P 111 FW Network Analysis-DMD&NMD

P 111


Fire Water Network Analysis DMD& NMD

As part of our task, the team continued the exercise for the remaining manufacturing locations.

First in case of DMD, post PTA 5&6 implementation in 2012, only a coal based power plant and
Ethane receipt facility have come in. As we have augmented the fire water capacity and added new pumps during PTA implementation and closely checked the network hydraulic analysis, the exercise became simple.That too since only a spur branch loop was taken to cater to the large ethane tank and its infrastructure adjacent to cracker complex, there was no issue either in terms of demand or system pressure etc. So the study became simple and closed very quickly.

Next we took the analysis for NMD. As it is, a similar study  was carried out for NMD in 2011 itself post the fire audit carried out by my team. Added to that, NMD implemented various add-on mini projects like EO/EG expansion, adding EO storage,cracker modification to take ethane as alternative feed stock etc. but did not complete the fire water augmentation recommendations. So the confusion enhanced. Though we issued recommendation to add a fresh sourcing for fire water in ETP guard pond area with addition of new pumps as well as  replace part of ring main with increased diameter, they implemented only change of the headers in the ring main without considering the new pumps recommendation and the pond. Added to misery,the implementation of ethane as feed stock to cracker changed the entire scenario of cracker unit area demand. The complete internal layout got altered with introduction of additional equipment and compressor , making the inter distance fire break going away.
Luckily at the same time, the site was studying the raw water storage augmentation to overcome MIDC failure to adhere to their supply commitment of fresh water. When one analysed the original fire water storage and the number of pumps installed, we could neither meet the demand nor the remote point remnant pressure. So the new raw water pond became a blessing in disguise. But at the same time ,there was complete misunderstanding to the site management regarding the absolute
necessity of additional pumps requirement. They were under the wrong impression that with the existent system itself they could meet OISD stipulations since that call for only 3 lpm/M2  for tank surface area against Reliance Design basis (NFPA equivalent)of 10.2 lpm/M2 surface area !
They have overlooked that the plant area demand is 1 lpm/M2 land area that too 2 largest simultaneous demand areas have to be met. Here also, since there was complete alteration of cracker plant internal layout, the old fire break got vanished and area became very large. The plant area demand increased more than twice the original ,whereas the original pond/pumping system were designed based on TAC Regulations that too barest minimum to obtain insurance cover. When I personally explained to NMD management and working level team, they realized the folly and took up with the top management for budget sanction to add the requisite number of pumps in the new raw water pond. The augmentation process is on.

As VMD complex is too old (more than 40 years) and the company has stopped investing in any new projects or system augmentation , the team did not undertake the review and analysis of its fire water system at all.

In case of Silvaasa complex, since it is only a polyester manufacturing unit, that too the fire water augmentation took place only in 2013, this team did not feel the necessity to undertake its review.

That leaves only all the marketing oil terminals owned by Reliance. These are yet to be undertaken.
Meanwhile I have left the Loss prevention Engg. ,Mr Anthony Mankodi have retired from Reliance and the task is outstanding.
                                                                                                                   Contd.....

Key Aspects:- Incident analysis,  Technical issue

P 110 FW Network Hydraulic Analysis

P 110


Fire Water Network Analysis- other sites

Since we have set the terms of reference already while studying JMD Networks,our task became easy but there were several inconsistency issues!

To start with, next to JMD we took up DMD as second. We roped in their Chief Fire officer Vikas Baliyan with one of his assistant. In the case of DMD, since we did a review only in 2012,while implementing PTA 5&6 along with PX tank farm and augmented with  3 X 1000 M3/Hr FW pumps in the new raw water storage pond, we did not have any issue even while implementing the Ethane tank &its infrastructure. This Ethane facility formed a spur loop and did not affect the hydraulics at all. In case of DMD, the two largest simultaneous demand cases were 4000 M3/Hr each in Gas cracker unit and PTA complex.While carrying out the revamp in 2012, we have addressed the spare pumping capacity requirement. Having met Reliance Standard Design factors itself, we were sure that we have fully complied the OISD stipulations . The remote point remnant pressure was more than 8 Kg/cm2 g.

Next we took up HMD (Hazira). HMD had several issues!They are:
1. When originally conceived, HMD had two independent FW pump house ,one in North plot catering to the plants that came up in Hazira Ph.1 and the second came up in South plot during execution of Ph.2 having naphtha cracker,aromatic plant& large storage tanks
2.During those days, the applicable mandate was TAC Rules administering insurance coverage only.
3.As per TAC Rules, the pumping capacity should be 150% of the equivalent hydrant qty.demand with 6 hours pond storage volume to obtain the max. discount on insurance premium.
4. In case of TAC Rules, the remotest point remnant pressure value should be more than 5.25 kg/cm2g with 50% drop enroute.
5.As no one has envisaged that Hazira site will expand this high, the two networks were designed independently but having only manual valves interconnect for extreme emergency service as back up.
6. In those days, no indigenous  pump manufacturer had pump sizing more than 650M3/hr and we were forced to opt the same.

By the time new plants and oil terminal at Hazira executed,TAC Rules administering hydrocarbon industry insurance coverage was getting phased out and PESO statutory rules came in picture. So the concerned engineering agencies (DECs) did not bother about the overall network hydraulics at all as long as their requirement of fire water spur take-off provisions were made available. As there was no common agency to carry out close check and monitoring, things went on piecemeal basis.
As I had the responsibility of interfacing with PESO as pivotal point for Reliance,I questioned the concerned and everyone disowned their stake. The fundamental difference between TAC Rules and PESO Rules are:
a) in case of PESO, it is 1 lpm/M2 of 2 largest simultaneous demand areas &3lpm/M2 surface area for tanks. Whereas TAC stipulates the pumping capacity based on sum of equivalent hydrants demand &for tanks@10.2 lpm/M2 surface area
b) In case of PESO, the remnant pressure value to be minimum 7kg/cm2g;but in TAC,it has to be 5.25 kg/cm2g with 50% enroute drop.
These fundamental differences created disturbance  in the mind of the management! So they formed task force to carry out the entire hydraulics study from fundamentals meeting statutory stipulations(PESO). The team came to the conclusion that it is absolutely necessary to augment one
additional 1x1000M3/Hr arrangement in South pond even to comply OISD stipulations of  3 lpm/M2 tank surface area in the largest dyke in South plot.Fortunately, the pond volume is sufficient even to cater this additional pump and all main  header diameter were sufficiently high enough to obtain the remotest remnant pressure of 7Kg/cm2g at 5M/Sec. velocity flow.
The recommendation was given to RTG and it is under implementation.
                                                                                                                    Contd.....

