Plant Disinvestment & Shutdowns: How Interface Management Helps

 Armando Bianco, Engineering Manager for Saipem, presented the benefits of interface management in plant disinvestment, revamping, and shut-down project strategy.

Although there are many reasons why the revamping of a facility may be required, (including the inability to run the facility at full capacity due to existing bottlenecks, unavailability of modern process units leading to off-spec products, limited downstream unit operation capacity, or critical equipment obsolescence), it really just comes down to two main issues: profit and/or environment.

For revamping, also called shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages (STOs), interfaces exist mostly between operations and contractors. The goal of interface management is to improve collaboration between these different parties and clearly define responsibilities so the interfaces between scopes of work are executed successfully the first time, and thus minimize downtime, lost profits, and environmental impacts that can be caused by poorly executed STOs.

Armando explained two basic types of revamping projects:

1. Rehabilitation: restoration of equipment and/or unit reliability, including maintenance on damaged structures, equipment, and field instrument replacement.
2. Product Enhancement: Updating the capacity and/or technology of existing units, including unit expansions, de-bottlenecking, integration with new units, and control system expansions.

Armando’s key factors for STO project success include:

1. Early identification of tie-ins during FEED
2. Site surveys
3. Traceability
4. Isolation philosophy of existing plants
5. Constructability analysis to verify shut-down windows
6. Dedicated team of engineering, construction and commissioning from the beginning

Shutdowns are planned in hours instead of days, so plans are often made by reversing the breakdown of work from the start-up deadline and planning tasks back to the project start date. Scope and work split need to be clear between contractors and operations to avoid operational risk and negative impact to ongoing operations. STOs experience a flurry of activity that include overlapping priorities, contract agreements, and an influx of workers. This situation tends to lead to rework, schedule slippage, and overrun costs if not managed properly. The most effective approach to address these challenges is to adopt an integrated information management solution like Coreworx Interface Management. Receiving and tracking the right information at the right time and ensuring responsibilities are clearly defined  are hugely important in the fast paced, high pressure world of STOs. Coreworx Interface Connect helps you make sure everyone has access to accurate information and that interface responsibilities are clearly defined, both of which will allow your team to make the right decisions and execute your projects successfully.