MANAGING THE CHALLENGES OF COMPLEX OPERATIONS AND WORKFORCE CHANGES: ARE YOU READY?

Tom Ratajczak, Senior Manager, PT&E Asset Management Services, UOP, A Honeywell Company Peter Henderson, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Simulation, Honeywell Process Solutions

INTRODUCTION
Refineries and petrochemical plants are facing a crisis in workforce effectiveness. As experienced workers retire in record numbers, product demand continues to increase. A highly specialized workforce that has been stable for a number of years is now in flux as new college graduates are taking their place and employees are being hired from other industries. In this environment of change and increasing complexity, plants must address ever-increasing demands for better quality products, higher margins, safe working conditions, and environmentally sound operation. To meet these challenges, employees must be well-versed in process operations, safety, and plant economics. A number of practical and proven methods to ensure that operations staff have the tools and knowledge to effectively perform their many duties are examined in this paper, including: Cross-functional teaming through all phases of the plant lifecycle Dynamic and static simulation to ensure a successful startup and optimized operation Training curricula combining classroom instruction, web-based training, expert systems, customized dynamic simulators, and certification programs that ensure employees meet and maintain high standards of performance AM-08-69 Page 1

2008 UOP LLC. All rights reserved.

Specialized tools such as advanced process control (APC), manufacturing execution systems (MES), expert systems, and remote performance management (RPM) to maximize profitability Abnormal Situation Management (ASM) Consortium guidelines to help ensure process units are operated safely and efficiently

DECISION MAKING THROUGHOUT THE PLANT LIFECYCLE

Responsible Operations
When running a petrochemical plant or refinery, decisions are being made continuously throughout the organization at the executive level and within the planning, engineering, and operations departments. Unless carefully managed, the push towards optimized efficiency, maximized production and profit generation may drive plant production outside the normal bounds of safe operation. To counteract this, the focus is shifting to responsible operations where customer commitments and financial targets are balanced by concerns for employee safety, environmental protection, and social impacts.

The Plant Lifecycle

Figure 1 represents the phases of the plant lifecycle: Concept development Plant design Construction and commissioning Operations and maintenance

There are two different paths that can be taken. The traditional path of working through design and operational deficiencies during initial operation often leads to a costly, prolonged, and unstable startup that defers operating profits for long periods of time, ultimately costing millions of dollars. There are many design, construction, and training best practices that create operational readiness for a faultless startup. In addition, there are practices that ensure operational effectiveness for maximized plant availability. A smooth handover from the engineering contractor who constructs and commissions the facility to the owner-operator who operates and maintains it is critical to ensure that profits generated from a smooth startup are protected in the future by plant reliability.

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Figure 1

Plant Lifecycle

Concept Development Traditional Method: Early hand over & difficult run up to sustainable full production capacity

Plant Design

Construction & Commissioning

Operations & Maintenance

Engineering Procurement & Construction Management (EPCM) Team

Production

Owners Team Operations & Maintenance

New Value Proposition: Capacity development and hand over at full production

EPCM Team Capability Development Team

Production
Owners Team Operations & Maintenance

Teams, Players, Relationships and Work Process

The continuum of plant lifecycle relationships is presented in Figure 2. Critical to the success of this lifecycle is how well information flows and how well decisions are communicated between the key players. The owner-operator creates the conceptual design package or the Design Basis Memorandum to define requirements for the process licensors and engineering contractors responsible for plant design and construction. Process licensors may be involved to provide specialized processes. Engineering Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) takes the conceptual design package from the owner-operator and process licensors during the front-end engineering design (FEED) and detailed design phases of the project. The Main Automation Contractor (MAC) automates critical processes for the owneroperator to accelerate production schedules and improve efficiency.

