The Asset Performance Management specialist T.A. Cook Consultants has developed a new procedure, which provides variable data for the planning of turnaround projects. Scheduled buffer times can be identified and the overall length of time needed for shutdowns and the maintenance of technical plants can be reduced by up to one third.
Planning shutdown, inspection, maintenance and startup (turnaround) is a complicated process in large plants, for example, in the chemical industry and power plants. Up to 150,000 work processes have to be planned in detail. The aim, thereby, is to achieve a balance between the cost of resources and the duration of plant downtime. Standard planning software, such as MS Project, can be used to develop static analyses of project duration and resources but do not consider numerous dynamic factors, such as available capacity or unexpected repairs.
The procedure developed by T.A. Cook focuses on dynamic parameters. For example, the optimal management of shutdown personnel for each of the many work processes can reduce downtime and optimise resource usage. Static models cannot depict such strategies.
Planning data is taken from the company's ERP system (e.g. SAP) and provide the basis for further development in MS Project. The plan is then optimised mathematically, taking individual resources into account and is saved as an additional project within MS Project. The final version of the schedule is sent back to the ERP system.
"The basis of our new procedure is a mathematic model for time-cost optimisation," explains Frank-Uwe Hess, Managing Director of T.A. Cook, "Our model gives turnaround planners the possibility to select an overall timeframe or to specify a concrete deadline for a project and optimise resource usage. The whole turnaround time can be reduced by up to 30 percent."
For more information please contact
Rupert Clark r.clark@tacook.com
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