Consulting & Performance Solutions
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Asset Management
Safe cost-effective performance of physical assets is vitally important for a range of industries including oil & gas, defence, utilities, chemicals and transport. The assets must be selected, designed, operated and maintained in such as way that their life-cycle cost of ownership is minimized. It is crucially important to consider the both technical factors as well as the human factors involved.
AZTech, through its very experienced Associate Consultants, offer organizations the following services:
- Development of asset and maintenance strategies to meet business objectives
- Review of existing asset plans and policies & drawing up improvement plans
- Auditing and benchmarking of maintenance and asset performance
- Asset risk assessments and vulnerability studies
- Design reviews
- Optimizing logistics and spare parts inventories
- Reliability Centred Maintenance / Risk Based Maintenance studies
- Cost/benefit optimisation of maintenance tasks using decision support tools
- Optimisation of maintenance planning & scheduling
- Establishing Service Level Agreements
- Organisational development
Mechanical Engineering
Machines deteriorate as they get older so we can expect a certain amount of performance falloff and general deterioration of the machine. If we understand the failure mechanisms through various vibration and other monitoring techniques that are in place we can identify which parameters best indicate the deterioration of the machine and give advance warning of impending failure.
Failure analysis and Predictive Maintenance techniques, including vibration analysis is available with a view to optimising the maintenance engineering effort while maximising production. Further consultancy is available in the form of maintenance management optimisation and audits of existing systems.
AZTech, through its highly experienced, knowledgeable and qualified consultants, offers organisations the following services:
- Vibration analysis & troubleshooting
- CBM & CM system specification & advice
- Audits of existing PdM, CBM, CM & RCM systems
- Setup & installation of PdM, CBM, CM & RCM systems
- Mechanical failure analysis
- Acceptance testing & commissioning via CM parameters
- Consultancy advice for communication of monitoring data over digital networks
- Data analysis & representation
- Signal processing
- Maintenance management & manpower optimisation
Safety Technology
AZTech through Associate Consultants has acquired Qualifications and Experience in the field of Safety Technology. We can produce Safety Concept and detailed fire hazard analysis during the design or modification stages of the plant for each area of the installation.
The following tasks may be performed:
- Safety Concept
- Hazardous Area Classification
- Fire and Gas detection and protection
- Machinery risk assessment
- Machinery safety measures
- Forensic engineering
- Engineering noise control
Emergency Management & Planning
Emergency Management and Planning is an essential element of modern HSE Management Systems. Although the majority of accidents should be proactively prevented by risk assessment & risk management, there is a need to think the unthinkable. Therefore, organisations need to demonstrate that, in the case of a major accident, there are measures in place; to respond, to prevent escalations and to mitigate the consequences of such events. Training in any level of scenario from a simple false alarm to a full-scale emergency (worst case scenario), involving casualties, fatalities and eventual site abandonment can be re-enacted, creating a high pressure environment that can be used as a training tool which will successfully assess a manager's ability and Emergency Response Team member's ability to take effective command and control of an accident.
AZTech, through its very experienced Associate Consultants, offer organisations the following services:
- Review of existing plans and policies
- Assessment of Emergency Preparedness
- Emergency contingency/scenario development
- Advice on Policies, Emergency Command and Control structure
- Composing and Producing Emergency Plans
- Guidance on Command and Control Centre(s) and Communications
- Working with Emergency Services, Local Authorities and Communities
- Business Continuity Planning
- Security procedures
- Press/Media handling
- Reputation Management
- Emergency Management Maintenance
Environmental Management
As with Health and Safety Management, Environmental Management is an essential element in the successful modern business. Improvement in a Company's environmental performance leads to an enhanced corporate reputation, improved regulatory compliance and greater leverage in a competitive market.
AZTech can provide information and advice on the implementation of an environmental management system and the development of internal audit capacity. This facilitation is designed to assist in the delivery of continual improvement in an organisation's environmental performance as well as techniques for the prevention of pollution. These are key elements in achieving certification to ISO 14001.
AZTech can provide additional skills in environmental impact assessment and production of the supporting environmental statements, air and water pollution studies, waste management audits and waste minimisation workshops.
The advent of the concept of sustainable development is prompting organisations to consider the all-embracing requirement for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the publication of environmental reports. AZTech specialists can provide facilitation in the development of CSR policies and drafting of environmental reports.
- Environmental Management System Implementation
- Environmental Management Auditing
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Environmental Assessment
- Waste Audit
- Environmental Reporting
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
- Air Quality Assessment
- Air Quality Modelling
- Water Quality Assessment
Technical Integrity & Reliability
To improve competitive operation and long term profitability and to improve HSE performance, cost-effective equipment integrity and reliability is essential. The objective of Mechanical Integrity is to ensure equipment does not fail in a way that causes or affects a release of covered chemicals. Technical integrity not only refers to hardware (mechanical and structural) and software issues, but also to human issues - sound people management. The technical integrity of a facility is achieved when, under specified operating conditions, there is no foreseeable risk of failure endangering safety of personnel, environment or asset value. It can only be achieved when: the equipment/piping systems are designed correctly for the specified service conditions; they are operated and maintained by qualified competent people within the design envelope; the current condition of critical equipment is identified/validated and are deemed fit for continued service; and the damage mechanisms they are subjected to are understood, monitored, and their impacts on the remaining life of the respective equipment/components/systems is assessed. Furthermore, risk-based decision methodology must be used to prioritize equipment inspection and maintenance.