Key Aspects :-  Incident analysis, Technical issue, Team building

P 109 Hydraulic Study of FW network

P  109


Hydraulic Study of FW network

When it came to SEZ we had the fundamental problem of shortfall ,having 50% standby pumping capacity while considering two largest fire demand that too@10.2 lpm/ M2 for tankage surface area and 1 lpm/M2 for  land area! Under the expanded refinery plot,introducing new PX IV, its tank farm required @6000 M3/Hr. Considering Reliance own design basis, two simultaneous demand factors were-FCCU@6000 M3/Hr+ PX IV tank farm calling for 6000 M3 /Hr=12000 M3/Hr. but we had only 12 X 1000 M3/Hr. pumping..So there was virtually no standby pumping capacity.  But when we counter-checked these under OISD design factors, we had more than 50% spare pumping capacity since OISD call for only @3lpm/M2 surface area in a tank against Reliance standard of 10.2 lpm/M2 surface area. At that stage, the team deliberated about the absolute requirement of incorporating additional pumps in the existing pump house to meet Reliance own standards.But the limitation arose from the space angle and pond volume! So the idea was dropped but recordings are kept for reference in future.

As the same network has been extended to cater to SEZ gasification complex also, a similar analysis
like DTA was carried out. Here the various scenario were:
In refinery area alone-2 simultaneous demand factors were- FCCU &PX IV tank farm
In Gasification complex,-2 simultaneous demand factors were-one gasifier module &AGR plant
In combined Refinery&gasification complex-2 simultaneous demand factors were- FCCU or PX IV tank farm with AGR plant.
As already explained, the analysis results with respect to OISD stipulations were comfortably met. Even under Reliance design basis, we were getting remote point remnant pressure more than 8 kg/cm2 g. That settled the issue,

When it came to C2 complex,issue was different. Since that was in green field, it called for a new infrastructure itself. At the start of J3, since I was the project manager -OSBL J3 as well as Loss prevention manager, the onus for conceptualizing the system fell on me. With the help of M/S Steve Wiggins &Bob Green of M/s Bechtel , I could identify the low lying area in the plot to develop as fire water pond in C2 complex. Then came the issue of identifying 2 largest demand areas in C2 complex to arrive at the fire water pumping capacity..Naturally the ROGC plant area was the largest but the plot plan was not frozen!More so since Reliance ROGC was one of the first in the world to develop
technology for producing Ethylene utilizing off gas from refinery as feed stock,With the involvement of RTG,M/S Technip-France went on developing the plot plan for ROGC but frozen the periphery FW ring main network sizing factor as 36" dia.. Finally the developed plot plan was 700M X 500M and it is not right to consider the entire plot as one single area for simultaneous demand consideration. So there was continuous exchange and debate with Technip-Delhi as well as France.
Finally we arrived at considering to split the plot into 3 segment ,giving merit of fire break of 36 M between each segment. That came to a demand of 7600 M3/Hr in the largest demand area. By that time, since all other ISBL boundary limits were frozen, we could easily identify that IIR/HIIR would be the second largest demand area in C2 complex land. Considering  these two largest demand factors we arrived at the figure of approx. 10000 M3/Hr main pumping capacity. Then came my dilemma of making 50% spare pumping capacity that too the total should be an even number for equal split between electric motor driven and diesel drive. My conscience and gut feeling prevented me to opt for 6 number standby pump provision. I discussed the issue with SM and decided to go with FMEA analysis to arrive at the standby provisions taking credit for Reliability factors,MTBF/MTTR etc.
With complete analysis and logic, I concluded to go with only 4 standby pumps for the main 10 pumps demand. So a total of only 14 pumps have been implemented. All involved stake holders
including RTG,Operations &Fire Department appreciated the same and an exclusive design basis document was generated. Even the statutory authorities PESO felt that this should be the approach instead of going with empirical formula for large complex like C2 complex. Then onward M/S Yanamandra and Raguraman Seshadri took over the responsibility of executing the same.
Though at a later stage, one of the PESO authority took objection for catering FW to IIR complex from this FW pump house, that plant being another joint venture undertaking,we could technically justify and convince the authorities  and sort out.

In case of MTF, we did not have any issue ,since the overall land area got frozen right at the beginning in 1996 itself and largest dyke factor for crude tanks did not alter at all.

It may not be wrong to note that JMD has got the maximum number of Fire water pumping capacity=
76 X 1000 M3/Hr split into 6 different land areas catering to 16000 acres land having world largest refinery/petrochemical complex.at Jamnagar.

Having successfully handled JMD FW hydraulic analysis, we ventured to undertake that exercise one by one  for all manufacturing complex locations under Reliance.
                                                                                                                     Contd.....
Key Aspects :-Accountable, Attitude, Incident analysis, Initiative, Leadership, Technical issue, Team building

P 108 Hydraulic Study of Fire water networks of manufacturing locations

P  108


Hydraulic Study of Fire water network

As Reliance manufacturing locations were going on expanding  by addition of new plants as well as undertaking revamp of existing units, it was felt by the team that we should carry out a detailed study and analyze the veracity of the network capacity and sizing, not only meeting company's internal standards but also satisfy the country's statutory norms.

Especially in the case of JMD, since we used the original refinery network itself for catering to the new gasification complex both in DTA and SEZ, Mr Umesh Khandalkar, Chief Fire Officer of JMD had certain apprehensions about the remote point remnant pressure criteria. So we formed a core team of members drawn from RPMG Projects, TechnoFire, MEC ,JEC and the end user fire team  of the respective manufacturing complex for undertaking these studies and check.

As common members self,Dilip Koimattur and Anthony of MEC took the lead role for all the sites.
In case of JMD, M/S Arvind Induchoodan and Mukesh Kumar of JMD fire team and Maulik Kothari of JEC participated and contributed effectively. While literally carrying out the analysis only, we realized the facts about the real challenge to arrive at the various probable scenario combinations!
In the case of DTA network, since we had 16X1000M3/Hr fire water pumping capacity installed originally meeting erstwhile TAC norms(pumping capacity of 150% of sum of the equivalent hydrants in that network).there was never an issue with respect to capacity but we were worried about the remotest point remnant pressure.When we initiated the exercise, we were not aware that the total linear length of the network go as high as 120Kms.! Added to the misery, lack of coordination between Bechtel/MEC with M/S Fluor(the party who carried out the detailed engineering for DTA gasification complex) caused more misunderstanding and interpretation issues. The team deliberated deeply and arrived at various probable combination of worst case scenario of fire incidence. They are:
In DTA Refinery -2 simultaneous max. case-  FCCU plant and Aromatics tank farm
In Gasification complex-2 simultaneous max. case- One Gasifier module and AGR plant
In DTA Refinery and DTA Gasification Complex- One max.case in each- FCCU or Aromatics tank farm and AGR in DTA Gasification complex.
Beauty was that the original network configuration as well as new extension to DTA gasification had redundant arrangement, we could get the remote point remnant pressure as high as >8.5 Kg/cm2g against the mandatory requirement of 7 kg/cm2 g only. So in this case, the check requirement to meet OISD  Standard guidelines became a formality only.

