Essential Skills for the
Process Industry Professionals

The course will discuss the performance of pressure vessels, storage tanks, thermal equipment, piping systems and fluid transport machinery components under various operating conditions including in-depth explanation on the process of material degradation such as corrosion, erosion, fatigue and others that may lead to component failure.

It will present the best practices from High Reliability Organizations (HROs) with respect to both excellence and safety.  HRO is a term that refers to industries such as oil and gas, process, nuclear and aviation, where they possess a high degree of reliability despite their hazardous environment. It shows how organizations can learn from failures and near misses, as well as from other industries. Operational excellence will cover aspects of safety, risk, reliability, and quality management. This will include best practice at both strategic and operational levels, as well as in specific areas that relate to management skills, reliability and decision analysis, benchmarking, and information systems.

Several examples and case studies included in the workshops and will demonstrate the application of Fitness for Service (FFS) assessment method that enables quantitative evaluation of the remaining life in service of any component of equipment. Failure prevention methods will also be discussed and explained.

The course will feature:

• Explanation of mechanical design of pressurized equipment according to ASME Code
• Consideration of best operating conditions: Integrity Operating Window and MOC
• Analysis of damage and degradation mechanisms that affect process equipment and piping
• Guidance for selecting the most appropriate inspection method based on API code guidelines
• Procedure for assessing the existing flaws and defects in the given component
• Understanding of safety, risk and continuity of operations
• Development of people management skills
• Mastering techniques that can enhance plant reliability
• How to conduct benchmarking and quality systems auditing
• Applying decision analysis approaches

The Structure

This comprehensive programme consists of two modules which can be booked as a 10 Day Training event, or as individual, 5 Day courses.

Module 1 – Process Equipment & Piping Systems: Design, Operation, Failure Evaluation & Repairs

Module 2 - Operational Excellence in the Process Industry: The Key to a Lean and Low-Risk Failure

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the safe design and operation of pressurized process equipment
• Follow the procedure for inspection and testing of process equipment
• Apply the fundamental concepts and strategies to prevent failures
• Use the best practices of FFS to estimate the remaining life of operating equipment
• Select the methods of repair and alteration of pressurized process equipment
• Explain the benefits of acquiring best practices from HROs
• Show how activities play a part in helping their organization perform at a higher level
• Determine methods for generating and implementing effective performance metrics
• Use a process improvement methodology back at work
• Analyze critically the methodologies employed in the organization & implement improvements

This course is highly recommended for Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Engineering and Technical Support staff. Also, this course is applicable to any person actively involved or contemplating safety, performance measurement, improvement and/or quality and reliability related activities in the chemical and process industries as well as the oil and gas industry.

This course is suitable to a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit:

• Operations & Process Professionals
• Process, Mechanical and Chemical Engineers
• Operation and Maintenance Engineers
• Project Engineers
• Supervisors and Managers
• Technical Personnel involved in inspection
• Reliability & Safety Professionals
• Other professionals involved in process improvement

This course will utilise a variety of proven adult learning techniques to ensure maximum understanding, comprehension and retention of the information presented. This includes formal lectures and interactive worked examples with active contribution of all delegates during discussions and team work. Real life examples (i.e. case studies) will be selected to illustrate the procedure for carrying out typical equipment failure analysis.

The emphasis in the entire course will be on the explanation of equipment failure causes and safety operation system as well as providing answers to problems that is encountered in everyday practice. There will be ample opportunities for open discussion and sharing professional experiences on existing and new technologies.