bird's eye view of tanks and refineries

Maximizing Benefits through Advanced Process Control (APC) in Gasoline Blending

Advanced process control (APC) plays a crucial role in real-time analysis and recipe control for optimizing gasoline blending operations. However, to harness the full potential of these systems, users must be aware of key considerations. This article will explore three important caveats when implementing APC in gasoline blending: configuring the objective function, ensuring accurate parameters and constraints, and establishing a robust performance review process. By addressing these aspects, refineries can unlock the benefits of precise process control, automation, and financial advantages while adapting to lean operational environments.

Configuring the Objective Function:

To achieve optimal results, configuring the APC system’s objective function is essential. Refineries must customize the solution to align with their specific refinery posture and economic goals. Often, default settings from initial installation are utilized without considering individual circumstances. Refineries should assess and update these settings regularly to maximize performance and value delivery.

Parameters and Constraints:

The accuracy and timeliness of data feeding into the APC system are critical for effective gasoline blending. Refineries must ensure that data sources are up-to-date, reflecting daily operations and incorporating the latest lab data. Careful attention should be given to the calibration and accuracy of the data. Additionally, refining the constraints is vital to strike the right balance. Overly flexible constraints can lead to excessive fluctuations during adjustments, while overly tight constraints may hinder the system’s ability to provide optimized solutions.

Performance Review Process:

Regular performance reviews are essential to ensure that the APC system remains up-to-date and continuously improves. Refineries should establish a robust review process to assess the system’s configuration and identify additional optimization opportunities. By periodically evaluating system performance and exploring new features, refineries can enhance their operational efficiency, identify potential areas for improvement, and capitalize on emerging technologies.

Benefits of a Well-Configured APC System:

A well-configured APC system in gasoline blending brings numerous benefits. It enables precise process control, ensuring the production of optimal-quality gasoline within specifications. The high level of automation reduces manual intervention and empowers process control engineers and operators. In lean operational environments, a well-configured APC system can generate significant financial benefits, potentially amounting to tens of millions of dollars annually.

Conclusion:

Maximizing the benefits of APC in gasoline blending requires careful attention to key considerations. Configuring the objective function to align with refinery goals, ensuring accurate parameters and constraints, and implementing a robust performance review process are crucial steps. By addressing these caveats, refineries can achieve precise process control, automation, and substantial financial advantages in an increasingly lean operational landscape.

Interested in learning more about our services in the downstream sector? Check out our Energy page to explore our expertise and discover how we drive client success.


Interested in topics related to gasoline blending? Click the buttons below to check out our related industry insights.


How to Establish a Good Ethanol Uplift Model?

“How to establish a good ethanol uplift model?” has been a common question when it comes to gasoline blending. With the addition of 10% ethanol to a majority of gasoline products, accurate prediction of the final fuel properties is critical to mitigate margin erosion. With years of experience in blending optimization projects, at Trindent we have developed specific expertise in this area, and here are some insights:

Ethanol Uplift Model Best Practices

Each refinery has its configurations that are developed as a result of the molecules they are making. Therefore, picking the right independent variables to start the development of the model is critical. It starts with understanding the principle of what Octane Number (ON) is, and how this property is related to the chemical molecules inside the gasoline. Typically, a refinery can use as much as 7-8 independent variables, and around 10-15 iterations before finding the perfect model which is not only accurate but also intuitive. The complexity of the model is also important as you want to make it sophisticated enough to provide the accuracy you want, but also simple enough to integrate into the existing system with ease.

Managing Component Distribution

Once a model is developed – the next question would be – how do we optimize it? In addition to adjusting the ON of the neat blend stock (which is often the only approach most refineries take), refineries may take advantage of other property and compositional requirements between to maximize the overall benefit of ON uplift.

Going Beyond ON

While a lot of focus on the ethanol model is about ON, it is imperative to consider other properties that are also affected by ethanol. Therefore, a mature ethanol model system would consider other key properties such as RVP, distillation, and V/L. A good ethanol model system would allow a refinery to achieve method repeatability level giveaway for all their constrained parameters and maximize the benefit from production cost management.

Read More

How Does Butane Affect Gasoline Blending?

Butane is one of the most important components in gasoline blending and arguably one that could provide the most economic benefit to the bottom line of more and more skinny refinery margins. Butane has a high octane and high RVP which makes it the ideal component to improve the quality of gasoline blends, especially in Winter months. Along with its properties, it has a relatively low cost compared with other components making it the go-to ingredient when blending gasoline. Moreover, it could help companies to reduce the product quality giveaway, i.e. the difference between the specification and the actual product properties. It is estimated that each barrel of butane added to the gasoline blend represents an uplift of $40-50 of the final product.

