Sample Piping Work WBS for Oil and Gas Refinery Project

When comes to refinery project, planner can’t run away from piping works. In my experience it is important to have a good WBS. Recently a planner in my team made a mistake by not considering the piping and electrical scope for underground.

It happened for cathodic protection which needs to be installed before the foundation work. As for the piping, road crossing excavation need to be done before piping work can commence. What happened was that there is no dedicated WBS for underground and it slipped everyone's mind. The delivery of both cathodic protection and pipes need to be ordered and available at site prior excavation and tank foundation.

It is highly recommended for planners to brainstorm with site manager and engineering to sort-out those underground installations.

Below are some of my take away for those who plan for piping works.

1.It is recommended the work to be segregated by location (ex: tank area, pipe rack, platform etc).
2.The availability for the drawing and materials is important. If the work involve underground then the IFC for underground work will set the precedence.
3.Planner should take note the “demolishing” scope as these activities will set the precedence before the pipe installation.
4.Developing WBS mainly depending on the nature of project scope and as a planner we should be able to interpret as every project is different.

Level	WBS	Example
1	Plant area	Tank number, Utility unit, Section (each part of p&id) and etc
2	Area within the unit	Area ABC, Area XYZ. Area demarcation is marked for a group of process piping on above ground and underground
3	Height	Above ground and Underground
4	Pipe location	Around sump, pipe rack etc
5	Phase	Fabrication, Tie-in, Testing and Pre-commissioning (hydrotest, chemical clean etc)

Ex : WBS window in Primavera for piping works

 

CARBER technology to speed up piping tie-in progress

I came across this technology for one of our refinery project. There is slippage in piping progress and we missed the shutdown date. Hence, we can't isolate the golden tie-in for piping hydrotest. This is when we came across the Carber Technology. Let's hear from Carber itself on how we manager to expedite the progress for tie-in process. According to Carber :

CARBER technicians can simultaneously cut and bevel your piping without the use of open flames or producing sparks in your facility. Cold cutting offers many advantages over other methods of pipe cutting. Because there is no spark or flame produced, cold cutting does not require lines to be gas free.  In some instances this also eliminates the need to obtain a hot work permit to simply cut a piece of pipe. 

Ability to monitor the seal and ensure safety of hot-work.

• ◾ Triple vapor barrier design; one is positively pressured.
• ◾ Vent upstream activity safely away from hot-work.
• ◾ Vent guage to monitor upstream activity.
• ◾ Pressure restraining capability in the event of upstream pressurization.

The CARBER Isolation Service safely isolates a line for hot-work, guaranteeing safe keeping of property, equipment and personnel. Installing a plumber’s plug or similar device and hoping for the best is never best practice. CARBER technicians are ready to install our isolation tool to make your hot-work project safe, allowing your project to be done quickly, at a lower cost and significantly reduced risk when compared to traditional methods.

Application Benefits:

• Numerous blinds/scaffolds can be eliminated.
• Extensive steaming and cleaning can be eliminated because lines do not need to be 100% gas free.
• Tool can be installed under supplied air, however supplied air is not required once isolation is in place

 

You might want to consider the same technology in the event you want to expedite you tie-in progress but it comes with a cost :)

Carber cold cutting and bevelling : http://www.carber.com/services/cold-cutting.html
Carber Isolation Service : http://www.carber.com/services/isolation-service.html


And here is the video presentation :

Oil and Gas Offshore :General Jacket Fabrication Flowchart.

The following sections gives you an idea on the sample WBS that you can derive from general jacket fabrication flowchart.

There are various types of offshore oil and gas platforms

•Steel Jacket Fixed Platform
•Tension Leg Platform
•Concrete gravity base Platform
•FPSO – Floating Production, Storage Offloader.

Here I would like to share with you the General Jacket Fabrication Flowchart which will give you some idea on the WBS. As a planner the flow will help us a lot to shed some light on the process flow.

To download the image, please click here : http://mbx.cm/t/MEwk9

Oil and Gas EPC : Weightage for Engineering Discipline

In an EPC project, Engineering progress usually measured by assigning a weight which are the number of required man-hours  for each deliverable.

Once the task is deliverable is issued or approved, the corresponding man-hours are earned..In a typical project, engineering progress is measured as level 2 (phase) and level 3 (engineering discipline) and level 4 (document, RFQ, Datasheet and etc).

The progress calculation is done based on engineering work steps and their weight factors for an engineering drawing. See the below sample work steps and weight factors.