Technical integrity is a joint responsibility of Engineering, Operations and Maintenance. Engineering is responsible for defining what constitutes technical integrity (design intent) while Operations and Maintenance are responsible for safeguarding technical integrity. The ongoing link between the three disciplines is the design envelope and the application of an effective management of change (MOC) program. The potential threats to mechanical integrity are in the area of methodology and controls through: application of inappropriate standards; inadequate assessment/control of plant changes; inappropriate condition assessment; deferred or uncontrolled maintenance; and inadequate quality of workmanship.
To achieve a sustainable safe, reliable and cost-effective plant operation, integrated asset management and utilization systems are essential.
AZTech, through its very experienced Associate Consultants, offer organizations integrated and focused services to assist in improving equipment integrity and plant reliability including:
- Guidance on Reliability Program Development
- Improve Specific Reliability Management Practices
- Reliability, Availability and Maintainability Analyses
- Setup/Improve Plant Maintenance Strategies, Systems and Practices
- Risk-based inspection program and studies
- Develop and Set-Up Engineering Systems and Programs
- Guidance on Management of Change (MOC) Programs
- Setup/Conduct Engineering Audits and Reviews Asset integrity, Energy utilization
- Conduct Incident Investigation and Causal Analysis
- Review/enhance Engineering Organization Effectiveness
- Provide Customized Professional Development Training Including: design, operation and maintenance of plant equipment and piping systems; mechanical integrity; failures & failure prevention
Petroleum Technology and Economics
Over the past 30 years, the oil and gas industry has developed into a highly advanced technological field. Whether it in smart drilling equipment or sophisticated natural gas processing in the field, or the advancement of LNG, or the significant developments in refining such as FCC hardware and catalysts, hydrotreating and hydro cracking, or novel alkylation's processes, new knowledge is added at a phenomenal rate.
We are now able to utilize every barrel produced with high efficiency in order to maximize the manufacture of final products and profitability, to minimize waste, and improve plant environmental performance.
AZTech, through its very experienced Associate Consultants, offer organisations the following services:
- Operations Support
- Process Analysis, Troubleshooting, and Optimization
- Technical Training
- Business Development
- Feasibility Studies
- Project Identification and Cost Estimation
- Technology Evaluation, Marketing, and Royalty Negotiation
- Mergers and Acquisitions Assistance
- Project Implementation Support
- Process Design
- Project Development, Management, and Control
- Litigation Support
- Customized Training and Advisories
Loop Analysis and Auditing
Globalisation has placed increasing demands on modern process control in terms of quality, safety, flexibility and costs. However, although the subject of many hundreds of articles, books, and courses, the basic elements of automatic process control are still widely misunderstood and worse still misapplied. Research carried out by ISA and other bodies indicates that up to 75% of all loops will oscillate when operated in automatic.
Problems range from incorrect sensor placement and over-spanning of the transmitter through to valve hysteresis, stiction and non linearities. And yet hours are often wasted in trying to optimize the controller settings in regard to proportional, integral and derivative actions.
AZTech, through its experienced Associate Consultants, offer organizations a full loop analysis and auditing service. Using advanced software tools we can analyze the loop for critical control performance factors such as control valve performance, process non-linearity and tuning parameters.
Benefits
- Decreased variability typical savings of 0.5% in raw materials and energy
- Increased production optimization typically increases yield by 0.5%
- Increased plant reliability poor regulatory controls account for 30% of preventable, unplanned plant downtime
- Reduce frequency and severity of critical conditions Critical conditions are estimated to cost the world economy over $100billion annually
- Improved bottom line optimization can lead to a 3% improvement in overall operating efficiency
- Maintain Advanced Process Control benefits typically, 40 - 70% of cost savings from APC projects are lost if the performance of regulatory control loops is not maintained
Instrumentation Audit and Selection
Process media properties can vary enormously from industry to industry. The fluid may be toxic, flammable, abrasive, radioactive, explosive or corrosive; it may be single-phase (clean gas, water or oil) or multi-phase (e.g. slurries or dust laden gases). The pipe carrying the fluid may vary from less than 1 mm to many metres in diameter. The fluid temperature may vary from close to absolute zero to many hundred degrees Celsius, and the pressure may vary from high vacuum to high pressures.
As a result increasing demands are being made on modern process control in terms of quality, safety, flexibility and costs. However, more efficient control can only be achieved through better measurement when the process instrumentation provides the correct information.
In this regard, AZTech, through its experienced Associate Consultants, offer organizations a full instrumentation audit to evaluate the suitability and applicability of instrumentation and control strategy and the impact on the measurement of critical parameters relevant to the overall design philosophy of the process plant.
- Evaluate and select the appropriate instrumentation system
- Complete objective selection of your instrumentation requirements independent of 'sales' pressures
- Control optimisation with effective selection and installation of your process equipment
- Reduction in product downtime through the choice of appropriate predictive maintenance strategies
