Name: Saad Elahi Baloch Course: Project Management Assignment No.3 CASE ANALYSIS OF: 1995 PMI INTERNATIONAL PROJECT OF THE YEAR – THE BENFIELD COLUMN REPAIR PROJECT IAN BOGGAN, PMP, GENERAL MANAGER, INTENS SA
INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND
The case is about a leading South African coal, chemical and crude-oil Company called ‘Sasol’. The case in particular revolves around its Benfield Unit of the Gas Circuit at Sasol Three. Nothing much is being said about the company in the case but researching online I found that Sasol is an international integrated energy and chem chemic ical als s comp compan any y that that crea create tes s valu value e thro throug ugh h its its prov proven en alte altern rnat ativ ive e fuel fuel techno technolog logy y and talent talented ed people people to provid provide e sus sustai tainab nable le energy energy soluti solutions ons to the world. world. The compan company y is involv involved ed in minin mining, g, energy energy,, chemic chemicals als and synfue synfuels. ls. In partic particula ular, r, they they produc produce e petrol petrol and diesel diesel from from coal coal and natura naturall gas. gas. Sasol' Sasol's s prim primar ary y busi busine ness ss is base based d on CTL CTL (coa (coall-to to-l -liq iqui uid) d) and and GTL GTL (gas (gas-t -too-li liqu quid id)) technology and this differentiates it from other petrochemical companies. CTL and GTL plants convert coal and natural gas respectively into liquid fuels. PROBLEM
On Tuesday, March 8, 1994, a fire broke out in a regeneration column used to process hydrogen in the Benfield Unit at Sasol Three, one of Sasol's factories. The fire caused it to buckle in the middle and it tilted to one side. Without it, a large section of the factory could not function, resulting in a substantial loss, as it was used used to proc proces ess s Hydr Hydrog ogen en whic which h is one one cruc crucia iall comp compon onen entt in a long long chai chain n of equipments that converts coal to oil and chemicals. Therefore, It was important to repair the column as soon as possible for which damaged portion of the column shell was to be cut out and replaced. For this a target of 47 days was set. ISSUES
The main issue was to bring the plant online in the shortest possible time frame. Now, they first question was to determine the scope of the repair or simply do nothing. A Damage investigation revealed that buckling in the shell of the column had caused it to bend in the middle to such an extent that the top of the chimney was 20 inches off-center, making the 70m column tilt. To devise the optimum solution, a communication link had to be setup between US and SA teams which involved working very late hours because of 10 hour time difference. While the
optimum solution was being devised, other issue running in parallel was to determine the work which was necessarily to be carried irrespective of the type of repair selected. Items that fell into this category included removing the damaged packing material, insulation and cladding. Once it was decided to remove the damaged shell sections, the following issues were upfront: 1) A project team had to be devised and technicians/engineers were required to take up the project. 2) Whether the Project will be cost or scheduled driven? 3) How will Safety and Quality be ensured? 4) How Decisions will be authorized? 5) How resources will be obtained? 6) How communication will be maintained? ALTERNATIVES
The main problem was to get the column back online, now the alternative they had was either to replace it or do nothing. Leaving the column as it could have resulted in a major crises as Hydrogen was being process and it could have also interrupted in the chain, leaving the entire process sabotage. Having the Project team, engineers, and technicians from subsidiary company added a benefit that those people already knew the company in and out. From the beginning it was clear that the project would be schedule driven as leaving it dysfunctional would cause the company a massive income loss. However cost was also controlled through techniques of value analysis and a new prototype was even devised to handle both man and equipment together in a crane. Quality and Safety was one of the ground rules, the kind of cooperation between the QC personnel and the artisans helped the way through, and there was another alternative to this: The ‘That’s failed,..fix it’ attitude but that would have jeopardize the team effort and would have taken more time to complete each task. As far decisions were concerned they could have kept the authority with Management or could have disbursed it among the team. The second approach offer advantage of reducing time which was the main target to hit. Resource utilization was made through a standby philosophy and also through scheduling for the critical tasks needs. This reduced the time lag.