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The Capability Development Team is a cross-functional team composed of members from each of the lifecycle partners. The teams goal is to ensure that the plant turnover process prepares the owner-operator to assume full responsibility for plant operations and maintenance. Figure 2

Lifecycle Relationships
Process Technology & Knowledge

Process Licensor

Process & Equipment Design

Plant Operations

Design Simulator
Owner Operator

Operator Training Simulator

Engineering Contractor

FEED Detailed Design

Process Automation System

Main Automation Contractor

Automation & Simulation

Control Development & Checkout

Readiness and Effectiveness of Plant Assets

Each member of the Capability Development Team has a key role to play and contributes unique technology and knowledge to prepare plant assets for initial and sustained operation. Process knowledge may originate from the process licensor or the engineering contractor. A clear understanding of the process behavior is critical to the process and equipment design, control system design, and the definition of plant operating procedures. Safety considerations must also be factored into the plants design upfront. Technology is being increasingly used throughout the plant lifecycle to facilitate knowledge transfer. The plant is composed of several types of assets: Soft Assets - Equipment and plant design, licensed technology, and procedures

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Physical Assets Process technology, equipment, piping, automation systems, and training simulators Human Assets - Management, planners, supervisors, process engineers, and operators

It is common practice today to apply process technology and process knowledge to confirm the readiness of plant assets for a faultless startup. Similarly, employee training, the use of online operator tools, advanced control strategies, and performance management systems improve workforce effectiveness to sustain optimal and reliable operations.

Solutions Map for Readiness and Effectiveness

Figure 3 presents a set of solutions that are adopted by the players at distinct lifecycle stages to ensure readiness and effectiveness of the plant assets. The following sections provide an overview of the tools and techniques that can be implemented to improve plant performance. Figure 3

Solutions Map
Plant Design Readiness
Process & Equipment Design
Steady State Simulation Dynamic Simulation Capability Development Team Eng. Procurement & Const. Mgt Process Licensor OwnerOperator Main Automation Contractor ASM HMI Graphics Alarm Configuration Regulatory System Programmable Logic Control Safety System Dynamic Simulation Instructor-Led Training Web-Based Training Blended Training Solution Expert Systems Operator Training Simulators Operator Certification

Operational Readiness
Workforce Training

Operational Effectiveness
Operator Station Applications & ASM Guidelines
Steady State Simulation Equipment Performance Control Loop Performance Early Event Detection Procedural Operations Alarm Management Boundary Management

Production Optimization
Production Mgt & Advanced Process Control
Steady State Simulation Advanced Control Optimizer Blend Optimization Enhanced Blend Ratio Control Oil Movements & Storage Blend Movement Automation Remote Performance Mgt. Expert Systems Manufacturing Execution Systems

Process Automation System Design

Plant Design Readiness

During the plant design phase, members of the Capability Development Team use engineering tools (such as process simulators) to develop the project requirements, process layout, equipment design, control system strategy, operating strategy, safety strategy, schedule, purchasing plan, and capital cost estimates. A cohesive suite of integrated engineering and data management

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tools enable a consistent engineering workflow and plant design process to ensure alignment between the stakeholders in the decision making process. Considering that 60% of capital investments are made during the early project phases, engineering tools that create plant simulation models will have a positive economic impact on critical decisions that drive the project cost and schedule. The opportunity for process enhancement decays rapidly during this phase as capital investments are committed to purchasing and construction. Process simulation is used to help engineers make sound decisions to solve complex problems, and is critical to effective process design. Construction phase benefits include minimized costs, reduced risk, and schedule adherence thereby accelerating initial production and profit recognition. Capital Cost Optimization In plant design, steady state process simulation is used to evaluate various operating scenarios to solve equipment rating problems. The benefits include minimized capital expenditures while avoiding process bottle-necks. Dynamic simulation is another well-accepted tool because of the positive economic impact it can have on capital cost decisions. Control System Development The automation system is a critical portal to the process. How well the automation system is crafted will influence the operators success in meeting operating objectives and avoiding plant upsets. Simulation helps create realistic operating scenarios that enable engineers to assess the system configuration under dynamic conditions rather than the traditional method of static checkout. In this way, engineers can assess the ability of: Operator station configurations to present a clear picture of the process Alarms to effectively bring the operators attention to a potential upset Regulatory controls to sustain reliable operating conditions Safety systems to protect the plant from straying outside safe bounds of operation

Procedures Development The operator training simulator can be used as a platform for developing operating procedures. Operator actions captured during the simulated startup document the sequence of tasks that need to be performed when the plant goes online. Improving a procedure is accomplished through repeated trials until the action sequence is finalized. In summary, these engineering design practices identify errors during the engineering phase, prior to capital investment in the office and off of the projects critical path. This mitigates project risks, delays, and the heavy cost of on-site resolution. Simulation also optimizes committed capital costs and accelerates the initial plant startup, resulting in earlier profit recognition.