Factors Influencing Butane Utilization

The management of butane is as important as the product itself considering the relatively large amount of product that is required during blending. To improve how well the butane is utilized, the following factors should be considered:

  • Inventory capacity
  • Sourcing: Internal production vs. external supply
  • Product monitoring

The goal is to have enough butane available when blending in order to optimize the gasoline recipe, minimize giveaway and improve margins.

Inventory capacity:

Consider doing a mass balance of butane not only for each blend but for an entire season (mainly Winter) to understand the total amount that will be required. It is recommended to include all the available tanks (accumulation), estimated gasoline production and butane percentage (out) and product sourcing (in). For perspective, butane represents about 10% of the total gasoline volume in wintertime, which is 4-5 times more than in summer.

Sourcing:

After the total requirement of butane is determined, an important question has to be asked regarding its source: Is the refinery able to produce the total amount needed? Or does an external supplier need to be involved? If so, how often can you get the product? How far in advance does the request need to be placed? Is it feasible to add additional volume? What is the quality of the product and how can it be monitored? Planning for the butane sourcing is recommended prior to the season to avoid last-minute pitfalls and secure steady availability through the season.

Product monitoring:

This is one of the most critical factors to consider when managing butane – to be able to know the product location, quantity and quality at any given time. The information should be transparent and encompass all the stakeholders including butane storage levels, requirements for blending and other processes, internal movement of product, etc. so that decisions can be made promptly without bottlenecks. Data visualization tools are very important in order to convey information in the most efficient way possible. It is recommended to generate automated data without any additional effort.

Once the analysis is done all stakeholders must come up with a plan to address the weak points, generate solutions, and implement and track them. They can use this analysis to evaluate the outcomes for future seasons or expand to other processes or locations as needed. A combination of technical and managerial expertise is fundamental for excellent butane management in order to understand common problems, physical limitations, product specifications/components properties, and data manipulation. This further helps in engaging with the multi-function teams at different levels, motivating and coaching employees, and providing tools to effectively track results.

Read More

Bird's eye view of a refinery

Trindent Develops Accurate Post-Ethanol T-50 Model That Yields $12M in Savings

Trindent is thrilled to share the exciting news of our successful development of an accurate post-ethanol T50 model, marking a significant achievement that has not only resulted in a remarkable reduction in buffers but has also facilitated a 4% increase in butane blending between November and January 2023, translating to impressive financial benefits totaling $12,000,000.

Developing accurate post-ethanol models presents significant challenges for many refineries, particularly when it comes to predicting T50—a key distillation parameter. Ethanol blending exhibits near-azeotrope behavior that severely affects the shape of the E10 distillation curve, making precise modeling complex and demanding.

Moreover, the difficulty in achieving accurate models is compounded by the inherent noise in the data set, such as ethanol blend volume and accurate E0 D86 measurements, which often hinder the development of reliable models.

Despite these challenges, the Trindent team was able to deliver outstanding results to the client.

An achievement like this highlights the importance of precise modeling and data accuracy in optimizing refinery operations and maximizing profitability.

Graph - Post Ethanol T50 Model

At Trindent Consulting, we’re fueled by a passion for solving the most complex of problems in the energy sector. With expertise in gasoline blending optimization, we help clients achieve significant financial benefits by:

  • Developing Accurate Post-Ethanol Models: We develop accurate post-ethanol models, addressing the complexities introduced by ethanol blending and ensuring accurate predictions of key parameters like T50. By leveraging our expertise, refineries can optimize their blending practices and achieve superior fuel quality.
  • Reducing Operational Buffers: We understand the importance of maximizing blending efficiency to enhance refinery profitability. We help refineries minimize operational buffers, ensuring optimal utilization of resources and streamlining the blending process for maximum efficiency.
  • Enhancing Data Accuracy and Reliability: In an industry where data-driven decision-making is paramount, we excel in enhancing data accuracy and reliability such as ethanol volume %. We empower refineries to make informed decisions with confidence, driving operational excellence and performance improvement without capital investments of software changes of any kind.
  • Providing Tailored Solutions for Profitability: Every refinery faces unique challenges, and we recognize the importance of tailored solutions to address specific needs. Our team collaborates with clients to understand their distinct requirements and develop customized strategies aimed at increasing profitability and optimizing refinery processes effectively.

