Gas Plant (International)

Overview:

Gas Plant (International)
Industry: Oil & Gas
Date of Project: August, 2013

Project

ACM was contracted to perform a HAZOP on the upgrades to a Gas Plant.

Challenge

The operating company for this HAZOP was attending from outside of North America and had a limited timeframe in which to complete the study (one week). There was concern prior to the session that there was inadequate time to complete the scope of the HAZOP. Furthermore, due to the high priority of the project many stakeholders were involved in the HAZOP session – sixteen participants in addition to the facilitation team – who had varied HAZOP experience . During preliminary discussions, it was discovered that the client did not have a Risk Matrix or HAZOP procedure.

Solution

In order to ensure a quality HAZOP was completed while attempting to meet the compressed schedule the following was done:

• Multiple pre-meeting conversations were held with the EPC and client to confirm scope and meeting logistics in order to avoid unnecessary discussion during the HAZOP session.
• ACM consulted with the client prior to session in order to develop an applicable risk matrix and HAZOP procedure which lines up with industry best practices.
• Completed, noded drawings and a nodes list were sent to the client for review to ensure there was a mutual understanding of the nodes to be analyzed and allow the HAZOP team to become familiar with the scope of work. Furthermore, the nodes list was used to develop a preliminary schedule to ensure all expertise was available when required to avoid delaying the HAZOP due to a lack of personnel.
• Nodes were prioritized in the preliminary schedule to ensure that all high priority items were addressed in the event that the HAZOP could not be completed in the week. It was estimated that four nodes may need to be delayed to a later date.
• An introduction HAZOP training was performed on the first day of the session to ensure all team members understood the methodology and answer all questions up front. Though this took up time up front, it allowed the rest of the HAZOP session to flow at a much smoother pace.
• The length of the HAZOP days were extended to accommodate the additional scope but were accompanied with more frequent breaks to avoid team burnout.

Results and Testemonials:

• All twenty six nodes were completed in the allocated time.
• "Facilitation skill ensured [HAZOP] conducted efficiently and delivered a balanced output"
• "Organization and time management skills helped to review all 26 nodes efficiently and for each node we identified the process and equipment hazards and operability issues, identified the correction of potential deviations and captured the information required for the documentation of safety systems"