Apparently Sometimes You Got Discredited For Being Too Good...Geeee

To those who are unaware of my whereabouts, I was in Kota Kinabalu last week for a conference on Maintenance Management System. The setting could not be any better; awesome place to visit, huge hotel room (minus the lousy view for the room that I got, unlike some other people I know who managed to get the one with sea view!), great and fun atmosphere, warm company, etc2.

Anyway, throughout the 2 day conference there was a session whereby OPUs (operating units) presented their so called 'best practices' with hope that it could be adopted and practiced elsewhere. While some presentations are quite interesting, some of them...not so much. I would rather consider them as 'good practices'. The ideas are OK, doable..for me it just doesn't have that 'wowww, that's just awesome, I can't believe I didn't think of that' factor. Our reliability manager, one of the delegates from our side, presented our best practice on preventive maintenance compliance. Nothing special or out of the ordinary, just yet to be practiced by others (at least that is what I've been told, kalau salah tu salah la kan)

Long story short, there was an award for the best presentation, and we didn't win. Well, sad aside, we accepted our defeat (cewahh)..maybe next year luck will be on our side. Of course after that we were discussing on why we didn't win, so on and so forth...well in the end, so be it, right?

Today I received a mail from the reliability manager asking for feedbacks from all managers and end users regarding the best practice. And get this, he said that based on the feedback received by the Engineering Managers Panel (basically the head of engineering from all OPUs, of whom became the judge for the presentations), apparently our best practice was too advance for other OPUs. TOO ADVANCE! (pardon the uppercase). It took me a while to digest this before I came to realization. So apparently we got punished and discredited for being too good in what we do? Is that the reason why we did not win the presentation? We ran too fast when others might just started walking?

Gee, apparently you do learn something new in life everyday...

MG3 & HPU2 Turnaround 2009: Ramblings

This is like my first post for 2010, and it's been about what, a month since my last post. Before I go any further, I just want to wish everyone 'Happy New Year'. I would like to quote from my sms sent to mass recipients, 'Cheers to a good 2010. May this new year bring many opportunities your way; to explore every joy of life, turning dreams into reality, and all efforts into great accomplishments.' I wish nothing but the best to everyone including myself for this year. May all your dreams, wishes (and past unfulfilled resolutions) come true.

Enough intro. So, I've been busy over last month. As you have read in my previous posts, the refinery I'm working at is having its turnaround (TA in short, basically a routine major shutdown). A lot has happened within this time span. I am currently relaxing within the comforts of my own home, after gruelling hours spent working. I'll try my best to share what went on and all that, just so that you guys have a feel.

The TA begins with the handover of the plant from the Operations team to the TA team, which is on December 3rd, according to my Twitter. The plant comprises of equipments such as distillations columns, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, relief valves, furnaces, and many more, the size is just massive! I was given the responsibility to supervise the works for pressure vessels. Basically the works will be done by the contractor, and it is my responsibility to ensure everything goes well, within the require time frame, and ensure work execution was done safely. Pressure vessel works started with the equipment isolation (to make sure no hydrocarbon enters the vessel before entry), opening of the manhole, pre-cleaning inspection, cleaning, full inspection, inspection by Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH; more about them later), manhole closing and de-isolation, and I think it applies pretty much the same for other equipments. Some of the equipments operate in high pressure (to give you an idea, there's a picture of the size of the bolts and nuts used to seal the manhole and contain the vessel), and there are some which is located in high elevation, so heavy lifting is required to remove some parts (as you can see later, the cranes used are just like the Transformers)

The stud bolts used at of the pressure vessels. Huge!The 400T crane used for the heavy lifting. There are 2 of these, and a smaller one

The TA is also the time you can see inspection works carried out in a bigger scale. Basically for an equipment to operate, it must have a CF (Certificate of Fitness). You need to know how good/or bad your equipment is after operating for a certain period of time. Parameters checked include corrosion rates, signs of deterioration, hairline cracks, weldin intergrity, and many more. The inspectors always have the coolest gadgets! They have infra red, ultrasonic, CCTV, boroscope. You name it, they have it! They are like the CSI of engineering. I happened to witness some of the inspection works carried out, such as CCTV, Ultrasonic Thickness Scanning (UTS), and it was a great experience.

