Español Contact (713) 682-3651
Talk to an Expert

CountryMark Refining Saves Time and Resources with Accelerated Asset Criticality Analysis

SUCCESS THROUGH EFFICIENT METHODS, EXPERTISE, AND TEAMWORK

Background

This Indiana-based, vertically integrated company provides the full gamut of products and services—from crude oil to finished products (fuel, lubricants, etc.) and commercial fuel services, including delivery to local customers. The initial engagement was for our team of reliability experts to conduct an enterprise-wide Reliability Assessment to determine the current state, measure the reliability maturity level using our proprietary Reliability Systems Review (RSR), and make recommendations for future improvement. CountryMark Refining was found to be at Level 3, or Enlightened; which makes it a great candidate for supplemental project work to relieve the organization of time and resources but yet meet goals of improving their asset strategy program.

The assessment showed that there were still opportunities across the organization to enhance performance and production by fine-tuning maintenance strategies some of which could be done independently by the client. Allied supported the initiatives by providing onsite training, raised awareness of reliability by teaching fundamental courses, and instilling a more proactive culture; ultimately paving the way to implement condition-based maintenance (CBM) best practices across the enterprise. Separately from the refinery, Allied Reliability aided the CountryMark Energy Resources division at the wellsite by assisting and building an asset hierarchy template and populating a sample pool for them to identify the assets needed.

Refinery Project Highlights

A firm foundation of trust had already been established between the two entities during earlier engagements. Thus, when CountryMark’s Mount Vernon refinery was ready to perform an Asset Criticality Analysis of all its systems, equipment, and components, Allied was called upon once again to dedicate time and resources that the refinery could not spare. Drawing upon our vast experience and skilled consultants, we were able to quote completion of the analysis in just 4-5 weeks (instead of the industry standard of 3 months or more) with minimal, close-to-no, interruption of daily operations.

The analysis began by leveraging the refinery’s asset hierarchy of critical assets and components, ranking them relative to importance, and categorizing them into groups by general type, including any outliers needing special attention. The comprehensive inventory encompassed not only machinery but also systems like instrumentation, electrical substations, and analyzers. All items were ranked against agreed upon criteria, according to the followingtwo overarching factors:

  • Severity – a 5-point scale that scores safety, environmental impact, production loss, cost to repair, product quality,measurement accuracy, and media reaction.
  • Likelihood – a 5-point scale that scores expected frequency (multiple times a year, annually, every 3 years, etc.)

This analytical effort covered a total of 8,885 assets—in addition to 1,765 safety assets (most critical)—which were ranked in close collaboration with CountryMark participants. Allied facilitated meetings had the right people in the room and kept a laser focus on defining the proper criticality scores for each operating unit. From our experience, these results are better when done by a consistent group that does not drag on, but rather makes decisions quickly and concisely. Furthermore, our enhanced method enables system and asset classes to be ranked and propagated, giving way for the team to focus on exceptions.

The below roadmap is an overview of the main steps involved in Allied’s approach to asset criticality analysis.

Asset Criticality Roadmap

This lean process allowed CountryMark’s refinery to prioritize maintenance based on which items require preferential treatment. Such an approach extends service life of the most critical equipment and minimizes downtime, while allocating resources in such a way as to have the most positive impact on the availability of the facility

Successful Outcome

This project successfully moved the needle by taking the refinery from a state of being ‘maintenance-driven’ to becoming ‘enterprise/plant-led’ – in other words continuing their journey from reactive to proactive. And it was done in record time. In fact, Allied Reliability’s rapid turnaround of just 3 weeks impressed the client. They had originally been concerned about the short timeframe sacrificing accuracy or quality. But that was not the case due to our proven methodology and structured database for efficient analysis that is flexible enough to allow modifications to be made. For example, refineries have so many assets in the top tier for safety and environmental impact, that we had to adjust the weighting on each factor to achieve a good normal distribution, while still retaining the ability to isolate to a single criteria for special consideration if needed. By outsourcing this tedious job, CountryMark’s refinery employees had more time to attend to continuous daily operations and other core business initiatives. Our continued positive track record is leading to other reliability-related projects for the same client, as well as current negotiations in progress with another, even bigger refinery for a different oil and gas company.

“At first, the team was uncertain of the alternative approach that allied reliabilty proposed, however, the allied team met their promise on approach, methodology and timing of this effort – exceeding all our expectations!”
-Refinery Plant Manager

CountryMark

Learn More About Our Reliability Systems Review

Want to unlock the full potential of your assets? Our RSR provides a comprehensive assessment of your reliability systems, identifying opportunities for improvement and maximizing your return on investment.

Transform Your Maintenance »