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Operational Readiness
There are a number of factors contributing to the staff shortage in the process industries. According to consulting firm Booz Allen & Hamilton1, up to 50% of the workforce will retire in the next ten years, and there is a shortage of trained staff available to replace them. The loss of highly skilled and experienced staff has major repercussions on safety and availability. The Abnormal Situation Management (ASM) Consortium is a Honeywell-led research and development consortium of 15 companies and universities concerned about the negative effects of industrial plant incidents. It identifies problems facing plant operations during abnormal conditions and develops solutions. Abnormal situations are managed by prevention, early detection, and mitigation to reduce unplanned outages and process variability that decrease profits and increase the risk to plant employees and local communities. The ASM Consortium reports that 40% of unscheduled shutdowns are caused by human error. In most cases, these abnormal situations could have been prevented if people had the skills and confidence to respond quickly in an emergency situation. Experienced employees are less likely to make costly mistakes than younger, less experienced staff. To achieve operational readiness and excellence, companies must consistently improve their teams knowledge and skills. Employee training is one investment a company can make to maximize return on investment. Training In the process industries, managers cant afford to let staff learn from their mistakes. Errors can cost production, revenue, and even lives. Training enables the transfer of process knowledge so that process engineers, supervisors, and operators can hit the ground running whether they are commissioning a new process unit, shutting down or starting up existing units, or keeping the operation running at peak performance. There are multiple process technology training options that can be adjusted to meet each plants unique situation and needs. Listed below are key elements of a robust training solution. Instructor-Led Training (ILT) ILT is the most traditional form of training, where a knowledgeable instructor with significant domain expertise from the process licensor or equipment vendor leads the class through a structured outline with supporting reference materials, case studies, and quizzes. ILT can be delivered as an open enrollment course where students from different companies come together to learn the material, or it can be customized for a specific company. The latter option may be more cost effective if a number of employees need to be trained on the same material. The benefits of ILT include:
1

The instructor can adapt the material to the students level of understanding

Labor and skills crisis could stall oil and gas boom, Peter Parry, Varya Davidson, Andrew Clark, and Zoe Guildford, Booz Allen Hamilton., 2006.

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Students can ask questions to clarify the material and get expert guidance Students can gain different perspectives from others in the class

Web-based Training (WBT) Web-based training is instruction delivered over the Internet or a corporate intranet to learners with computer and browser access. Besides the flexibility to learn anytime and anywhere, WBT reduces travel costs, provides just-in-time learning, and allows students to review the material until they fully understand it. The learning is self-paced, so students can skip over sections theyre familiar with and concentrate on those areas where their knowledge is deficient. WBT also facilitates the inclusion of interactive content, graphics, and animation that make lessons clearer and help the student retain the material. Blended Solution Blended solutions use a mix of training approaches (e.g., ILT and WBT) to provide the most effective training solution in a given situation. For example, the web-based training component can be used to teach the fundamentals of a new technology and reinforce previously acquired knowledge. The learner can review the web-based material as frequently as needed to grasp the concepts. Once the learner is proficient as measured by the results of exercises and tests he or she can then take the ILT portion of the class. Students come to the ILT having learned the basics of the topic, and the instructor can spend time on more advanced and complex concepts. Expert systems An expert system is a computer program that contains the knowledge and analytical skills of one or more human experts. Used to capture the process knowledge from industry veterans, these applications provide support, guidance, and suggested solutions to the most commonly-encountered process issues. Expert systems are powerful learning tools because they help users become more familiar with the process technology each tool provides information such as spreadsheets for standard calculations, photos, flow diagrams, and other reference material. At UOP, expert system applications have been effectively used as part of a broader program to train recent chemical engineering graduates before they take on field assignments, and to broaden and deepen the knowledge and skills of more experienced staff. Operator Training Simulators Staff may also prepare themselves for operations on an operator training simulator that reproduces a virtual plant, enabling them to interact with the process without the fear of breaking something. Simulation helps employees make well-informed decisions during production by preparing them ahead of time through hands-on training. Dynamic simulators derived from simulations developed during the design phase can be incorporated into the training curriculum so that trainees are exposed to the dynamic behavior of the plant to learn the best responses to various operating scenarios.