Interested in learning more about our services in the downstream sector? Check out our Energy page to explore our expertise and discover how we drive client success.

Interested in topics related to gasoline blending? Click the buttons below to check out our related industry insights.


How to Establish a Good Ethanol Uplift Model?

“How to establish a good ethanol uplift model?” has been a common question when it comes to gasoline blending. With the addition of 10% ethanol to a majority of gasoline products, accurate prediction of the final fuel properties is critical to mitigate margin erosion. With years of experience in blending optimization projects, at Trindent we have developed specific expertise in this area, and here are some insights:

 

Ethanol Uplift Model Best Practices

Each refinery has its configurations that are developed as a result of the molecules they are making. Therefore, picking the right independent variables to start the development of the model is critical. It starts with understanding the principle of what Octane Number (ON) is, and how this property is related to the chemical molecules inside the gasoline. Typically, a refinery can use as much as 7-8 independent variables, and around 10-15 iterations before finding the perfect model which is not only accurate but also intuitive. The complexity of the model is also important as you want to make it sophisticated enough to provide the accuracy you want, but also simple enough to integrate into the existing system with ease.

 

Managing Component Distribution

Once a model is developed – the next question would be – how do we optimize it? In addition to adjusting the ON of the neat blend stock (which is often the only approach most refineries take), refineries may take advantage of other property and compositional requirements between to maximize the overall benefit of ON uplift.

 

Going Beyond ON

While a lot of focus on the ethanol model is about ON, it is imperative to consider other properties that are also affected by ethanol. Therefore, a mature ethanol model system would consider other key properties such as RVP, distillation, and V/L. A good ethanol model system would allow a refinery to achieve method repeatability level giveaway for all their constrained parameters and maximize the benefit from production cost management.

 

Kai Wan

This article was written by KAI Y. WAN, an Associate Principal at Trindent Consulting. Dr. Wan has collaborated closely with multiple business partners in the energy sector across North America and Asia-Pacific, including some of the world’s largest refineries, and has delivered > $300 MM in financial improvements, with typical project ROIs at 500%–1,500% during the first year after implementation.


How Does Butane Affect Gasoline Blending?

Butane is one of the most important components in gasoline blending and arguably one that could provide the most economic benefit to the bottom line of more and more skinny refinery margins. Butane has a high octane and high RVP which makes it the ideal component to improve the quality of gasoline blends, especially in Winter months. Along with its properties, it has a relatively low cost compared with other components making it the go-to ingredient when blending gasoline. Moreover, it could help companies to reduce the product quality giveaway, i.e. the difference between the specification and the actual product properties. It is estimated that each barrel of butane added to the gasoline blend represents an uplift of $40-50 of the final product.

 

Factors Influencing Butane Utilization

The management of butane is as important as the product itself considering the relatively large amount of product that is required during blending. To improve how well the butane is utilized, the following factors should be considered:

  • Inventory capacity
  • Sourcing: Internal production vs. external supply
  • Product monitoring

 

The goal is to have enough butane available when blending in order to optimize the gasoline recipe, minimize giveaway and improve margins.

 

Inventory capacity: Consider doing a mass balance of butane not only for each blend but for an entire season (mainly Winter) to understand the total amount that will be required. It is recommended to include all the available tanks (accumulation), estimated gasoline production and butane percentage (out) and product sourcing (in). For perspective, butane represents about 10% of the total gasoline volume in wintertime, which is 4-5 times more than in summer.

Sourcing: After the total requirement of butane is determined, an important question has to be asked regarding its source: Is the refinery able to produce the total amount needed? Or does an external supplier need to be involved? If so, how often can you get the product? How soon in advance does the request need to be placed? How feasible is it to have an additional volume? How is the quality of the product and how to monitor it? Planning for the butane sourcing is recommended prior to the season to avoid last-minute pitfalls and secure steady availability through the season.

Product monitoring: This is one of the most critical factors to consider when managing butane – to be able to know the product location, quantity and quality at any given time. The information should be transparent and encompass all the stakeholders including butane storage levels, requirements for blending and other processes, internal movement of product, etc. so that decisions can be made promptly without bottlenecks. Data visualization tools are very important in order to convey information in the most efficient way possible. It is recommended to generate automated data without any additional effort.

 

Once the analysis is done all stakeholders must come up with a plan to address the weak points, generate solutions, and implement and track them. They can use this analysis to evaluate the outcomes for future seasons or expand to other processes or locations as needed. A combination of technical and managerial expertise is fundamental for excellent butane management in order to understand common problems, physical limitations, product specifications/components properties, and data manipulation. This further helps in engaging with the multi-function teams at different levels, motivating and coaching employees, and providing tools to effectively track results.