Engineering Progress Measurement by each different level

Manhours as an basis for Engineering Weightage.

An example of piping discipline tracking

Click here to Download :    http://mbx.cm/t/vqLE-

Oil and Gas Piping Dia-Inch Tracking Sheet

I wrote on piping dia inch in my earlier post (http://plannerworld.blogspot.com/2014/07/planning-for-piping-tie-in.html), but here I would like to share on the excel tracking sheet for completed dia inch in the event of shutdown.   
     
Tracking with Primavera on the Tie-in schedule is good practise. But a good planner always aware that Primavera is just another tool for planning and scheduling. At times we want our subcontractors to have the tracking being done in excel sheets. In fact this will be much more easier for those who is in supervisor level to know how many more dia-inch to go.
        
In construction projects Dia Inch Is a unit of Measure is used to measure the progress of Piping Spool fabrication.The weld joint of the pipe size is converted to the equivalent dia inch of welding or piping tie-in.           

What you will find in the attachment.

Download Link : http://mbx.cm/t/CSILn

Naming Tie-in Activity in Primavera for Oil and Gas Project

Most time consumed activity in an Oil and Gas project is the Piping. Just imagine on the quantity of welds are involved and how much time each weld takes,  Non Destructive Examination (NDT), heat treatment when applicable, supports, painting, leak test, insulation, hydro-test.

Let’s look at all the activities coming into pipe works:

• Piping comes in small individual items: straight lengths, 2,6 or 12 meter long, elbows or flanges. They have to be welded together at the job Site.

• Piping is prefabricated to some extent to reduce construction time. Generally welds done in the workshop (shop welds) indeed take half the time as welds done in-situ (field welds). However only 2/3 of the welds can typically be done in the workshop.

• The time required to do a weld, even when done at the workshop, is already long enough: a full day for one welder for one weld on a 24” pipe. This offer underestimated by the Project Manager or the planner.

• Once the welding is completed, the piping pre-fabricated parts, called “spools” will be sand blasted, coated with a primer, brought to the erection location, erected and fitted-up.

• Field welds will then be carried out, followed by Non-destructive examinations and post weld heat treatment, if any.

• Supports will then have to be installed. The line will be inspected, for compliance to the drawings, and pressure tested. It is then flushed, provided a final coating, as well as tracing and insulation, if any.

It is important to name the piping Fabrication and Tie-in activities in order to have a clear visibility and understanding among the schedule audience. It's already many activities, let's not make it complicated by not giving it a proper name for clear identification and dependency analysis.


An activity need to be in details and descriptive enough. For an example for a piping activity under construction you might think of including location, pipe size, type of activity or even weld type.

Method 1 naming in Primavera

 For example: " Tie-in TP3901 A/B Golden tie-in (2 Tie-in 2")"
 Tie in point     = TP3901
 Type of tie-in  = Golden Tie-in
 Size of tie-in   = 2"

 For example: " Tie-in TP1501 Tubing tie-in (6mm)"
 Tie in point     = TP1501
 Type of tie-in  = Tubing
 Size of tie-in   = 6mm

 For example: " Mechanical Pre-Commissioning for System 100-11-118 Hot wax"

 This is for Pre-Commissioning activities derived from test package.

Method 2

Type of Tie in	Tie-in no	Qty of Tie in	Tie-in size	Material	System
Golden weld Tie-in	TP3901 A/B	(2 Tie-in,	4"	CS	Forced Circulation)
Hot work Tie-in	TP3920A/B	(2 Tie-in,	3"	CS	Steam )

And below is how we can name the Piping

For example : "Golden weld Tie-in TP3901 A/B (2 Tie-in, 4" CS Forced Circulation)"
                         and
                         " Hot work Tie-in TP3920A/B (2 Tie-in,  3" CS Steam ) "


It will be better to assume that those who will read your schedule will not be able to use activity code, group or sorting. Hence make sure each activity can be understand without any coding headers.

 Always assume that your reader will not be using your code grouping & sorting when reading yours schedule. Make sure each activity can stand on its own without any coding headers

EPC Project Planning for Piping Tie-in

A tie-in point is a location on an existing plant where a new installation is to connect to or a mechanical connection to an existing piping system.

