Industrial Press Inc., the publishers of this book. Janet Romano designed the cover and provided much needed support with the publication and printing, and Suzanne Remore kept us on our toes in meeting schedules. Patrick Hansard is a pleasure to work with and a great person to handle sales and marketing. I have known John Carleo, the Director of Publications, for over three years. He has been a friend, philosopher and guide, and an enthusiastic supporter. In practical terms, this meant fast responses to my queries and requests, and guidance in all aspects of publication.
Christine Wardhaugh, Madhu Das, and my wife Lata have been ever so patient and tolerant with the three of us. Both Christine and Madhu accused me of being a slave driver. Lata came to my support, saying I was both a slave and a slave driver!
Mahen, Jim, and I are grateful to all of these wonderful people.
References
| i | Deming, W. Edwards. 2000. Out of Crisis. Cambridge: MIT Press. ISBN:026 254 1157. |
| ii | Latino, R.J. and K.Latino. 2002. Root Cause Analysis: Improving Performance for Bottom-Line Results. Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN: 084 931 318X. |
| iii | Kanawaty, G., ed. 1992. Introduction to Work Study. 4th (revised) ed. Geneva: ILO Publications. ISBN: 92-2-107108-1. |
| iv | Weatherhead, Roger and Peter Morgan, Lithgow & Associates, ed. Fitz’s Atlas™ of Coating Defects. Surrey: MPI Publications. ISBN: 0 9513940 2 9. URL: http://www.mpigroup.co.uk/fitzs-atlas.asp |
Author: V. Narayan
We, the three authors—Jim Wardhaugh, Mahen Das, and Vee Narayan—have worked in a number of locations around the world. In this chapter, we will describe each location briefly so that you have an overview of the sites and get an idea of the facilities and prevailing culture. In the chapters that follow, we will refer to these locations by their reference number. Please see the relevant section here before proceeding to the chapter you wish to read.
2.1 Locations in the Middle East and South Asia
2.1.1 Facility: Pharmaceutical Plant
This small company made a range of over-the-counter drugs. The main products were throat lozenges, pain-relief balms, and tablets for relief from colds and headaches. They also produced menthol crystals from oil extracted from the menthol plant.
The facilities included ointment blending vessels, tablet forming, coating and packaging machines, bottling machines, packaging lines, and a refrigeration plant. The research and development facilities were located at the factory site; this group was also responsible for product quality management.
2.1.2 Facility: Automobile Parts Manufacturer
This large company made fuel injection pumps for diesel engines and spark plugs for petrol engines. The factory had about 3000 machine tools, many of which were of high precision and cost. They had a European principal who provided technical expertise and governance. The principal operated similar factories in five other countries. In this site, they had about 8000 employees, working six days a week. About 2500 production staff, mainly machinists, worked in each of the first and second shifts. About 1500 production staff worked in the third shift. There were about 1500 employees in the ‘day’ shift. Company employees had a strong work ethic; people were disciplined, kept to schedules, and worked to high quality standards.
2.1.3 Facility: Petroleum Refinery
This facility was a semi-complex petroleum refinery, with process plants, utilities, product packaging, and storage facilities. The process plants were grouped into two main sections. The primary processing units included crude distillation, high-vacuum distillation, and bitumen blowing units. The secondary processing plants consisted of a fluid catalytic cracker and a reformer (or platformer) unit, grouped with the utilities.
There were two other operational sections, responsible for the storage and handling of crude oil and products. One of them managed bitumen and liquefied petroleum gas storage, packaging, handling, and dispatch. Another managed the storage and handling of crude oil and products. The maintenance areas were aligned to these sections, with a supervisor in charge of each area.
Breakdowns and trips of equipment were common, resulting in excessive downtime and costs. Maintenance in the refinery had become a firefighting activity. Craftsmen were constantly being moved from job to job, resulting in low productivity and quality. As a result, morale was low, both in Maintenance and in Operations.
2.1.4 Facility: A Large Petroleum Refinery
At the time of the events described in this book, this refinery was fairly new. Two large distillation units and a high vacuum unit provided primary distillation capacity. Secondary processing included thermal and hydro-cracking units. There was a large benzene unit and hydro-treaters for kerosene, naphtha, and gas-oil. Electricity, potable water, and sea cooling water were provided by public utility companies. Product-to-feed heat exchangers and air-cooled heat exchangers were used for cooling, with some limited final cooling with sea water exchangers.
Most of the maintenance work was reactive, but the condition monitoring program and minor preventive maintenance work (lubrication, alignment checks, etc.) were planned and executed satisfactorily. Local craftsmen were being trained, and the bulk of the maintenance work was done by expatriate contract workers. Skill levels were reasonable, but the company’s approach was that it was employing ‘hands’ not people who could use their brains as well. Some of the (expatriate) supervisors were very good, but most were of average caliber.
2.2 Locations in East Asia
2.2.1 Facility: Liquefied Natural Gas Plant
This Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant was located on the coast. There were three production modules, where the natural gas was compressed and cooled, thereby liquefying it at -260°F. Steam turbines, each 9 MW in size, powered the nine refrigeration compressors. The plant generated its own electricity, using gas turbine and steam turbine driven alternators. Steam, at 60 bar gauge (barg.), was raised in 9 boilers. There were two liquid nitrogen generators to produce the nitrogen required for blanketing and as purging medium. The LNG was stored in double-walled cryogenic (extra low temperature) tanks. Dedicated LNG Tankers carried the cargo to the customers, from a company-owned deep-water jetty. The natural gas vapors, formed by evaporation from the storage tanks and by displacement from the tankers, were collected and compressed for use in the boilers and gas turbines.
Cryogenic plants require special materials of construction because low-carbon or low-alloy steels are prone to brittle fracture at low temperatures. The main materials used include aluminum and austenitic stainless steels. Aluminum is a difficult metal to weld and needs specially qualified welders and welding processes.
Most of the local people employed in the plant were middle-school or high-school graduates. They were young and enthusiastic, but with little exposure to heavy industrial or high hazard plants. Although expatriates held most of the senior technical positions, local engineering graduates were placed in supporting roles so that they could take over senior positions quickly.
2.2.2 Facility: Large Complex Oil Refinery
The refinery intake was about 14 million tons per year, received mainly by ships tethered to a single buoy mooring. The main units of this large refinery were: three crude distillation units, two reformers, a lubricating-oil (lube-oil) complex,
