execution Sub-problem
- Questionnaire Design
- Analysis of the Data
- Validity and Reliability
- Summary
The research results and recommendations can be used to streamline the shutdown management processes in the various refineries to achieve higher efficiency and reduce costs. The planning process: The various inputs and deliverables of the planning process will be critically analysed. These authors outline the various phases of the decommissioning management process, including the requirements and deliverables for each phase.
Being exploratory in nature, the interview questions will prompt the participants to provide in-depth insights and knowledge about the various aspects of the downtime management process. For quantitative comparisons between PetroSA and the local and international industries, the research will make use of the PetroSA outage reports, as well as published journals on outage management and various internet sources. The planned duration of the shutdown versus the size of the shutdown (the size of the shutdown can either be measured in terms of man-hours or the budgeted cost of the shutdown).
The primary source of the research data will be collected through interviews with key people involved in the shutdown management processes, while the secondary data will be collected from the refinery's shutdown reports. The research results at the PetroSA GTL refinery would be representative of the broad spectrum of petrochemical refineries in South Africa. The research will identify the key outcomes to be achieved at each stage of the decommissioning management process.
Using this approach, the research will investigate the level of information gathered, including the various activities involved in the planning process during the various stages of the closure process. The exploratory nature of the research requires that the interview questions be of an open-ended type. Furthermore, the interview questions were designed to answer the critical research questions, the main focus of which was to identify the challenges of shutdown management in petrochemical refineries.
Combining the analysis of all the subproblems will then culminate in the overall research problem statement. Validity is defined as the degree to which a measurement instrument (eg, an interview questionnaire) measures what it is supposed to measure.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
- Introduction
- Shutdown Management in General
- Functional disciplines involved in the Process
- Communication between the Departments
- Planning Process
- The Shutdown Phases
- The Challenges of the Planning Process
- Budgeting Process
- The Challenges of the Budgeting Process
- The Contractors
- Shutdown Execution Phase
- The Execution Challenges
- The Safety Challenges
- Summary
Almost 75% of respondents felt that scope of work identification and validation processes were not properly implemented during the PetroSA shutdown in 2003 and 2006. 75% of respondents indicated that the scope of work identification and validation process at PetroSA was not well managed for the 2006 shutdown .A study of PetroSA shutdowns in 2003 and 2006 found that the organization had cost overruns due to the last two shutdowns.
Poor budgeting - A study of PetroSA shutdowns in 2003 and 2006 found that shutdown budgets were in most cases not based on the actual scope of work. A study of the PetroSA shutdown in 2003 and 2006 found that scope of work identification processes were understated, resulting in underestimation of budgets as well. A study of PetroSA shutdowns in 2003 and 2006 found that some contractors mobilized the construction site while access to start work had not yet been granted.
The study of PetroSA's 2003 and 2006 shutdowns revealed that there was some rework done in both shutdown periods, particularly welding jobs. The PetroSA 2006 closures study indicated that some of the work carried out during execution may have been carried out during the pre-closure preparation period. Study of the 2003 and 2006 PetroSA shutdowns found that several bad weather days were experienced during both shutdown periods.
According to the investigation into PetroSA's 2003 and 2006 closures, poor supervision of contractors in the field led to low contractor productivity levels. Poor communication - The investigation into the PetroSA closures in 2003 and 2006 found that communication was a major challenge during the implementation period. Emergency work - Emergency work is one of the serious challenges that the shutdown teams face during the implementation phase.
The study of the PetroSA 2006 shutdown revealed that 23% of emerging work was picked up during the execution phase. Poor coordination of closure documentation - The study of the PetroSA 2003 and 2006 closures revealed that the lack of an established document control center resulted in poor coordination of documentation, particularly during the execution period.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- Introduction
- Recommendations and Conclusions
- Planning Process
- Budgeting Process
- Shutdown Execution
- Summary
The scope identification and development process forms the basis of the entire planning process, and even the entire shutdown or turnaround management process. In the planning process, one of the gaps identified during the closure of PetroSA in 2006 was the financing of the various activities based on the supervisor's own experience (which could sometimes not be accurate). This exercise should be done early, preferably 12 to 18 months before implementation, to avoid delays in the other phases of the shutdown management process.
To ensure the full support of prime contractors, contractors should be involved in most shutdown management activities, particularly in the detailed scoping process. One of the loopholes identified during the 2006 PetroSA shutdown was that some prime contractors were not included in the detailed scoping process. The benefits of including prime contractors in the detailed scoping process can be seen in minimal or no contractual disagreements at the end of performance.
Decommissioning management should strive to involve the contractors in the various activities of the decommissioning management process so that they develop total buy-in. Poor mobilization strategies create frustrations among employees, leading to low morale just before the start of the shutdown. As part of turnaround planning, permit requirements should be identified for all approved work orders.
This directly translates into the refinery's poor competitive position compared to its competitors and contributes to the increase in shutdown costs. Structures and procedures for dealing with emerging work should be designed and implemented during the preparation phases of the shutdown process. To be competitive, budget formulation must be rigorous and ensure that the process is based on similar procedures to those used to generate the scope of work.
To ensure high productivity during the execution period, the supervision of employees and contractors must be of a high quality. At what stage of the planning process are critical materials and supplies needed for closure identified and ordered? Provide a list of reasons for over budget for closure in your department.
List the challenges you experience in your area during the execution phase of the shutdown.
UNIVERSITY OF
KWAZULU-NATAL