Typical Piping Tie-in Drawing Iso

Tie-in list and line list in an important document for a planner to plan for piping tie-in. A Tie-In List should (or may) have the following:

- Tie-In No.
- P&ID No.
- Piping Plan No
- Tie-In Iso. No. (if different than Line Number)
- Line No.
- Connection Type
- Commodity [piping or process]
- Operation Pressure.
- Operation Temperature
- Test Media
- Test Pressure

Using Step to plan for Tie-in in Primavera

There are two basic conditions that exist when doing a "Tie-In." The first condition is when a Tie-In must be made and the line can be shut down and made safe for welding or other work. This is called a "Cold" tie-in.

The second condition is when a Tie-In must be made and the line cannot be shutdown. This is called a "Hot-Tap" tie-in.

Some Hot-Tap tie-ins also require a procedure called "Stopple". This is where a second Hot-Tap is made downstream of the first one. The flow is routed through the first tie-in while an articulated plug is inserted into the second Hot-Tap to blank off the flow. Various kinds of work can then be done to the remaining pipe.

A plugging system which is designed to stop flow through a line while equipment being installed, during maintenance work or repairs are being made.  A plugging head is inserted into the line through a fitting and flow is stopped and/or redirected through bypass piping. Implies plugging a line,  through a previously tapped hole.

A plugging (Stopple) machine is used to temporarily stop the product in an operating pipeline, by acting as a block valve.

When used in conjunction with a bypass line and another plugging machine, product can be rerouted around the isolated section of pipeline, while repairs, alterations, relocations and instrument installations are made to the piping system .

Typical flow in Tie-in Arrangement

As a part of his/her job definition, the Client Construction Representative shall arrange for the contractor to hang the tie-in tags.

After tie-in requirements are approved, the Operations Job Representative and the Client Construction Representative, together with the Contractor shall field mark tie-in locations using tie-in tags available from Document Control.

Tie-in tags typically contain the following information as shown in the Tie-in Tag Form attached to this procedure (tags are available from Document Control):

•  Tie-in number
•  Project or work order number
•  P & ID
•  Date Tie-in Tag was hung
• Signatures
• Person hanging the tag
• Client Construction Representative
• Client Operations Job Representative

The Client Construction Representative and contractor will join together to coordinate all preparations necessary to perform the tie-in, including insulation removal, assembly of material needed during the actual tie-in period, temporary supports, and a temporary alternate supply such as an air compressor or generator. Care must be taken to get the proper work permits.

All materials installed prior to the actual tie-in will be tested in accordance with site piping standards. Examples of testing are x-rays, dye penetrant testing, hydro or pneumatic testing.

Once Operations has prepared the system to allow for the tie-in, the work crew shall obtain a work permit. This permit identifies isolation blinds required and all other means necessary to ensure the tie-in work is safely performed. The permit also identifies required special protective equipment such as gloves, acid suits, breathing air, etc. Special procedures such as line drilling, cold cutting, spool removal, etc. shall be listed on the permit.

Upon completion, the tie-in will be tested in accordance with site piping standards. All tags will be removed, and the system will be released to Operations.

No	Contractor	Client Construction Representative	Operations Job Representative	Piping/Project Engineer
1	Prepare and physically install tie-in tags	Coordinate tie-ins with Operations and the Contractor	Ensure tie-ins have been internally reviewed/approved with-in the Operations Organization	Generate tie-in list and obtain approval from the Operations Job Representative
2	Work with the Planner to plan and schedule all field activities	Review tie-in plans and strategies.	Sign off and witness the hanging of tie-in tags	Ensure tie-ins are designed according to Site Standards
3	Execute tie-ins at identified location(s), in accordance with all applicable client’s policies and procedures	Sign off and witness the hanging of tie-in tags	Coordinate preparation and isolation of the system for the tie-in work.	Enter SAP Notification for the planning and scheduling of tie-in work
4		Inspect tie-in after completion to ensure new connection is install according to design

Tie-in Installation, Pipeline Erection and Hydro Testing Progress Tracking System

The Progress Tracking System for Tie-in Installation Work

Normally, piping tie-in installation scope is involved in revamp project only. The progress tracking system for tie-in work includes Tie-in Tracker Sheet and Progress tracking sheet.

Tie-in numbers against the Isometric drawings and work packages are listed in the tracker sheet. The tie-in type (Bolt-up, cut and weld, hot tap, cold tap and threaded are typical tie-in types in process industry), project area or system name and installed dates are also included in the tracker sheet.
To develop Progress Tracking Sheet for overall Isometric drawings, the following work steps and weight factor percentages are utilized.