TA challenges are totally a different ball game. You'll never know what to expect till you actually see it. We've encountered this coke substance (solidified, hardened carbon deposits) stucked at a few of our heat exchangers, then I've experienced pyrophoric material first hand (stuff that auto ignites when exposed to air). We've had issues with heat exchanger leaks during hydrostatic tests, seized bolts till it requires flame cutting, unprecedented thinning in one of our heat exchangers; problems are encountered one after another. Not to mention the weather has not always been on our side (what do you expect, it's the time of the year, the monsoon season). It kinda slowed down our progress a little bit. We're a bit off-schedule, but heck; work must be completed at all costs!

Throughout this TA, I was on a journey to explore my true mental and emotional limits. The contractors just like pushing our buttons, and sometimes they just get into your cracking nerves. By the final week, I think my mind works differently than my body (basically dah weng la). My bosses almost got into a fist fight, mind you because of these emotional stresses! That is how tensed all of us are. I even followed one of my colleagues for a full body massage (haha, not to be shared in this post, next one perhaps?:p)

I lost track of what to write next. Ahaa, let's talk a bit about the DOSH fellas. They basically are the ones who determined whether these equipments are fit to run. They're from the G, so yeah, they got the power. What I found out is that all of them are relatively young (the one I escorted is just a year older than me!), lack of experience, mostly a diploma holder. But from what I heard (biasala, office gossip), they demand! They had new bags, uniform, shoes each day they come for the visit, escorted by their entourages, dining VIP style, came and go whenever they feel like it, banyak lagi la. Hahaha, hopefully this stays here.

I lost ideas of what to write. Will update soon of any. Have a good weekend!

The Refinery Turnaround

The refinery I'm working at right now will be having its first turnaround starting today. We will start reducing feed capacity and should be in total shutdown mode in 5 days time. So, since the refinery operated 24/7, you can't afford to shut it down very long. Work around the clock is very, very necessary in this case. Thorough and detailed planning has been taking place for the past year, ensuring that everything is in order. Even 1 hour delay is not acceptable in a turnaround, as time is money, literally. Just as a ball park figure, the plant I'm working in generates about 300K dollars per day in revenue.


So, why do we have to shutdown? Well, in the new plant's case, once you got it commissioned you will get the Certificate of Fitness (CF). For a new plant it will last for 12 months. Then you need to shut it down, held up a series of inspection to make sure everything is in order, then you'll get to extend the CF. You can get an extension up to 72 months before shutting down again. So, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) will be calling the shots when it comes to the inspection.


Besides my plant, another complex will be having its turnaround as well to extend their CF. Things are going to get very complicated, messy, not to mention tiring. I don't think I'll be able to update the blog for this coming 1 month. I will however try to update myself via Twitter, so stay updated. I might also post something in advance if I have the time

A Day In The Office

Well, obviously I have got nothing interesting to write about, so I guess I’ll share with you my day in the office.

0803 hrs – arrived at the main gate. Punch in!

0810hrs – spend a few minutes going round and round looking for a free parking spot. It’s like going into a shopping mall during weekends I tell you. The reason being is that some of the night shift staffs have yet to go home. They are still borak2 and all. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a shaded spot. If not, then I’ll have to settle parking under the hot sun.

0815hrs – punch in into process area (Here in the refinery there are non-process area (admin, finance, HRM, etc.) and there’s the process area (where all the action takes place). Only permitted vehicles are allowed so I’ll have to wait for a shuttle van to pick up passengers to their designated destinations.

0825hrs – arrived in the satellite control room (SCR) (it’s a blast proof building, huhu). The Operations and Maintenance team all resides here. The operators and technicians will hang out in the cabin just beside the SCR. I’ll be printing all the necessary documents to start the week such as the look ahead plan for planned jobs, any related HSE info, etc.

