A Roadmap for Successful Turnaround Inspections, Part I: Pre-turnaround Inspections

摘要

Periodically, oil refinery and petrochemical plant operating companies conduct complex turnarounds for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, scheduled maintenance, facility upgrades, and code compliance. The cost of a turnaround is significant, so operators strive to optimize planning and work as efficiently as possible. Yet at times, a piece of equipment, a unit, or a whole-plant turnaround can be more complicated than the initial construction of the facility, so a carefully designed turnaround plan is crucial for reducing work time and costs and ensuring that the complex continues to operate in a safe and efficient manner. Far in advance of the turnaround, plant operators begin planning schedules and budgets, including ensuring that personnel, time, budgets, and access points are available for inspection professionals and equipment. Often, third-party qualified and experienced inspection personnel are needed to augment the operator's resources available to handle turnaround inspection planning and scheduling, execution of the turnaround inspection activities, and assist in the re-startup of the facility to minimize the out-of-service time. Without high-quality inspection activities, damaged or failing equipment can be improperly documented or overlooked completely, thus leading to unintended consequences. High-quality inspection services should include pre-turnaround inspection planning, turnaround inspections, and post-turnaround documentation.