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The training simulator provides a safe and unique environment that permits the operator to learn from following procedures and by making mistakes. Operating training simulators enable staff to: Recognize the onset of the upset Experience the full severity of the upset in a simulated environment to reinforce its significance without harming production or the facilities Follow procedural recovery to minimize the impact of the upset Avoid similar upsets in the future

Repeated practice on an operator training simulator helps the operator to recognize a stimulus and respond instinctively. Benefits include: Faster startups accelerate initial profit recognition Improved plant reliability protects profits and avoids penalties Improved plant performance maximizes profits without compromising plant reliability Better product quality avoids penalties without unnecessary give-aways Improved plant safety avoids costly injuries, damage, environmental penalties, and material loss

Operator Certification
Operator certification programs are designed to demonstrate and prove operator competency in plant operations. Simulator-based training programs are used to challenge the operator through practice with meaningful operating scenarios, capture and assess trainee responses for evaluation against performance criteria, and generate reports documenting and archiving individual operator competency. The plant operations team establishes the training objectives, creates simulated operating scenarios, and defines the performance criteria required to demonstrate operator competency and achieve certification. The training curriculum is carefully designed to cover the broad range of operating scenarios the operator may encounter including both normal and abnormal situations. Trainee challenges are created by introducing equipment failures and operating objectives (such as stable production rate and quality goals) into training scenarios. The trainee actions taken to meet the operating objectives under the selected operating conditions are documented and demonstrate the competencies developed through training. The trainee performance criteria are defined as target production values and operating sequences assigned to these operating scenarios which the trainee must achieve. The scoring algorithms

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assess performance as a time weighted function of compliance with target production values. Competency reporting and archival is required to prove operator readiness for production. Operational Effectiveness As modern process automation systems make it easier for operators to interact with additional processes, they assume responsibility for larger scopes of the plants operation. However, the work of the ASM Consortium has identified the paradox of automation, where as systems become more complicated, we create the potential to place the operator in an untenable position. Why is this so? First, as systems become more complex, they become more difficult to operate. One solution to operational difficulty is to add additional automation. But automation itself increases complexity. In addition to the increase in complexity, it is difficult to maintain operational skills in an automated environment. Thus, skills are lost that are precisely the ones that are most needed when the automated systems are unable to handle a problem and the operator is required to intervene. If we examine the causes of abnormal events, 90% are preventable. And the majority by some estimates the vast majority are due to the actions or inactions of people. Human beings will always be a part of the decision-making process in plant operations, and therefore there will always be opportunities for human error to contribute to abnormal situations. During an abnormal situation, employees are often dealing with too much complexity, a control system that has given up on solving the problem, and not enough time to thoroughly analyze the situation and respond accordingly. People have limitations. We are not good at detecting problems in large bodies of data. We are not always given time to think through an intervention. And, given the same inputs, people may not react as consistently as would an automation system. People may also struggle to communicate. For example, it is currently difficult to send messages to plants affected by a disturbance while simultaneously taking compensatory or corrective action. In addition, miscommunication or no communication at all may occur across shifts which can lead to inappropriate action. All of these limitations are exacerbated by stressful situations. The overall goal of the ASM Consortium has been to identify how to design the organization, training, support systems and automation to build on human strengths and to provide support for well understood limitations. This understanding of human interaction helps define an operations effectiveness strategy that includes tools to help monitor the plant, interpret operating conditions, recognize abnormal situations and take a supervisory role in automating complex operating sequences. These software tools incorporate process domain knowledge and are customized for the plant and the technology. Online tools are provided for reference on the operator station that helps operators make sound decisions during real-time operating scenarios by presenting:

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Operating graphics and boundaries that focus attention to critical data in the graphic displays Alarm strategies that adapt to changing operating modes Procedural operations that guide the operator through complex sequences Models for prediction of equipment performance Safe operational boundaries Warnings based on relationships between real-time operating data before they become alarms, trips, and incidents

These tools protect plant profitability and enhance the operators ability to see the important data and make well-informed decisions during operation, thereby avoiding process upsets and maximizing plant availability.