Maximizing Benefits through Advanced Process Control (APC) in Gasoline Blending

Introduction:

Advanced process control (APC) plays a crucial role in real-time analysis and recipe control for optimizing gasoline blending operations. However, to harness the full potential of these systems, users must be aware of key considerations. This article will explore three important caveats when implementing APC in gasoline blending: configuring the objective function, ensuring accurate parameters and constraints, and establishing a robust performance review process. By addressing these aspects, refineries can unlock the benefits of precise process control, automation, and financial advantages while adapting to lean operational environments.

 

Table of content:

Configuring the Objective Function

Parameters and Constraints

Performance Review Process

Benefits of a Well-Configured APC System

Conclusion

 

Configuring the Objective Function:

To achieve optimal results, configuring the APC system’s objective function is essential. Refineries must customize the solution to align with their specific refinery posture and economic goals. Often, default settings from initial installation are utilized without considering individual circumstances. Refineries should assess and update these settings regularly to maximize performance and value delivery.

 

Parameters and Constraints:

The accuracy and timeliness of data feeding into the APC system are critical for effective gasoline blending. Refineries must ensure that data sources are up-to-date, reflecting daily operations and incorporating the latest lab data. Careful attention should be given to the calibration and accuracy of the data. Additionally, refining the constraints is vital to strike the right balance. Overly flexible constraints can lead to excessive fluctuations during adjustments, while overly tight constraints may hinder the system’s ability to provide optimized solutions.

 

Performance Review Process:

Regular performance reviews are essential to ensure that the APC system remains up-to-date and continuously improves. Refineries should establish a robust review process to assess the system’s configuration and identify additional optimization opportunities. By periodically evaluating system performance and exploring new features, refineries can enhance their operational efficiency, identify potential areas for improvement, and capitalize on emerging technologies.

 

Benefits of a Well-Configured APC System:

A well-configured APC system in gasoline blending brings numerous benefits. It enables precise process control, ensuring the production of optimal-quality gasoline within specifications. The high level of automation reduces manual intervention and empowers process control engineers and operators. In lean operational environments, a well-configured APC system can generate significant financial benefits, potentially amounting to tens of millions of dollars annually.

 

Conclusion:

Maximizing the benefits of APC in gasoline blending requires careful attention to key considerations. Configuring the objective function to align with refinery goals, ensuring accurate parameters and constraints, and implementing a robust performance review process are crucial steps. By addressing these caveats, refineries can achieve precise process control, automation, and substantial financial advantages in an increasingly lean operational landscape.


Path To Net Zero


Introduction

The 24th World Petroleum Congress (WPC) held in Calgary, Alberta brought over 15,000 visitors and 5,000 delegates worldwide to discuss the industry’s energy transition and path to net zero. The United Nations projects that the world population will reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and 9.7 billion by 2050, leaving billions of people who must be brought out of energy poverty. There is clearly a challenge at a play – how should the industry that is currently supplying approximately 30% of the world’s energy demand lead its energy transformation, while balancing social governance, reliability, economic viability, and a sustainable future?


Key Takeaways

At this year’s WPC, it was encouraging to see innovative technologies and solutions that are in the pipeline to help achieve net zero. One of the presentations that caught my attention was around the application of dimethyl ether (DME) and its recovery technology – while the steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) helped pioneer the rise of Canadian oil sands and its direct land footprint is relatively small, the process is costly, energy intensive, and extensively consumes water and natural gas. Most of the water from SAGD operations can be recycled, but approximately 10% must still be disposed and carbon dioxide emissions are at par with combined operations from mining and upgrading. DME displays affinity to bitumen and DME based recovery technology promises to reduce breakeven cost from $40/bbl to $8/bbl, mitigate energy consumption by 90%, eliminate water and steam generation facilities, and increase recovery rate by up to 300%. The provincial government also announced at the WPC that it will invest $7 million into a study conducted by Cenovus Energy on how small modular reactors (SMRs) can be used on oilsands operations. Having also worked in the nuclear industry, this announcement was also particularly interesting as SMRs have been thought to have applications in both public and private institutions. SMRs have a smaller footprint, allowing them to be prefabricated, shipped, and installed on locations not suitable for traditional nuclear power plants.