But when it came to SEZ,there were many issues right from spare pumping capacity .We shall see in next....                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                        Contd.....

Key Aspects :- Accountable, Critical challenge, Incident analysis, Leadership, Technical issue, Team building

P 107 Risk Analysis

P  107

Risk Analysis

Having been relieved from Project Management responsibility, my focus and attention got concentrated in finding optimized solutions to meet ALARP in upcoming projects of Reliance.
Though I had practical experience in handling loss prevention measures for all upcoming projects, this new subject handling gave me thrill !

Started closely interacting with M/S TV Venkateswaran &Prashanti Bupathy of CHSEE to learn the nuances of risk analysis. They gave me lot of study material for developing logic for arriving at
RISK MATRIX and detailed picture about LOPA (Layer of Protection Analysis). They briefed me about the benefits of carrying out Consequence Analysis  and what way it is different from total QRA
(Quantitative Risk Analysis).  They went to the extent of training me with Hazop Study procedure and how it should be developed before actually going into hazop for any project/plant and how the
ALARP achievable mitigation measures are identified etc.

Since I am still considered as project management personnel, the insurance group and under writer technical team pose several challenging tasks while reassessing some of the manufacturing locations cover. One such case was - EO drums in MEG plant at DMD  facing the upcoming CPP-power plant
in DMD (Dahej). After discussions with Mr. Paul Nicholson of M/S Marsh to understand the specific issue, I took the services of CHSEE team to carry out the consequence analysis to arrive at the risk assessment.The Hazard Identification was done based on Safety Review Checklist, Incident data
for EO bullets,Fire&Explosion Index method. These were the input factors  for carrying out the consequence analysis &then Dispensing Modelling was done using Process Hazard Analysis Software tool. The Risk Rating was done based on the onsite &offsite impacts of the scenario, considering the probable frequency of occurrence of the said risk, Importantly the wind rose  data
and actual population density prevalent in that axis and area were incorporated in that dispersion model. As Reliance is in the advanced mode for Safety Consciousness, we do  possess PHAST Risk software, a tool developed by M/S DNV.  Using that tool, we could arrive at the calculated risk associated with that EO storage and developed Risk Contours, F-N curves &contributor to risks.
The beauty was that we could conclude that the existing condition was Safe since the bullet/s dished ends were not facing the power plant being built opposite across with an inter-distance of more than 100 M..We could proudly present the report to insurance authorities and convinced them.
Rather this study helped us to establish and assure the management that we have in-house capability to address these sort of challenges.

Having succeeded that challenge, that became the start reference for locating any occupied buildings
in any of the new projects in Reliance. These were done for locating the common control room of PTA 5&6 at DMD, freezing the inter-distance for PIBs within the cracker complex (ROGC) in JMD J3 for studying the explosive impact due to C2/C3 leak, locating the PIBs within Gasification Complex both DTA and SEZ.for the Syn.gas &Hydrogen impact.

Having been introduced in Risk Analysis, participated in Synthesized Natural gas  Hazop studies and SIL assessment at UK. Though not directly attached with J3 execution, my role assumed importance in Safety studies of  all projects under implementation.
                                                                                                                    Contd......

KeyAspects :- Attitude, Incidence analysis, Initiative, Recognition, 

P 106 Liquid Cryogenic C2 Transportation

P  106

Liquid Cryogenic C2 Transportation

Having promised the statutory authorities, our responsibility in upkeep of safety enhanced multi fold.
Reliance S&OR have taken the call for carrying out Risk Assessment for Cryogenic C2  Loading at DMD ,Transportation and Storage at JMD.. Also they evaluated the features of the vehicle and the cryogenic  tank design of the vehicle. Formed a special task force to carry out the analysis of the various probable events enroute and developed the requisite mitigation measures. Trained the identified drivers and several emergency crews along the entire stretch for tackling the emergency if arise. Though it was not envisaged to have a portable flare in the escort vehicle, as a matter of
abundant caution they developed one and ensured to be part of travel kit.

With the cooperation of M/S INOX, we fabricated 4 vehicles of each 18T carrying capacity and had first estimate of approx. 500T only for PX IV start-up and have some spare inventory for Cryogenic C2 for PX compressor re-fill  until ROGC start-up. As our task became a grand success, we made total 85 trips of all the 4 vehicles  carrying a total of 1450T and even catered Cryogenic C2 for ROGC start-up.

Some of the salient features of this assignment:

From zero state, developed road loading gantry set-up at DMD.
First time configured double walled vacuum insulated cryogenic semi-trailer for Cryogenic Ethylene
transportation.
Keeping futuristic usage of the vehicles in mind, ensured the design meet usage for cryogenic LNG in Indian roads.
With our own team, created Emergency Response Plan  for entire involved operations and logistics.
Detailed Risk Assessment was carried out and shared with the statutory authorities.
Route Hazard mapping  carried out and validated the identified transit rest stations.
Journey management plan was duly authorized and put in place.
Ensured that each transit vehicle had escort supervision vehicle with entire emergency camp kit.
For entire operation for the transit, a safe SOP was created.
Each tanker was fixed with Trimble VTS for vehicle location/status tracking.
Ensured that portable  flare was there in each escort vehicle during road transit.
Hazard communication workshop & mock drills were conducted to train all concerned stake holders.
All drivers, though engaged by M/S Vama Infracreations Pvt.ltd, underwent Hazchem Transportation training as per CMVR requirements.
Exclusive TREM card was developed for this objective.