Production Optimization
Advanced Process Control (APC) Advanced process control applications are needed by many unit operations to control and optimize those processes known to exhibit interactive behavior between multiple variables. In these situations, advanced control and optimization strategies are defined on the basis of linearized, multi-variable controllers in which interactions can be considered in the final control response. These linear models are usually developed by performing on-line plant step tests that create small perturbations in process conditions and identify the resulting dynamic relationships. A dynamic simulator can be used to reduce the plant step test time by enabling models to be identified before the plant is put in operation, resulting in faster realization of APC benefits. In some situations, process behavior may be sufficiently non-linear such that linear models do not provide adequate control and optimization. In these cases, a number of options are available such as model swapping, where complete controller models are changed on the basis of unit operating conditions or modes, or controller gain updating, where the linear controller model gains are recalculated as process operating conditions change within the bounds of normal operation. Under the second scenario, steady state models may be utilized within the advanced control system to re-calculate these gains to improve the outcome of process control and achieve additional optimization benefits. In the case where the process is highly nonlinear or requires additional optimization capabilities not found in advanced control such as mixed integer optimization (e.g., equipment driver selection) the simulator can be configured for traditional steady state, real-time process optimization in conjunction with the advanced control strategy. In this instance, the optimized steady-state targets are calculated by the simulator and then sent to the advanced control layer for implementation in the process.

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An example of how simulation models can be of significant benefit in a refinery involves the Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit. In FCC units, changing feedstock compositions and economics can make the trade-off between conversion and throughput a decision that requires gain updating to account for changing yields in the unit. Using models to update controller gains in an FCC unit have generated economic benefits of over US$1M per year. Simulation and optimization models can be used in a tiered control strategy that is built upon a strong foundation of many integrated advanced controllers throughout the plant. Often the financial payback of the advanced process control and optimization strategy will be achieved rapidly as a result of improved control and optimized production. Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) Applications The profitability of the refinery or petrochemical complex depends upon making a complex series of long- and short-term decisions such as the types of feeds to buy, the mix of products to make, and the logistics of when to manufacture, blend and transport. With globalization, the number of potential feeds, products and specifications has increased dramatically. Also, the roles of feed purchasing, manufacturing planning and product trading are often split into distinct roles in separate locations. In order to capture the benefits of this increased flexibility, manufacturers need to have sophisticated, data-driven MES tools in place. Some of the key applications that fall into this category are: Automated yield accounting and data reconciliation Multi-period planning, scheduling and blending tools Real-time information systems and tools for key performance indicator (KPI) reporting Operating instructions and analysis tools Energy monitoring and management tools Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system integration

Profitability can be maximized by using a powerful combination of MES tools and plant data, driven by process models. The tools also provide accurate yield predictions, capture knowledge, and identify additional flexibility that can be exploited, thereby creating additional economic benefits. Remote Performance Management (RPM) In refineries and petrochemical plants, there exist a number of systems to collect, monitor, and store process unit operating data. From smart transmitters in the field to sophisticated distributed control systems in the control room, tens of thousands of data points are being generated and stored every day. As a result, process engineers are being flooded with data. RPM is a system that aids in monitoring, optimizing, and sustaining process unit performance. It provides timely access to information and recommendations, allowing refiners to make better

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economic decisions about how they operate their assets. The RPM solution is a highly secure, common collaborative environment, configured and customized to a customers specific workflow. Figure 4 shows an overview of a typical system implementation Figure 4

RPM Implementation Example

Data Center Historian and Laboratory Plant Site Process Technology Vendor Site Data Stored In Database Calculations Run & Stored Post Data Report Post Plots Plant View via Web Browser Plant/Vendor Collaboration

