Planned shutdown and maintenance for protection and efficiency in plant operations

This article by Manav Energy briefly discusses the importance of utility maintenance through planned shutdowns to address critical issues like repair, maintenance, breakdowns and required replacement of electrical safety equipment.

Utilities such as mining, demineralised water, wastewater treatment, effluent treatment, district cooling plant, dams, natural gas, sewage services, and heating plants operate round the clock. These industries require safe and reliable electrical network, resulting in efficient operations of protection and control systems installed in the environment. 

Maintenance through shutdowns is inevitable during the lifecycle of any major facility. Scheduled maintenance and replacement of electrical safety equipment such as earthing systems, circuit breakers, relays etc., improves the efficiency and safe functioning of these parts in the plant. Lack of maintenance or inadequate maintenance can lead to unexpected circumstances such as spurious trips and shutdowns, fatal accidents, and incidents. Hence, during a planned shutdown it is vital to not only address, repair, maintenance, or replacement of visible components/ equipment but also hidden parts such as earthing pits, plant grids, etc., to achieve zero unplanned downtime environment. The discrete phases of any shutdown for hidden parts includes scoping, planning, scheduling, execution, and evaluation.  

Scoping 

The scoping phase is the foundation for a shutdown. Initial phase of scoping includes physical observation of all hidden equipment and parts of electrical safety and reliability components. In this phase the expert will inspect the present health condition and plan the repair, maintenance, or replacement of those parts with latest technology products designed appropriately for its future functioning.

Planning 

This phase includes planning of resources and procuring of parts/ equipment for identified areas in scope. It is recommended to follow and procure as per designed specification without any deviation. If for any reason deviation becomes essential, it is advisable to redesign with the changes so that the implementation of the scope is complete and risk free. 

Scheduling 

The schedule for installing, testing, and commissioning electrical safety and reliability parts during shutdown is critical. It must be planned such that it does not result in rework or re-installation of the parts/equipment which may result in increase in budget and shutdown timeline. 

Execution 

After an extended planning period, the execution phase is where the rubber meets the road. In this phase the implementation of planned activities as per schedule is vital. On completion of this phase conduct final inspections keeping the quality checklists handy and complete punch-list items before returning to normal operational levels.

Evaluation 

This phase begins once you complete all the tasks associated with the shutdown. Conducting a post shutdown meet with the all the stakeholders to review the task done, lessons learned and best practices, cost, schedule, punch lists, major tasks review, and preparation for the next shutdown. A turnaround time of a scheduled shutdown can be overwhelming if managed as a single stand-alone event. But, if you break it down into various phases with detailed, formal processes, you can achieve safe and reliable shutdown each time.  

Manav Energy has performed many planned and unplanned shutdowns for various utilities in India and abroad. Our experts utilise special and customised engineering concepts to implement safe and reliable solutions during shutdown within defined time and cost. Our detailed approach to shutdowns significantly reduces the time to implement and its associated costs while enhancing electrical safety and reliability of the utilities.

For more details, please contact: Goutham, BD Manager
Mob No.: 9108627562
Email Id: goutham.s@manavenergy.com
Website: https://www.manavenergy.com/