0830hrs – head to the cabin for the daily toolbox meeting. Usually the manager chairs the toolbox, if not supervisors will act as alternate chairman. Daily toolbox usually starts with discussing any HSE related issues, completed jobs, jobs for today, any on-calls during the night before (update by discipline, i.e. mechanical, electrical, instrument)

0845hrs – End of toolbox. Usually I will head to the pantry for breakfast.

0920hrs – Brrpp! Now I’m ready to work. Work starts off with reading and replying emails, updating schedule compliances, reviewing quotations of jobs to be done by contractors, settling pending payments for completed jobs as well as performance evaluation. Thanks to the invention that is Microsoft Office Communicator, computer work does not seem dull.

1100hrs – Bathroom break. Casual chat with colleagues next door.

1125hrs – Gear up to go to the plant, supervising work, checking out what the contractors are doing. Usually this is followed by performing a Behavioral Safety observation. Any safe/unsafe acts will be recorded and reported. Usually daily maintenance works are preventive, such as lubrication, visual inspection of any signs of leaks and all

1225hrs – Back to my workstation. Reading and replying emails; occasional Internet browsing. Sites like The Star Online, Paul Tan and Zero To Hundred will be opened (the ones not blocked by the system admin at least). The mood is now towards going out and having lunch.

1255hrs – Going out for lunch. Usual spots will be either ‘kedai merah’, ‘kelapa sawit’, ‘traffic light’, ‘pantai’, ‘harriettes’, ‘kedai abg jeff’ or ‘pokok mangga’ (for today, ‘kedai merah’ it is)

1410hrs – Back from lunch. Back to office, only to know that one of the air fin coolers has its belt snapped. Haiyoo…oh well, raise a work order then. No MWO, no work!

1500hrs – Weekly coordination meeting, chaired by the process manager. We’ll discuss issues such as unit status, area safety audit, maintenance updates, open & closed action items. (This just in: the furnaces at one of the units tripped..WTH?)

1600hrs – Passed some documentation to colleagues, chatting via communicator, preparing items for job to be done tomorrow.

1700hrs – Am no longer in the mood to work. Technically I’m only paid to work till 5, hahaha. Tomorrow is another day. Good job!

O&G: Not For The Faint Hearted

I'm sorry I can only update my blog now; I'm having some major (i mean major!) situation at the refinery I'm working at. Basically it involves a lifted 46" feed pipe into the distillation column. Basically we are not quite sure what caused the lifting, and we are now looking at the possibility of the incorrect settings on the support spring systems. Long story short; the maintenance team are put on standby 24/7. To make things more interesting, I am covering both the maintenance planner and the mechanical supervisor job.

I'm not here to talk or ramble about what is going on; I rather talk about the experiences gained from these major challenges. Despite the good pay, being in the O&G industry is indeed tough. It's a dynamic work environment; anything can happen in anytime, and it takes sheer determination, hardwork and being plain nuts and crazy to survive in this world. Imagine, being called early in the morning if something came up then requires urgent attention; imagine working 18-20 hours straight without proper rest. We are also juggling our acts up in pressing situations; we have scaffoldings to erect, insulations team on standby, bolting crew, even heavy lifting machinery. Operations, Engineering, and Technology will sync up their mind body and soul to complete the tasks at hand. Every second counts, because in the end, time is money (literally speaking!). We are indeed playing with our lives in our everyday worklife. At sometime, even our body could not cope with the workload and stress; not to mention our biological clock gone nuts due to working shifts; lack of sleep and so on. So in the end if you guys complaining that we got paid so much, trust me..we deserved every single cent.

Till the next post...

Today's The Day To Work Your Magic

It's a start of another working week. I just want to share with you an advert by JC Penney. For me, it's a simple and refreshing advert presented in a creative manner. The theme is simple: Today's The Day To Work Your Magic. So, start working your magic people! Happy working:)

p/s: Sometimes I wonder why don't we have adverts of such creative calibre in our country? Are our minds not that imaginative?

ACD As It Happens...

0005hrs: I went to bed after a short revision, hoping that I could get a good night's sleep

0215hrs: I woke up. I was like WTF? baru pukul 2?