Reliance is proud to share that the Pillars for Safe Road Movement were :

Vehicle Management
Driver Management
Journey Management
Contractor Management
Emergency Response Systems

Happy to share that this Ethylene movement meticulous planning  & flawless execution
is one more feather in our cap! Management was relieved of the imposing challenge to source Cryogenic C2 for PXIV start-up.
                                                                                                                  Contd.......
Key Aspects:- Initiative, Planning, Proactive approach, Responsible, Team building, Training

P 105 Liquid Cryogenic C2 Transportation

P 105


Liquid Cryogenic  C2 Transportation

In 1991-92, I had the honor to execute the first double walled cryogenic Ethylene tank terminal facilities at Hazira. But in late 2013,PX IV at JMD was looking for cryogenic Ethylene availability for their compressor duty as refrigerant media and the PMT (Project management Team) and the concerned DECs  were going around without coming to any concrete methodology! Especially M/S Fluor HSE personnel were exploring the possibility of accommodating two horton spheres in the available cramped space. Specially C2 being one of the challenging cryogenic medium, the wall thickness for sphere was crazy and LEL distance was hitting the nearby sub-station in PX B/L. So the possibility of creating any storage at South corridor got ruled out.

Then only they posed the issue to my attention and also asked whether we can utilize ISO container to transport the C2 through National Hi-way and can we get PESO permission and licence for transportation ! As that was the time I used to give consultancy to the PESO department, I knew that methodology was not at all acceptable statutorily especially in Indian roads. When I ruled it out, people around criticized me and commented. Moreover, one set of team strongly vouched that we should bring the Cryogenic C2 from our Nagothane plant area only since it had the loading infrastructure already. No one was ready to look into the involved challenges:- involved transportation distance of 1000+ KMs. one way, involvement of two different state authorities enroute, number of toll posts, local political issues at Raigad District and availability of suitable transport media etc.
The specialist team of RTG discouraged me to consider Hazira facilities for sourcing cryogenic C2
because of cramped movement space at Hazira.  That made me to consider  DMD-Dahej as the probable sourcing point .As such VMD do not have cryogenic storage for ethylene at all.

As luck would have it, self & Sh.Samir Karnik  bumped on a LNG carrier parked at Dahej  main road opposite to DMD main gate. Seeing that , we jumped out of our car and got in touch with that truck driver to gather data about that vehicle &its specification etc.. He said that in India there are about 50-60 semi-trailers licensed by PESO for LNG movement across the country. He added that most of them are designed &fabricated indigenousky at IOC Workshop, Nashik. So our attention got shifted to Nashik. Meanwhile we thought it is better to seek the confidence of PESO department officials  for
going ahead with semi-trailer arrangement for cryogenic C2 transport in Indian roads, since there was no prior reference for that challenging service. In Jan.'15 I organised a presentation to the entire PESO department at Nagpur with our team .  I made sure that Reliance presentation address all aspects of safety assurance and the presentation went through very smooth ,more than anybody's expectation. Rather my team questioned me post meeting- sir, who is CCE in that gathering! The meeting went on for sharp 40 minutes and only 2 questions were tabled by authorities-1) considering the involved distance, with only day light driving, will consideration of one night halt enroute only be sufficient ? 2) in case of vacuum break in cryogenic tank , what will be the time estimate for the pressure build up to pop the safety relief valve?  Post meeting when I had a sitting with CCE- Mr.Thomas, he suggested to consider INOX favorably, since they had the experience to build Hydrogen containers for space crafts. That made my task even simpler.
                                                                                                                    Contd.....

Key Aspects:-  Communication,  Conviction, Critical challenge, Faith, Incident analysis,
Leadership, Reputation, Technical issue

P 104 PESO consultancy

P  104


PESO Consultancy

Since 2008, Peso department found my knowledge and expertise in mastery in various  international safety codes and analysis of various  critical scenario, they started consulting me for various critical
situations. Especially Mr Yedla supported my views when it came to re-introduction of RIM seal fire protection for all class 'A' petroleum floating roof tanks that too especially with a single party specific model. Somehow officials in OISD were carried away with discounting to go with poly-urethane tubing  type sensing arrangement  and vouched only metallic insert wire approach. The beauty was that even the OEM was not claiming that this product is suitable for rim seal fire sensing! But OISD thrust  that on all end users by incorporating that requirement in OISD 118 in the year 2010.
That was the time the Peso department looked for my services to ensure verification of its absolute incorporation. During that phase two CCEs came in and they were looking for industry support  to
counter OISD's insistence on incorporating all their standards as part of Petroleum Rules/SMPV Act.
In 2013, OISD gave 84 recommendations to be introduced in Petroleum rules; that time CCOE Mr PC Srivastava called me to Nagpur to study and analyse the veracity of those recommendations. On detailed scrutiny, I found only 6 or 7 of them were worth consideration and the rest  will completely counter the existing statutory rules. With my practical experience and knowledge I could highlight the issue against each recommendation and the Department could effectively defend the existing rules and countered them. Fortunately ,since that was the Govt. transition stage, all those recommendations by OISD died a natural death. Thus the issue got resolved.

In the midst, as an echo of Jaipur fire accident, there was a proposal from central ministry to enhance the Green Belt from the present 50 M or the fencing around the licensed tankage premises to 250 M !
CCE convened a conference meeting of all petroleum installations stake holders at Nagpur to discuss and arrive at a workable resolution. That point arose, since presently all around any installation/manufacturing complex, mushrooming of several dwelling  take place and they fall within LEL limits of the said unit area.  When this point was tabled in that conference, every one present countered that how can they become responsible  for public dwelling increase and that should be the responsibility of Municipal Corporation/Town Panchayat and industry house cannot cater to free land control. Then this subject was posed to BARC and their legal department to study&advise. Anybody can guess its outcome. That only stopped that recommendation of increase in free space around installations.

The Department gained so much confidence on Reliance  Safety Practices and requested our COE-HSEE to give lectures to the Department officials. With the services of M/S TV Venkateswaran,Vivek Bichave and Prashanti Bhupathy, I led a team to Nagpur to conduct those classes. They conducted brief classes on Hazop study, LOPA and Risk Matrix and touched about various probable mitigation measures that can be implemented.to bring to ALARP level. That was a revelation to most of the Department officers who attended. They profusely thanked us for organizing such lectures to elaborate practical aspects of safety studies.

The department officers used to get in touch with me directly to seek reference of any installation  for any specific hydrocarbon product, availability of MSDS for some unique chemicals, capacity ratings that prevail in Indian sub continent, advice on some specialty chemicals transportation methodology etc. That led to the drafting  the specification for one of Reliance's challenging requirement at JMD!
                                                                                                                         Contd....
Key Aspects :- Faith, Human relations, Incident analysis,  Recognition,Technical issue, Team building, Reputation, 

P 103 Process Safety & Risk Assessment

P  103


Process Safety & Risk Assessment

In 2012/13, my focus got shifted from only fire fighting system for hydrocarbon industry to overall
Process Safety  & Risk Assessment. To start with  Sh.  Ravi Ramaswamy &Ms Prerna Jain , later with Mr  TV Venkateswaran and Ms  Prashanti Bhupathy, I started learning the fundamentals of hazop study, risk assessment , asset integrity check &quantitative risk analysis etc.

