Improving Efficiencies of Short Duration Projects During Turnarounds: A Case Study on Innovative Breathing Air Solutions

Abstract

A frequent challenge during facility shutdowns and turnarounds is the congestion of work areas. As a result, carrying out short-duration tasks such as blinding with powering pneumatic tools take much longer time due to equipment transport and set up the process. To respond to this challenge, a portable breathing air delivery unit was designed with a narrow footprint to allow quick and easy deployment even in constricted work areas. The portable breathing air unit provides ten man-hours of breathing air and can support two users. It has a separate air tool port to power pneumatic tools. A backflow preventer ensures that air tool cannot contaminate the breathing air supply. As a safety measure, the air tool supply shuts down at 1000 psi, leaving the worker with approximately two man-hours of breathing air. To ensure that personnel have the required safety equipment and the ability to complete their assigned jobs, the unit is equipped with a platform to transport required gear to remote work areas. The portable breathing air unit was recently put to the test by a Gas to Liquids company during its emergency facility turnaround. This is a case study for the use of such system capable of providing both breathing air and power tools in constricted work areas. During a turnaround for example, to remove a set of flange bolts from a pipe, the entire operation may take 10 minutes, but the actual operation of the air wrench may only take two minutes of that time. However, actual job tickets indicate that a 10-minute job takes a minimum of 30 minutes to one hour to complete due to the long process of deploying safety gears, breathing air systems and a separate pneumatic power source. By utilizing this portable breathing air delivery system with a dual purpose, activities such as blinding can be done more efficiently while ensuring personnel safety. This case study discusses the significance of this innovation in improving efficiencies during turnarounds.