Communication could either have been only one way top down or could have utilized every member of the team. The second option gave the opportunity to utilize more creative thoughts and kept the morale high ANALYSIS
The Selection Criteria for the Project team was to make sure most of the technicians, engineers and experts already have somehow been associated with the Company and or have worked previously with it. This helped in reducing downtime of the project. Two areas were given the most attention: Innovation and Creativity, and enthusiasm and commitment. Because the time frame was short, any time saved in individual tasks would have direct effect. Communication was considered the most important and everyone had to know what was going on at all times. Visits were frequently made during the night, removing the feeling of isolation from workers and when people performed well; their names were posted on a board outside to boost morale. Team efforts were given important over Individual Performance. Each person was encouraged to work for the benefit of the project as a whole. The concept was so successful that at one stage a fistfight nearly broke out because three different artisans wanted to work on one particular section of the scaffold at the same time. The positive spirit created a dedicated project team, over one million rand worth of material and equipment was ordered and not one single item was late. Each piece of piping fitted correctly the first time, and 15 days were cut from the schedule with a saving of around R5.9 mil under budget. PROPOSED SOLUTION
The first alternative to the problem in context was either to replace or do nothing. As the Column was used to process Hydrogen, one important product in the cycle, there was no other option but to replace the portion of the shell. The second issue was to devise a Project Team which could have incorporated engineers, technicians and manpower from outside; however, it was decided to give this to Sastech which was a subsidiary of the Sasol Group of Companies. Members were drawn from Sastech, Sasol Three, Sasdiens, Chicago Bridge and Iron Works which were the original fabricator of the column as this gave an added advantage of having people know the organization and work already. Similarly CBI was contracted to remove, fabricate and replace the vessel as CBI engineers were involved when Sasol Three was built.
Two reduce bureaucracy, only two aspects required management approval: technical and process decisions used to determine whether to repair or leave it in its damaged condition. The baseline plan was laid in the hands of the project team. The work together attitude, use of user friendly software Microsoft Project for scheduling, the standby approach to resources, the value analysis tool to save cost, reviewing weather reports from two different weather stations and extensive use of standby equipment and materials, extensive servicing of equipments, cancelling Easter holidays for key personnel – all this was the solution that took the project to be such a success. In order to minimize risks, all designs were approved with actual size measurement. For the team to function at its peak it was important to look after the people, this was ensured through making sure representative from all levels are presents in all meetings. Their work conditions, transportation and living condition were all ensured so that they can give their best on the job. Communication was at the Heart of the successful management of everything stated above. TOOLS AND TECHINIQUES USED
Following are some of main highlighted tools and techniques utilized during the Project: 1) Giving credit for work finished ahead of schedule rather than on schedule.
2) Any decision even if unconventional could be accepted if it complied with the ground rules. 3) Putting names of people performing well on a board outside boosting their morale’s. 4) Regular visits of Project team at sight to remove feeling of isolation and encouragement to contact any time of the day or night. 5) Encouraging Innovation and Creativity. 6) Encouraging Team Performance over Individual Interest. 7) Utilizing Work break down structure through Brainstorming, each topic identified was Post it note and attached a a huge white board. 8) Post Project Analysis Meeting to identify the problems that could have saved more time.
9) Using the concept of Two day look-ahead window, which allowed immediate tasks to continue while future tasks were being developed. 10)
Utilizing Microsoft Project due to its user friendliness.
11)
Identifying resources with potential to affect critical task durations.
12)
Using a standby approach for resources even labor.
13)
A cost control base was developed using Sastech system and
established forecasting. A one page report was developed and presented to management on regular basis. 14)
Cost was also reduced using value chain analysis.
15)
Risk
Management
ranged
from
ad
hoc
discussions
to
formal
Potentional Deviation Analysis (PDA) studies. 16)
A simple plan, centered on communication and considering the soft
issues od each team member, maximized the motivation of the workforce. Policy of looking after people and people look after the job was adapted. 17)
Conventional Procurement and contract management was followed,
but on an informal basis to reduce time. 18)
Contractors were also invited to internal meeting so that they feel like
working as a team. 19)
One buyer was selected to handle all purchase orders. By using one
buyer, accurate feedback when and where required was ensured. 20)
A checklist was developed to ensure all people are informed and are
present. 21)
Feedback was mostly verbal to avoid unnecessary paperwork.
22)
Meeting notes that required follow-up were typed into a computer.
23)
Safety representatives were encouraged to give their feedbacks and
safety was not negotiable. 24)
The project team spent 14 hours on-site. Taking to the workforce was
an excellent way to pass on and receive information. As level of familiarity increased,
the
quantity
of
information
flow increased
confirming the maxim that the simplest solutions are the best.
proportionally,