The examples provided above are two of many initiatives that are being taken by the oil and gas industry. However, the biggest challenge and a common theme that emerges is commercialization. Taking the DME recovery technology as an example, there are no practical applications to date and there is no concrete timeline on when it may be adopted. DME can be produced indirectly from methanol via dehydration reaction and a combination of auto-thermal reformer and direct DME synthesis, but the supply of DME is currently limited. With SMRs, there are still many unknowns surrounding cost and efficiency. Between Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approval process, public hearings, site preparation, licensing, and construction, it can easily take 10 years start to finish. Even on the most aggressive timeline in Ontario where Ontario Power Generation is building SMRs as part of the Darlington New Nuclear Project, SMRs will not produce power until 2029. Finally, access to infrastructure, limited grid coverage in rural areas, and cost of grid connection for rural electrification can extend the timeline.


Conclusion

So what does this all mean? For realistic energy transition, where energy security, affordability, and economic prosperity can continue to occur, investment in oil and gas must continue. We must stabilize our climate and protect the environment, but in my view, turning off 30% of our energy supply is not the solution. There must be a balance where we hold the government and companies accountable, while working with the industry to implement sustainable solutions.

Reach out to our team on LinkedIn.

This article is written by Kevin Kim, Associate Principal at Trindent Consulting.

 


refinery with tanks

Refinery Planning Best Practices

Refinery Planning Best Practices

Refinery Planning

Short and long-term planning is one of the most critical activities that a refinery undertakes; it is a multi-million decision-making process that involves feedstock selection, product slate, and refinery scheduling, which impacts the longevity and profitability of a refinery. While this process defines how a refinery should operate to achieve specific optimization objectives, it often lacks the attention and cross-functional review that it requires – especially considering today’s refining margins. So, what does an industry’s best planning cycle look like and who are the key stakeholders that should be involved in this process?


Planning Cycle

First and foremost, there must be a structured and recurring planning calendar that is consistent each month. Unless there is a unit upset that either impact the refinery personnel’s health and safety or the environment, all meetings and business activities should be planned outside the planning discussions.

A best-in-class planning cycle begins with Inputs – ideally, it is provided to the Planner at month end or at least three days prior to the Inputs and Assumptions meeting. Inputs include items such as crude and product pricing, freight, demands, unit availability/capability, maintenance schedule, etc. Responsible parties must provide the necessary information to the Planner in a standardized format and retain ownership throughout the planning cycle.

During the Inputs and Assumptions meeting, which should be scheduled in the first week of the month, individual stakeholders must speak on behalf of their own area of expertise. For instance, Technical / Process Engineering must speak on behalf of unit constraints and Traders / Commercial must discuss prices. During this meeting, all inputs should be open for discussion and debated amongst key stakeholders. Once all inputs and assumptions have been agreed to, they should not be revisited, absent any material changes.

Depending on the complexity of the refinery, in addition to the number of periods being evaluated, two to three linear programming (LP) output review meetings should be held. At a minimum, a Preliminary Review meeting should be conducted mid-month to review the initial LP outputs. The purpose of this meeting is to identify any gross errors and optimization opportunities, and the Planner must summarize key findings.

A Final Plan Review meeting should be held late month for the last review of LP outputs. Changes at this point should be minimal if the preliminary processes are conducted appropriately; minor tweaks may be incorporated, but inputs should not be adjusted at this point unless significant new information has fundamentally changed the market or refinery operations.

It is imperative that this is a cross-functional exercise. In other words, Planning, Technical, Operations, Traders, and Commercial are present at a minimum to ensure the right information is used in LP and optimization opportunities are realistic. While it may not be feasible for all Unit Engineers or Business Leads to be present, a senior representative such as the Technical Manager should be in attendance.

Separately, LP backcasting and lookback processes should also be implemented to ensure sub-models are evaluated and execution to plan are assessed for continuous improvement.

This article was written by Kevin Kim, Associate Principal at Trindent Consulting

Interested in topics related to ‘Refinery Planning’? Click the buttons below to check out our related industry insights.


Refinery Maintenance: Planning for Success

As processors and storage become cheaper and more efficient, more and more companies want to analyze increasing amounts of data and use artificial intelligence to support Risk Based Decision Making; and refineries are no different.


Predictive Maintenance offers refineries an opportunity to determine the current condition of equipment to predict when a failure will occur. This gives refineries a potential to reduce Operating Expenses by performing preventative maintenance only when it is warranted and by reducing the costs associated with Reactive Maintenance. Predictive Maintenance programs are high CAPEX and, unfortunately, most refineries do not have adequate processes and quality data available to make this transition worthwhile.  Trindent provides refineries with low to no CAPEX solutions that build the fundamentals required to make the first step towards Predictive Maintenance.