In India,in the absence of structured risk regulations, the process safety risk assessment is left to
individual company's own approach. Almost all manufacturing set-up and corresponding  detailed engineering consultants follow only Hazid and Hazop Study approach  and feel satisfied that they have rightly assessed the involved probable risks. They are not taking that forward to develop Risk Matrix or LOPA analysis! That reflects that they are not fully covering the SIS/SIL study and see the value of various mitigation measures implementation to attain ALARP level. As we all know safety has no limit, but how much we should address to have a safe & sustained operation of our installation?

As Reliance has grown to international status, the management has engaged  M/S Du Pont  and asked their experts to carry out various Systems&Process standards  for safe implementation, commissioning & sustained operation of the existing plants and new upcoming installations across the country.

As qualitative assessment alone are not the best mechanism for evaluating high consequence, low frequency incident events, QRA (Quantitative Risk Assessment) feature cropped-in to prevent occupational risks.   Reliance management viewed these requirement as an absolute necessity and formed two groups under the leadership of Mr  V V Surya Rao, who himself is a veteran in Safety. He had his industrial career beginning with M/S Shell and later operated as CEO of NOCIL, the first
petrochemical plant of India producing Ethylene & Propylene in 1960 s. He formulated  OMS-Operational Management System and S&OR- Safety&Operational Risks. That is the set-up,who are the custodians for Safety across Reliance manufacturing locations, exploration, cross-country pipelines & oil terminals/retail outlets.

The resultant benefits are:
As we have the world's largest hydrocarbon processing installation at Jamnagar and big petrochemical complex at Hazira, Dahej,Vadodhra & Nagothane, oil &gas exploration at Kakinada, effective risk management ensures:
Health,safety&well being of employees and surrounding population
Financial performance of the business protected
Reputation of the company & Social status enhancement reflecting in the eyes of regulators & share
holder confidence .
                                                                                                             Contd.........
Key  Aspects :-Reputation, Responsible

P 102 J3 Execution RPMG

 P 102

J3 Execution

Since I did not have any direct responsibility in project execution in J3, my role became more of auditor. As I did have ample free time, my job became multi-various instead of concentrating in one front.At the same time, since we had too many DECs to engineer the various plants under J3, a close coordination and constant check was needed on all of them.

In between there cropped up the need for PTA trucks to transfer PTA from Hazira to Silvaasa Polyester plant. As we had the services of PRS then in 2012,NirajAmbani requested him to continue.
Since PTA is powdery material, it called for top loading from chute hopper. There were no such vehicle in the market and Hazira did not have any chute hopper arrangement. There was another issue of timing! From the overall planning schedule,Silvaasa was supposed to receive PTA from DMD PTA plant 5&6 only , but they were getting delayed,whereas Silvaasa was getting ready for start-up.
Moreover, in the original design of Silvaasa , the concerned DEC  did not address the issue of PTA receipt from tilting semi trailer! People thought that they can get away with containers carrying filled one tonne bags. No one has forecast the need of quantity of one tonne bags and its transportation from Hazira to Silvaasa and unloading in silos.All these ended in a mess and myself and PRS had tough time in convincing the involved stake-holders that these call for specially designed vehicle with top loading and bottom discharge with tilt of container storage. Unfortunately this task did not come up at all and PRS died in Dec 2012! The project got wound up!

In parallel, there was major change in Reliance style of project execution. That was the time the Business Transformation Process was on  and in J3, company removed the sentimentality for a core
Project Management Consultant need and formed an internal PMT team to manage. Moreover, to utilize the advancement of software technology, every DEC was given a virtual B/L Co-ordinate to engineer and manage. That made a complete chaos, as nobody was responsible for ensuring proper
tie-ins at B/L co-ordinates! It took a long time to realize this error and lastly, they engaged M/S Bechtel to ensure these tie-in checks between all the plants in old refinery areas and in C2 complex; since M/S Fluor was overall responsible for entire Gasification complex- both in DTA and SEZ, they were asked to validate the same between themselves, M/S Linde ,Aker and other package vendors.

Reliance had big dream to practice M/S Fluor based Safety Practices in future plants at JMD and wanted to source entire set of their Standards and Specifications. When it came for HSE particularly
Safety and Safe Practices, we were asked to compare the existing Du Pont developed standards with that of Fluor. Myself and core CHSEE team got involved and studied each and every document given to us for scrutiny. Also M/S Fluor sponsored Mr Jani to review all our in-house prepared Loss Prevention Documentation (developed based on J1/J2 Bechtel issued documentation & referring updated codes).  I can proudly state that Mr Jani picked up some useful input data  to incorporate in their existing documentation. Regarding the overall study on Fluor Vs Du Pont based standards developed, less debated , it is better. Finally Reliance did not opt for any of Fluor's HSE Practices documentation at all.
                                                                                                                       contd......
Key Aspects :- Conviction, Incident analysis, Planning, Reputation, Technical issue, Transfer

P 101 35KL tanker contd.

P  101

35 KL tanker contd.

As mentioned in last post, since the fabrication of bottom loading facility was new in India, we had several issues with OPW supplied items/arrangement. Let us look at them as case history.
1. Vapor emission from tanker during loading: source was PVRV  and vapor dump valve not fully closing
2.  PVRV  O-ring and API adopter O-ring MOC ?
3. Improper switch setting of Air interlock valve
4. Overfill sensor failure
5.  Mating of vapor arm coupler with  vapor arm adopter of tank was a major issue !

There were other issues at Loading bay also  !
1. Liquid arm closure was not leak tight.
2.Thread worn out problem in coupling joints
3. Vapor coming out from vapor coupler joints.

All these issues were nightmare to PRS and me as we were from hydrocarbon processing industry by experience whereas all others could not realize the sensitivity of the situation. We both took up the issue  with Mr Somasundaram , VP of OPW HQ and ensured replacement/rectification of all these issues.  Here one particular point needs special mention. As far as MOC of O-rings were concerned, initially OPW did not realize that Viton will not withstand MTBE vapors ! Though the order spec. was particular to opt Buna seal, they failed to realize this fact; but once it came as an issue, they
specifically manufactured and replaced all the seals.

When everything was resolved, the resultant Benefits of these new 35KL  New generation Articulate trucks were:
a) Bottom loading facility ensure safe filling, less vapor loss, no static charge, clean environment from pollution angle
b)Vapor recovery system provision enhances safety
c) Overfill protection
d) Since all operating valves are pneumatically controlled, operation is efficient &safe
e) Emergency shutdown push button assures  safety while loading as well as unloading in truck.
f) Pneumatic operation of all valves assure better Reliability.

