This project was one with a capital P. The P of project, but also of Perfact – after all, during this turnaround for the INEOS Phenol Belgium group, our expertise became very apparent.
Turnaround management is where it all started for Perfact. After 20 years, we can safely say we have become an expert in this field. Initially, our client INEOS Phenol approached us to make an analysis of a previous maintenance stop they had implemented. They needed a different approach. Through consultancy, we worked together to see what could be done differently in future turnarounds.
“We started with an analysis of the situation that was at hand at the time – a kind of status quo inventory,” says Pascal van Bun, project manager within Perfact and involved in this project. “After that, we worked out what the desired situation would be and looked at the gaps. We considered the choices that needed to be made to improve the course of the project. All with the ultimate goal of making the turnaround as effective and efficient as possible in mind,” Pascal continues.
A project team
Once the current situation was clear, INEOS expressed its confidence that an integrated Perfact team should carry out the preparation of the TA. All under the watchful eye of INEOS’ own turnaround management. During a turnaround, different disciplines come together, such as scoping, work preparation and scheduling. The beauty of this project was that we could carry out the entire preparation with a mix Perfact and INEOS colleagues.
“The strength of this project was both the expertise and knowledge regarding turnarounds from Perfact, and the site knowledge of INEOS. Through this combination, we created the right mix of new methodologies and insights,” says the TA Manager of INEOS. Such a construction is very advantageous, which is why we prefer to work this way.
Work preparation
In the run-up to execution, the Scope Lead draws up a unified scope in which everything is mapped out. “It’s important not to deviate too much from the basic scope so that the turnaround is still manageable. That’s why an unambiguous and comprehensive scope is very important,” indicates Pascal.
In this phase, work planners get to work by reviewing the situation on site to ensure they have the necessary information. And that the work described can be carried out in the most efficient, safe and environmentally friendly way. At the same time, a Scheduler gets to work effectively setting goals and priorities. All with the time, resources and actions required to do so incorporated into the schedule. These are then organised effectively to achieve the set goals.
Supervision
Of course, there is always much more involved than just scoping, work preparation and scheduling. For instance, there are risks associated with every turnaround; it is very important to recognise the potential risks early on and take appropriate action. This way, the course of the project is not negatively affected and the turnaround is not unnecessarily delayed. “We naturally also carry out this analysis within the project team,” indicates Pascal.
When the maintenance shutdown finally starts, we are always still involved on site. It’s not like we take our hands off the project as soon as the stop starts. We continue to supervise the parts we were responsible for in the preparation, so that we can make adjustments where necessary.
“Accuracy is always important in such planning, but also knowing where you stand together. I think that this turnaround, reflects a nice illustration of the many turnaround projects we carry out within Perfact, where we deliver teamwork in cooperation with the client, and where we were able to show that we can run turnaround projects efficiently and effectively,” finishes Pascal.
