RLG International Results Stories

A Success Story at a Refinery

Turnaround Success at the Refinery

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Key Objectives

On May 16, 2007, the refinery safely and successfully completed the largest refinery turnaround in the history of Russia - three days ahead of schedule.

The refinery has over 30 oil refining units, each required to be shutdown for repair and maintenance every two years. Historical data shows that in 2005 they were on average 20% to 30% over budget, and on average 14% over the planned repair phase duration (an overdue factor).

The root causes for these gaps were in two main areas: planning and preparation; and communication and coordination among departments.

To address these challenges and opportunities, RLG developed the following strategy: integration of RLG's TMP® (Theoretical Maximum Performance) tool to reduce delivery time through improved preparation, engagement and execution discipline; detailed planning supported by visible tools such as Gantt charts; effective alignment among departments; tracking engineering designs and procurement status; establishing work group meetings; use of key performance indicators (KPI) and regular business reviews to manage performance; and establishing a lessons learned process.

2007 Complex Turnaround

Involving 17 units and conducted in April-May, this was the major event of 2007. RLG was actively involved in assisting with its planning and preparation. The scope and level of detail of the preparation was enormous:

• Monitoring and execution of over 500 overhaul milestones.
• Tracking and monitoring of 252 engineering projects.
• Tracking over 120 contracts for materials procurement.
• Scheduling of over 17,000+ activities in MS Project Gantt charts.
• Conducting 17 TMP® sessions with 230 participants and over 250 action items.
• Daily tracking of over 150 KPIs on overhaul activities.

The attention to detail, cooperation among departments, and proactive addressing of risk paid off as the over haul was successfully delivered three days ahead of plan. Over 1,500 vessels, 100 km of pipeline, 4,000 valves, and 200 pumps were inspected and repaired where necessary. In over 2.1 million man-hours of repair work, there were no serious HSE violations.

The Change

Overall, 26 units were shutdown and repaired in 2007. Due to the reduced number of actual repair days vs. planned days on almost every one of these units the overdue factor reached a level of -7.8% by the end of 2007. In other words, on average, the repair phase duration for each unit was reduced by 7.8% vs. plan. The overdue factor levels for 2005 and 2006 were +14.0% and +3.7% respectively meaning that repair works were on average being completed beyond the plan.

The confidence, skills and tools to undertake this extremely challenging 45 day, 17 unit complex overhaul from the original 60 day plan, did not develop overnight but was the culmination of a trend, beginning in 2006, of delivering one successful overhaul after another, while testing new tools and processes.