End Result    Reliance got  robust 35 Kl Bottom loading vehicles for transporting MTBE.
But unfortunately 3 of the stalwarts of the core team are not with us today to see the trucks operational.
M/S PRS,Viswanath rao, and Ilangovan died  natural death but at very young age. Our condolences in their Memoirs.

KeyAspects:- Communication, Critical challenge, Incident analysis, Responsible, Technical issue

P 100 35KL MTBE Vehicle Execution

P 100

35KL MTBE  Vehicle Execution

With open mind discussions by the identified task force, it was decided that we will go for semi-trailer using Tata  LPS 4923 TC BS III. M/S Tata as main contractor have given turn key responsibility to NSRR for design/sourcing of components including bottom loading special devices from M/SOPW- Dover Corp./fabrication /seeking final approval from PESO and roll out all the 35 vehicles in flat 4 months. PRS took the responsibility of fundamental as well as detailed design checks for the components as well as assembly. I took the responsibility for all concerned statutory clearances at each stage both from RTO and PESO Nagpur/Baroda office.
Sh Mahesh , MD of NSSR got carried out the load arrangement design/Center of gravity calculations etc. and got  reviewed by VJTI (Mumbai) , a statutory requirement for type test.

Mr Ilangovan used his power and ensured that Tata factory Jamshedpur deliver first 22 chasis in record time  of 22 days from the date of order. Mahesh used his resources and ensured the requisite plate material and structural members are made available immediately.

Then came the catch! As no fabrication shop in India has handled such a large simultaneous requirement, the shop front and man power got overawed with the situation. Typical of AR,
I took the management control in the shop and drove the work like a project driven.  Luckily, Mahesh has deployed his son Sh Ajay, a fresh engineering graduate then to carry out the detailed planning and deploy the  respective work men with back ground experience. Also, with his vision, he ensured to clear the bays for work progress in sequence.  These took about 6 weeks and the overall schedule was slipping. Added to injury, there were mess in two fronts from the sub suppliers- one was from York, a Tata group company itself for ABS system with brake assembly and the other was  the component quality of OPW-Dover supplied items. The specification called for Approved ABS with brake assembly and all bottom loading components including valves etc. to meet BVLR  Tank Truck as per API RP 1004.

When it came to York, their stores at Pune  had only 4 sets against the requirement of 35. When inquired they responded saying the main component has to be imported from Singapore and it may take more than 3 months time. As we were getting panicky over the situation, PRS found a resolution. He identified that TVS group in Chennai have equivalent model of ABS with brake assembly manufactured under brand name WAPCOS and it can serve the purpose. The technical experts from Tatas, PRS and Mahesh evaluated and interacted with that party to freeze that order.
When it came to OPW- Dover,issue was different! Though they supplied the components in time, the finish and quality / certification were in mess. Mr Ashish was helpless and tried his best  to shield his company's reputation only. The component  especially valve internal machining were coarse and they were not aligning in its position when assembled. As first step, we visited their factory at Poonamalle, in outskirts of Chennai to explore some solution but could not! That made me& PRS to escalate the matter to their HQ at Chicago.  Their VP,Mr Somasundaram understood the entire issue and started taking control.He has deployed personnel from Singapore and USA to look into the issues and sort out.                                                                                                                    Contd.......

Key Aspects :-  Codes& Standard,  Critical challenge,  Incident analysis, Initiative, Responsible,
Technical issue, 

P 99 RPMG Operations

P  99


RPMG Operations

 The entire project execution came under RPMG and the original core discipline heads were asked to only oversee the project progress.  That made me more relaxed and available for any special assignments. That was the time MTBE project was going on at Hazira and they were looking for specially designed transport vehicle for transferring the product to Kandla port for export. As MTBE being a class A product having pungent vapor, they wanted to opt for bottom loading type of vehicle.
Sh Niraj Ambani, who was in-charge for logistics requested me to explore special permission from PESO, the statutory authorities. It was mere coincidence that the government was also exploring to opt for larger capacity of vehicle for road transport movement for liquid hydrocarbon products.

Since I had excellent rapport with the PESO department, I took up the matter directly with CCE and explained the case to him. As he himself was a chemical engineer, he could visualize the specific requirement  but there was no precedence available for bottom loading type vehicles in India. So he put a precondition stating that this special vehicle has to be fabricated directly by the bottom loading component supplier only and not by anybody else.That was a fix since none of the supplier had any experience in complete design and fabrication aspect of hydrocarbon transport vehicle. As usual I discussed the issues with CCE and convinced him that we will go with only reputed fabricator but take the bottom loading component supplier in the loop during design stage . We sent words to many reputed fabricators as well as to chassis suppliers. Parties like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland,Eicher  participated in technical discussions. In parallel, myself and Niraj worked with the government through our Delhi office to expedite the gazette release for 35 KT capacity transport vehicle.
During the bid stage, for one of the parties M/S NS Rama Rao Body builders , since their MD was not present in India, they have deputed their specialist consultant from Navi Mumbai to represent them and attend.  It so happened that it was Mr PR Srinivasan   ex- HPCL/BPCL, who had the experience of building one bottom loading arrangement vehicle abroad. That came as blessing in disguise for all.  Immediately it was decided that PRS shall be engaged by Reliance as  technical consultant and the entire project execution shall be executed under his supervision.
Then came another surprise! Mr Ilangovan of Tata Motors, who were called for only chassis supply, proposed  'why not we consider these as 'package deal' i.e the chassis supplier takes the total responsibility of sourcing all the requisite components from all approved sub-supplier, of course keeping Reliance technical team completely in the loop and fabricate all the vehicles by a reputed/ PESO  approved fabricator. Initially we thought Tata may look for high overheads as handling charge and overall responsibility! But surprisingly, they were looking for only Rs 40,000/- for a complete vehicle costing Rs 1.4 Crores each.Their idea was to productize  the same.
So it was win-win situation for all. A team consisting of PRS/Ilangovan/ Mahesh of NSRR/ Viswanatha Rao of logistics-Reliance/AR  was formed and order was placed on M/S Tata Motors for 35 vehicles. For bottom loading components , under recommendation of Reliance/PRS, Tata have placed order on M/S Dover India (subsidiary of Dover Corp. Chicago) and Sh Ashish Moghe was the responsible manager from that firm.  Regarding project execution, we shall address in next ......
                                                                                                                 Contd.....
Key Aspects:- Incident analysis,  Technical issue,  Team building, Transfer

P 98 Post JERP &J3

P  98

POST JERP &J3

On handing over the charge to Sh Yanamandra , the entire OSBL team project and engineering
members were transferred to work under him  and I have been asked to concentrate exclusively on HSE &LP engineering of J3 and other projects at all manufacturing locations. For that I was asked to develop an organisation chart and look for people both internal and from market across the globe.

