"Just because you cant see it , doesn't mean that it is not there"

In 1998-99 I wandered into a role where the incumbent was quite eager to leave for newer pastures and that theme seemed to follow me around into my next position in 2008 which is another story for a later day. The handover in 98 was pretty short , I am estimating 8 hrs maximum and then the dreaded feeling of what do I do now? ....thankfully there were some great people remaining and an exceptional Admin lady who should have worn a superwoman cape at her desk.

The facility had been ticking along nicely with lots of morning teas, breakfast shouts , afternoon cakes , and a significant amount of work order "back log" had developed where by lots of strangers( to me) started asking me leading questions before I had time to unpack my pencil sharpener ? so I began to do what I do best I guess .....starting with asking some awkward questions of supervision , looking at the organisational set up , review the resources and their competence, check the equipment pool, look for potential roadblocks, sifting through hundreds of work orders and then I started to lift the intensity of the program to another notch or two. Sound familiar to anyone?

A couple of the work routines found a bit behind schedule were USTM surveys and External Visuals which previously had been completed and signed off noting that one of the amazing things I have come across in past times is how pressure vessels can have hundreds of "External Visual" inspections signed off without ever removing a piece of insulation? I am not saying this happens everywhere but I have come across this a great deal. You can not accurately assess the "pressure envelope" of a vessel or column unless you either get inside , or you get access to the "shell" and given that many Opcos delay internal inspections as long as humanly possible it becomes ever so important that you utilize the multitude of external inspection techniques available to you in order to get the most accurate data you can.

So moving along , it seemed we had years upon years of USTM data on hand all taken from neat port access holes strategically located in the insulation which had their covers in place but access had been an issue ? Yes that old chestnut ! so I quickly introduced some new work access procedures and secured new equipment whilst having the UT and insulation team trained. Problem solved I hear you say ?? well not quite as "who" said the ports where in the correct strategic position as they were installed many moons ago.

The UT team had no abnormal readings from our column surveys , in fact the paint work looked quite spectacular and in a very good condition as viewed through the port holes one day whilst I was up on an area walk around . However we did notice that there was signs of extensive rust staining through the insulation approximately 1.5m away , so I instructed the team to start moving a ring of insulation from around the column close to the man ways.

What we found when we removed the insulation led to further investigation and I can already hear most of you say " CUI ?" yes off course we did!. The shell of the Debutaniser Column was 25 mm thick and the actual measurements recorded were 1.5mm remaining in areas close to the insulation rings . The Insulation rings found (what was left off them) did not have weep holes for moisture to escape and avoid ponding nor saturation of the insulation in the vertical columns . Now we had four Debutaniser columns , four DePropaniser columns , four DeMethaniser columns so the inspections took on a new turn of events.

Decisions had to be made , and given the extent of the wall loss it was decided by engineering that they needed to be removed off site for repair so rightly or wrongly given the " in situ" repair options available this began to roll into action.....big job !

Yes we had to fully strip the entire column inside and outside to allow for lifting operation weight restrictions due to the corrosion loss and its effect on structural stability, meanwhile we were finding more problems on other columns . What had I walked into ?

We added a Depropaniser column to the list of removals , and off we went to a local fabrication shop for the repair work to begin with several strakes having to be fully removed and refitted with new ones.New ladder and platform brackets fitted , nozzles welded and tested .

The columns were repaired and transported back to site , everything is starting to fit into place after they are erected ...but wait ! late mail from the Process engineering team "the old internal packing was clogging and not performing" !!So lets change the packing whilst the column is out of service ...and oh yes its a different brand , size etc so we need to change the internal rings to allow it to be fitted .

Yes , we then had to modify the internals whilst the column was stood vertical, nothing like a test for our nimble fitters and welders . Finally we are there !

The moral to my story ? Never rest on your laurels as there are hidden dangers and corrosion mechanisms out there that can catch you unawares when you think you are in control. Back to my statement originally regarding external inspections, a part strip of these columns would have found the issue well before it escalated into this imminent threat... A CUI ( Corrosion under Insulation) program would have highlighted that these columns fell into the risk bracket in relation to operating temperature , environment , deluge vicinity, design and so forth . Remember there were visual signs of staining which should automatically trigger a response !!

"History tells us that we are not very good at learning from History " I recently helped set up an Integrity program in the UAE for a multi Billion Dollar extremely sour gas facility that went into operation . From day one there were significant steam leaks being reported in full which were consistently falling on deaf ears because there was a mindset that a brand new facility could tolerate a few leaks and they didn't really know what CUI is capable off ....... I believe there were over 260 steam leaks reported in my last survey and the trains were like a deluge system at times so I am sure there will still be significant steam leaks remaining .

It might not catch you out today, but CUI will catch you out one day if the operating conditions and lack of due care and attention exist. CUI will take all of the encouragement you can give it !

I Hope this helps.... for all of your Integrity needs you can contact me directly .