Foundations for Success


Before a refinery can implement a holistic Predictive Maintenance program, they first need to establish a pilot program. Creating the right foundation allows the refinery to plan for success and implement a program using data-driven decision making to determine where the initiative will have the most impact.  Proper foundations also allow for improved refinery operations and a reduction in Operating Expenses in the interim.


  1. Proper Preventative Maintenance:  Preventative maintenance reduces the likelihood of equipment failure by performing routine checks or interventions on the equipment.  A proper maintenance program will occur frequently enough to detect failures but not be unnecessarily burdensome to maintenance personnel.  As part of this, it’s important to understand correct Preventative Maintenance tasks, durations, and crafts people allow for refinery management to focus predictive maintenance efforts on the equipment that cost the most to maintain. Without proper Preventative Maintenance tasks in place, there will be inadequate follow-up action from predictive maintenance findings.


  • Data Quality – During the work management process there are many opportunities to collect the right data; however, refineries often lack the processes and training to collect data that is sufficiently detailed.  Improving maintenance programs for instruments and sensors allows the refinery to identify whether the quality of the data is adequate or if the right sensors are even in place.   Better data quality allows for management to focus predictive maintenance efforts on specific failures that result in process interruptions.  Furthermore, the use of Defect Elimination programs can give the refinery insights into the conditions that cause failure, allowing for a more effective predictive maintenance program.


  • Culture – Without building a proactive culture, a predictive maintenance program is destined to be an expensive, but short-lived endeavor. Establishing the right training, tools, dashboards, and communication methodologies allows for results to be sustained. Once the refinery has shifted from a reactive to a proactive culture then the predictive maintenance program can be successful.


At Trindent, we focus on tangible results and showing improvement through data.  This data-driven approach links our results to financial or other key performance indicators.  In addition, we make sustainability a key part of each engagement, and train your employees to sustain results.


Refinery Maintenance: The Work Management Process

n any equipment intensive sector, there is almost never a quiet day – and a refinery is no exception.  Even the best-planned days can be full of interruptions – failures and other unplanned events that disrupt the schedule and cause system slowdowns or outages.


But a well-curated and properly executed Work Management Process can smooth the impact of these disruptions and enable good Risk Based Decision Making so that refineries can reduce the costs associated with equipment failures, inefficient work execution, process interruptions, overtime, and rushed orders.

Typical Work Management Process

During the first part of the process – Work Need Identification – enhanced training can increase operator understanding of the processes and equipment, while empowering them to better identify failures before they occur. Properly designed and executed Preventative Maintenance for each piece of equipment can enable better identification of failing equipment and increase the equipment’s longevity.


Once a failure is identified, the Operator generates a work notification in the refinery’s Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS)or Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software.  Often, these systems are not optimally set-up to enable proper data collection, so it’s important that operators receive proper training in order to ensure that work notifications are of sufficient quality and detail with reduced operator variation.


After the notification is submitted to and approved by a supervisor, a Planner determines which craftspeople and tools are required to fix the failure and how long the work will take to complete.   An inaccurate plan can lead to inefficient Work Order Execution as the proper craftspeople may not be involved, the proper tools may not be available, or the schedule may be inaccurate in terms of its duration.  Improving the planning process using accurate data can prevent these deficiencies.


Work Order Scheduling is often a challenging area, as there is a limited amount of both human and financial resources, but a long list of work that needs to be completed.  These scheduling meetings are typically the embodiment of “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”, with the loudest individuals in the room receiving the most resources.  As a result, Preventative Maintenanceefforts tend to be neglected, and this myopic view creates a slippery slope of increased equipment failures in the long-term.  Creating Standard Operating Procedures and Work Management Risk Matrices can support work prioritization and strike the balance between preventative and reactive work orders. The same logic can be used to prioritize and decrease the Maintenance Backlog.  It’s important to note here that the proper criteria should be used in work prioritization to reach desired outcomes; frequently, refineries use incorrect criteria, which reduces the effectiveness of prioritization efforts.


Work Order Close-out is one of the most important steps in the process but is often neglected or improperly completed. A proper Work Order Close-out results in better data collection and more informed decision making. This information can be used in a continuous improvement process that allows Planners to fine-tune Work Order Planning. Additionally, failure code data can be used to identify root causes of failures and support Defect Elimination programs.