In the beginning I was looking exclusively for people with chemical engineering and instrument engineering qualification and experience back ground. I was not getting expected result! Then I relaxed and started looking for people with some back ground on HSE & LP  Engineering. I was lucky to get some hands both internal and external; but people were not keen to continue in this discipline for several reasons. One was, that in those days Reliance had the system of 6 full day working  which people from middle East were feeling uncomfortable and left.The second was , the youngsters were afraid about their career growth by taking this discipline. But luckily I did get two solid hands who stood with me  in the basic design stages of J3.

They are Sh Ananda Veluri, a post graduate civil engineer with Environment as special subject(a returnee from middle East) and Ms Leena Thomas, a chemical engineer with plant operations and HSE experience from RIL, Vadodra/Hazira. They were my real asset in establishing this robust department in HSE&LP engineering at Reliance. Though the subject of fire fighting engineering  in a chemical plant or complex was new to them, they got involved fully and learnt the subject by interfacing with Sh Dilip Koimattur of Techno Fire  & Jamnagar complex fire fighting department personnel. So my job became easy ! They not only grasped the subject very fast  but also managed review of the engineering deliverable posted by respective engineering consultant of J3. There were about a dozen DECs whose drawings were getting uploaded every day and they were reviewed not only by them but also by Dilip/ Umesh/Aravind Induchoodan/ Tarakeshwar Chattopadhyay and cleared in a week to 10 days flat. Wherever there was a dispute/difference in understanding between DEC engineer and RIL side, they used to organize conference calls or make visit as team and sort out immediately.
In the bargain, my work pressure got lessened and the entire team including JMD Fire team picked up the nuances of design and what to look for in the drawings to ensure robust design adhering to the set statute and design basis/specifications. So it was WIN WIN situation for all including the DECs.
At that time, for materials management of LP items, I got Sh Snehanshu Chaudhary, a post graduate engineer from USA, but not having any working plant experience. Somehow with his services I had to manage the compilation of material indents for ordering, which I was not fully satisfied.
Things were happening but not to my entire satisfaction for various reasons not attributable to him alone.

That was the time , several  changes took place and I had some additional  emergency tasks to be addressed immediately, which I shall cover  in next .
                                                                                                                             Contd....

Key Aspects :- Delegation,  Team building, Training

P 97 Post JERP

P  97

Post JERP

During the audit, the interface between members of both the teams were excellent and they had good cooperation from the respective complex fire chiefs & operations. The audit reports were presented to company's Apex management. Report of the audit observations were appreciated  and many of them have been implemented in respective plant areas. The whole exercise took about 6 months time to cover DMD/ HMD / VMD / NMD / PMD.

So by March 2011, I became free to engage with conceptualization of J3 OSBL.  A full battalion of manpower was  available under my disposal. As part of my newly entrusted responsibility by SM, I focused  on developing the draft  Loss Prevention Design Basis and other related detailed specifications  utilizing OSBL manpower. Here it is very important to mention the role of Sh Ranjit Sikdar for his versatality by virtue of his erstwhile BPCL experience and audit participation contributed excellent deliverable. He was an asset  in drafting the Basic Fire water Design basis Document  LP-DBD-001. Of course I played the back ground expertise by virtue of my ground experience in  JMD J1 &J2. Over&above I fully took the services&help of JMD-Fire Services team
to review/ comment/edit/ add so that complete approved documentation is in place. The end result was a fully comprehensive system basis was in place  at the start of J3. Rather , the end users were so happy that they could visualize  what they will get.

When it camS to plot plan development for J3, except for PX IV, there were jig-saw puzzle in locating the cracker +downstream units  Vs Gasification complex-DTA as well as SEZ ! The reasons being the number of gasifiers in each complex and the plot requirement asked by M/S Technip for main cracker unit. Moreover,  typical of Reliance, the management went on increasing the capacity of cracker plant  as well as added more number of gasifiers both in DTA and SEZ. so the entire plot orientation got altered from the original conception.  Moreover, neither M/S Fluor nor Reliance  had an iota  of idea about sensitivity regarding Syn.gas  toxicity to start with. They did not visualize the magnitude of toxicity  and considered it more safe from the hazardous angle. Only during the late stage of engineering completion, the awareness and sensitivity  factors realization crept in.  Lucky that since Reliance management gives due importance to safety, all these factors are getting addressed one by one  and getting implemented.

Sometime in third quarter of 2011, the management  thought it is better that I should hand over the OSBL Project execution responsibility to my able deputy Sh Yanamandra , as recognition for his work and rise in ladder.
                                                                                                         Contd....

Key Aspects :-  Delegation, Incident analysis,  Proactive approach, Recognition, Technical issue,
Team building, 

P 96 Post JERP

P  96

Post JERP

All the statutory authorities accepted BIS Codes as the standard norms, which had a good amount of reasoning and logic to arrive at the fire water pumping capacity requirement for a large complex having several plants.

The current  law stipulates that in a complex catered by a fire water network, the pumping capacity requirement should be arrived at by considering two largest simultaneous demand plot areas @1 lpm /M2 with 50%standby pumping requirement  and the remnant pressure at the remotest area in that network should be at least 7 kg/cm2 g. For plot area measurement, the fire break condition of at least 15 M apply.

At that time in 2010, that gave me a big relief.Discussed that idea with Dilip Koimattur , TechnoFire director&ex-TAC officer and he concurred that idea instantly.Immediately I shared the same with M/S Kiran Shinde and Kirit Brahmabhatt. Both of them okay ed the same as long as the concerned statutory authority approve. That ensured that South plot of the main refinery beyond 9th street Southwards in DTA plot shall be serviced with fire water from original DTA fire water pump house 713. Immediately I asked M/S Bechtel/MEC / and TechnoFire to carry out the initial check of hydraulics assuming the network periphery will be of 42" diameter. To our good fortune, it was coming to about 8-8.2 Kg/cm2 g which relieved us completely. There I have to specifically mention the important contribution of Mr Anthony Mankodi of MEC. He suggested that the linear length of parallel headers from existing pump house to DTA Gasification Complex B/L being about 4 Kms each long, it is better to make provision for cross breeders in the underground headers going to gasification complex B/L. That idea was welcomed by one and all and implemented.