0430hrs: I woke up again. Whoaa, this ACD thing really messed up my sleep! dammit!!

0550hrs: Woke up 30 mins earlier than I should. Went straight to the bathroom (typical pre-assessment/exams nervous breakdown routine). After the morning bath, went for another short revision (minus the TV!)

0810hrs: Arrived at office. Went straight to print out the self-assessment forms (which in the end are not used...crap..)

1030hrs: When to the 'supposed' assessment venue. Turned out to be a different room (2 rooms with similar names)...double dammit!

1055hrs: Arrived at the correct venue with 5 minutes to spare for extra oxygen to stimulate those brain neurons.

1100hrs: Let the humiliation and embarrassment attack begins! Two assessors were there, an SM of Exploration Division, and a maintenance manager. Judging by the words coming out of their mouth, they sure are experts in their field. I was there for like 2 1/2 hours, and there are plenty of emmmm, hmmmm, ahhhh...alamak I forgot moments. But it didnt turned out ALL bad! There are questions which I managed to answer (or rather respond and give input to). And the assessors are not really freaky, they have the tendency to guide me to the right answer to their questions. Let's not forget that there are finger foods and fruits served, and they were eating while asking me questions (I just don't have the appetite as they are having). Time really does fly slowly during that moment.

1320hrs: At last, I'm done! banyak jugak kena fire ngan assessor, soalan maut2. And in the end I was like, ahhh let's think about it later...What a relief, it feels like some really heavy burden has just been released from my shoulders, hahaha...But i heard that 2 1/2 hours was not so bad (or maybe it's because I can't answer a lot that the session was shorter). I was informed that there are sessions which lasted up to 4 hours (3 hour typically). And suddenly it came to me, 'Actually how well did I do just now eh?' Well, we'll see the results in a week's time, perhaps?

Till the next post...

'Dah Keje Pun Kena Study' 101 - Materials

Haha, now I know what're you thinking...well, actually I don't. Okay here's the thing, I'm supposed to have this assessment thingy next week. In today's fast paced environment, even your competencies and capabilities have to be accelerated in order to survive the working world (which is sad, but true, and I hate it turned out this way). Anyway, the company I'm working for is having this initiative called ACD - Accelerated Capability Development for this. For the young engineers, that means one thing: start cranking up your brain...again. And so, just to help myself studying and to share some info with all of you. Let's talk about what to study. Lesson 1: Materials (warning: things might get technical, hoho..)

Basically, there are 3 factors affecting materials selection in engineering: temperature, pressure and service (basically the medium the equipment will be subjected to; whether it is toxic, corrosive, operated at marine environment and stuff). So at low temperatures, the usage of carbon steel is already sufficient in fabrication. But when the temparature starts to increase, then the usage of low alloy carbon steel or even stainless steel seemed to be a better fit. Even when the operating temperature is well below 0 (zero) degress Celcius (like in air separation units to produce liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen) , usage of material such as nickel and aluminium is more appropriate. (due to it's better properties against heat, better strength, etc.)

Mechanical engineers usually refer to some codes and standards as a guide in the day-to-day work. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has a solid, comprehensive guidelines on materials. ASME II classifies material mainly into two: metallic and non-metallic. Under metallic, we have ferrous unalloyed (strictly iron compound), ferrous alloyed (iron with some alloy compound) and non-ferrous (metals other than iron).

For non-metallic, we have tonnes of names to throw at (I do not remember all the names!), categorized into a few groups. We have thermoplastics (soften at increased temperature, hardens at reduced temperature like PVC), thermosets (fibreglass), elastometrics (rubber-like properties), fibre reinforced (contain fibres such as carbon, aramid and glass), and insulation (rockwool, calcium silicate, refractory bricks which are meant for thermal insulation). These non-metallic materials are also group into its resistance to chemical attacks, whereby the most non-resistant ones will subject to cracking, swelling, brittlement and decomposition.

Told you that it's gonna get technical, right? Well, I'm just sharing what I know (and what I have studied so far). I hope I have shared the correct knowledge; if not I apologize. Logging off now...