Data Validation Material Balance Normalized Data Process Key Indicators

Vendor View via Web Browser

Data is collected automatically from the plant site, reconciled, analyzed, and posted to a secure web site for viewing by plant staff and remote experts. Daily updates of process conditions, yield expectations, and optimization recommendations are available in a variety of reports and graphical representations. Timely access to the data and recommendations improves economic performance. RPM Case Study UOP has developed an RPM system that has been installed in several UOP Unicracking Process, UOP Platforming Process and UOP Parex Process units using UOP catalysts and adsorbents. In one case, the RPM solution was in place on a process unit when the unit's production and profitability began to decline. The customer noticed the decline in unit performance and was investigating the root cause of the problem. The reduction in performance was costing the customer US$5,000 per day in lost product revenue. Simultaneously, a UOP service specialist was using the RPM system to review the performance of the unit. Using data from the RPM system, UOP was able to identify that a secondary operating condition was outside the recommended range and was causing the decline. The UOP service specialist notified the customer of the findings along with specific recommendations to resolve the problem. The customer took quick action and within a few days the performance of the unit recovered fully.

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Figure 5

Process Unit Predicted vs. Actual Performance

US$5,000 per day in Lost Product Revenue Problem Identified and Action Taken

Blue: predicted process performance Red: actual process performance

Expert Systems for Troubleshooting Expert systems were mentioned earlier as a learning aid. However, they can also be used as a diagnostic tool. Expert systems can include decision trees and supporting reference materials that guide the user through a systematic troubleshooting process. Using the expert systems enables staff to troubleshoot and solve operating problems more efficiently and effectively, thereby saving time and money.

Expected Benefits
Each facility has its own opportunities, financial characteristics, and challenges. A comprehensive benefits assessment is important to estimate the impact of preparing for initial operation and avoiding unplanned downtime. The economics are easy to calculate, but the assumptions can be open to debate. Its easy to recall that tough startup in your history or harmful incident that you never want to repeat. Reflecting on what went wrong helps put everything in perspective when considering the motivation for implementing procedures, tools, and training that improve operational readiness and effectiveness. Example If a 100,000 bpd refinery makes US$10 margin per barrel, it only takes 1 day of schedule improvement to save US$1,000,000.

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The opportunity to save time in the initial startup schedule will come from: OPERATIONS READINESS SOURCES OF SAVINGS Process Technology Training Simulator Based Training Procedural Training for Operators Licensor prepared scenarios Licensor specific process models Operating Procedure Validation/Optimization on Simulator Controls Check / Verification on Simulator Safety Shutdown System Verification on Simulator Better initial controller tuning from Simulator Faster Start-up from Operations Readiness

Typical Startup Savings 5 days 5 days 2 days 2 days 1 day 5 days

5 days 5 days 1 day 26 days US$26M

OPERATIONS EFFECTIVENESS

Startup Savings Startup Availability 1 day 1 day

Procedural Operations ASM Graphics Mishap avoidance from Operations Effectiveness

1 day 1 day

4 days US$4M

PRODUCTION OPTIMIZATION APC delivered sooner through simulation program TOTAL BENEFITS

Improved Performance 6 months early $19.0M

~ US$49M

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Its important for all stakeholders to meet early in the design process to identify the business drivers, agree on the production goals, define risks, and assess their financial impact. When there is consensus, its a straightforward exercise to prepare a plan that mitigates these risks, achieves the desired results, and delivers the expected financial benefits.

Conclusion
This paper presents a theme that responsible operations are about making optimal decisions and implementing effective practices throughout the plant lifecycle. These are decisions that: Confirm readiness for operation Determine what is needed for effective operator and control actions Balance profit maximization and the adverse impact of unsafe operation

With todays technology and knowledge, we have introduced many best practices that can help prepare plant assets for initial and sustained operation while protecting profits from unplanned downtime. Given these guidelines, the question is: Are you ready for responsible operations? If so, congratulations! If not, do you know why?

Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions

Process Solutions 2500 W. Union Hills Dr. Phoenix, AZ 85027 Tel : 1.602.313.6665 or 877.466.3993 www.honeywell.com

UOP LLC
25 East Algonquin Road Des Plaines, IL 60017-5017 Tel: 847.391.2000 www.uop.com

2008 UOP LLC. All rights reserved. January 2008 UOP 4913B

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