1. Preparation  ( Scaffold erection if required/remove insulation if required)       -20%
2. Tie-in work    (Bolt up/cut & weld/hot tap/cold tap/threaded)                          -70%
3. Inspection     (Sign QC document, example : flange make up check list)          -10%
The Progress Tracking System for Pipeline Erection Work

Developing procedure of progress tracking system for pipeline erection work is the same as piping fabrication work except work steps and weight factor percentages. To do that, replace the following work steps and weight factor percentages with the existing ones and rearrange the formulae.

1. Material at Erection area                   -  5%
2. Piping Laying                                   -20%
3. Preparation(align/tack weld)            -20%
4. Full Welding Execution                   -40%
5. Non Destructive Examination          -  5%
6. Pipe Support Erection                      -15%
7. Final Inspection                                -  5%

The Progress Tracking System for Piping Hydro-Testing

Progress tracking system for piping hydro-test includes test pack status sheet and overall progress tracking sheet. A list of column names such as Test pack number, system number, project area name, Isometric drawing number and work packages shall be included in the test pack status sheet. Test pack status sheet and progress tracking sheet can be created by adopting the same procedure for steel fabrication work except work steps and weight factor.

Use the following work steps and weight factors for Piping Hydro-testing;

1. Preparation  -20%
2. Testing   -45%
3. Reinstate  -25%
4. Clear Punch list  -10%


Download link :

Progress Tracking Sheet for Tie-in Work
http://mbx.cm/t/PcYDA


Progress Tracking Sheet for Piping Hydrotest
http://mbx.cm/t/cSa4C

Engineering Document Types and Steps Weightage

Engineering Document Types

1.Document Types
The total scope of work for Engineering is classified according to the following engineering document types:

a. Drawings
b. Specifications
-    Specifications
-    Data Sheets (EDRS)
-    Calculation Sheets
-    Procedures
-    Other Engineering Documents
c. Requisitions
d. Information and Internal Documents
e. Vendor Prints

Following milestones for engineering progress can be useful.

 Work Steps and Weight Factors for Engineering

A. Drawings

This category includes; P&ID, Approval Drawings, Review Drawings & Approval Other Documents

1	Study and Preparation (Drafting)	10%
2	IFA - Issue For Approval	15%
3	Client comment	10%
4	Incorporate client comment	15%
5	IFC - Issue For Construction	5%
6	Client comment	10%
7	Incorporate client comment	15%
8	AFC - Approve For Construction	20%

Milestone Attachment to download

Setting projects milestones and developing a milestone schedule is a key factor in the success of a project.

Milestone: A milestone is a significant event in a project that occurs at a point in time. A milestone schedule uses deliverables as a platform to identify major segments of work and an end date. Milestones should be natural, important control pints in the project and should be easy for everyone to recognize.

A professional planner will extract the milestone and present to stakeholder on where we stand in term of progress. Hence, milestone report is crucial as part of project communication process.

What are Tasks, Milestones and Phases?

•A task is an activity that contributes towards a deliverable. When defining a task, it starts with a verb/noun.
•A milestone is a point in time at the completion of a deliverable. It begins with a noun/verb.
•A phase is a collection of activities grouped together in a logical order. It consists of a number of related tasks and a milestone to mark the completion of each phase within the project.

Below are 2 attachments that you can use to track your milestone.

Click on below links.

http://mbx.cm/t/tVFOm
http://mbx.cm/t/Zo7TY

Milestone in Primavera

A Milestone has zero duration and is used to mark the start or finish of a major event.Often milestone in schedule represent most important deadlines for deliverables in a project. These milestones is always been the focus for all the project team members. Milestone in a schedule provides a high level view on what is being planned and what is the current progress.

One way we can use the filter option and display the deadline dates but you won't be able to see the activities that impacting certain milestone. As you filter, it hides all other activities that not relevant.To define the schedule at  Project level, create a start and finish milestone for each project and create a link between the two milestones.

1. Create WBS for your milestone

You might want to break your milestone into 2 categories

• Contractual Milestone ( Mechanical Completion, RFSU- Ready for Start-Up etc)
• Project Milestones       ( PO date for long lead items, Site mobilization, piping tie-in completion and etc)

In your layout, you will need to consider to have all your key milestone under the same roof of WBS right at the top of project.

 2. Link Milestone to activities

At this stage you can link respective milestone to the relevant activities by assigning SS (Start to start) or FF (Finish to Finish relationship).
The whole idea to have a glance on how the project milestone against the baseline rather than sifting through the whole project. This is convenient when comes to management review.