As the J3 project execution start was getting delayed, sometime in August 2010, SM asked me to carry out an audit of the Fire Prevention System of all Reliance manufacturing locations excepting Jamnagar. For carrying out that audit, I formed a core team  of members drawn from OSBL project group for fire water system/network and core instrumentation manpower for Fire&Gas system.
The OSBL team led by M/S Sriram and Madhu Narayanan took care of auditing existing fire water pumping, overall network both in offsite as well as respective plant ISBL, quantity of throw and reach of the hydrants and monitors all across. I personally looked into the respective plant /complex original design basis and available hydraulic analysis calculations of complex network.

The instrument team led by Mr.Upendra Joshi  took care of auditing Fire&Gas system as well as the deluge arrangement & the fire water pump start sequence logic etc.
                                                                                                                 Contd....

Key Aspects :-   Accountable, Codes& Standard, Conviction, Incident analysis,  Team building, Transfer

P 95 Post JERP

P  95

Post JERP

Having completed JERP in March 2009,all the project manpower were engaged in Project close out report &record the lessons learnt exercise.One of the important aspect that came out was'model build-up inter-discipline checks quality lacking,which resulted in good amount of clash during field execution' & absence of underground engineering(C 84) modelling.

During that period , in late 2009. SM instructed me to look into the possibility of developing & creating an exclusive HSE engineering department in projects.He specifically guided me to take inputs from Bechtel team- M/S Vi Patel/Steve Wiggins, who were fully involved in the infrastructure build up &overall O&U project execution of JERP. That task undertaking has changed my career direction.

More or less that was the time , J3 projects identification tasks were on. I along with  Yanamandra  were working out the overall OSBL  requirement for the new upcoming projects. During that phase, in early 2010, a bright idea struck me  regarding utilization of DTA refinery fire water pumping capacity for the plants that come south of the old refinery in the available land up to Kanalus railway siding.

Here it calls for some explanation about the back ground. When we executed the original DTA refinery in second half of '90 s, for the fire water system approval,TAC, a statutory body under insurance were the controlling authority. They had a peculiar requirement for arriving at the overall fire water pumping requirement for an industrial complex. Irrespective of number of plants  and well laid plant layout with large inter-distances, it called for fire water pumping capacity equivalent to the required rate for the sum of equivalent hydrants all across complex, not considering any logic or analysis. It was purely an arithmetic calculation and we ended up in putting 16 X 1000 M3 /Hr pumping ! Rather that situation was sarcastically criticized by international re-insurers as well as by Shell Global Solutions, who assist Reliance in reviewing all safety matters.

The curse may be that , in those times, no authority in power would have envisaged such a large complicated industrial complex coming up in India. That forced us to go for 16 X 1000 M3/Hr fire water pumping capacity catering to all plants in DTA refinery. Tank farm had its own dedicated pumping system with pond.  As luck would have it, during the execution of JERP, in 2008 TAC got wound up and this responsibility has been shifted to PESO/OISD ( though not a statutory body but a society formulated by Petroleum ministry).
                                                                                                          Contd......

KeyAspects :-  Faith, Incident analysis, Initiative, Recognition, Responsible, Technical issue, Transfer

P 94 JERP Execution

P  94


JERP Execution

So far we have been seeing only technical and safety aspects of project execution in JERP. Now I am wishing to share certain human aspects and relations built which really benefited overall.

As I mentioned earlier, somehow the wavelength between me and Steve Wiggins/ Mike Beech/Bob Green matched so much that whatever I wished in terms of technical definition, schedule expediting, additional deliverable to clarify the misgivings etc. were obliged without any fuss. Of course Dilip Patel at Becrel Mumbai was completely backing me. My handling of contacts with various turn key vendors were really appreciated by the Management and Project Directorate. Mr Rajiv Gaikwad  as Project engineer from Becrel stood behind me as solid support.

Here I have to particularly mention how much I am lucky! In the beginning of 2007, when the above ground rack piping was about to pick up, my friend PBM Rao, who retired from Reliance phoned stating that Yanamandra has returned to India and looking for  a job. Without thinking a bit I responded to him stating 'ask Yanamandra to come and join'; in parallel  I phoned Sanjay Mashruwala
that I am taking Yanamandra and please request HR to regularize his  appointment immediately.
In Reliance , things used to move in flash and Yanamandra joined me next week.
Having worked with Yanamandra during Hazira project days, I knew his capacity and capabilities in piping execution. So I handed over the charge completely and forgotten the day today happenings on that front. Since Yanamandar knew Reliance style of operations, he earned the confidence of top construction management so that any drawing revisions can be routed with conviction . As always OSBL being the victim for any alterations at ISBL B/L , he could sell the changes/revisions  to Mr Dawda and seek his approval quickly. In that way he efficiently managed the OSBL area construction manager and expedited the job. He used  to take my help only for getting additional piping materials , which I used to take up with V Ganesh/Pallamraju and organize.

But in spite of these , I had two bitter incidents which almost spoiled my peace of mind.
One was ,when Becrel issued IFC drawing for utility air compressor shelter with structural column inter-distance with only 4Meters apart. When I noticed that grave error,I reacted typical of AR and told the concerned manager that he has to stop that deliverable issue as it is  and ensure undertaking review and revise. He had the audacity to state that he is from Bechtel and cannot be instructed by client project manager. That shook me up and I shouted on him. He complained the same to his boss who in turn has reported to Bechtel Project Directorate at London. They have issued complaint memo against me  seeking my removal from the project. When my management and Steve heard that, they laughed and rebutted to Bechtel. That made  Bechtel's deputy project director to realize their folly and he sought his apology to me and close.

Second was Bechtel's engineering manager at Becrel supporting the cause of ETP Indian contractor !
He was not understanding the full issue but tried to create internal politics.  Luckily my assistant NK Gupta took control then on and managed to complete the task. The management took the call for direct payment to sub vendors and got over the situation so that the main contractor  do not siphon off the payments without disbursing to their sub-contractors.

Then came out the as-built and close out.  Somehow most of the construction manpower do not realize the importance of making the as-built mark-ups and that deficiency is very much prevalent.

Key Aspects :- Accountable, Attitude,  Conviction,  Faith, Human relations, Incident analysis,
Planning, Recognition, Reputation, Ups&down 

P 93 JERP Execution

P  93


JERP Execution-Chartered Engineer audit &other experience

To ensure that everyone follow the defined design basis and it meet all the necessary/mandatory guidelines, he undertook a trip to UK to interact/interface with Bechtel LP team along with TechnoFire specialists Praful and Dilip Koimattur. Of course I was representing the client.
There were debates whether we can get away with OISD stipulation of 3 lpm/M2 for atmospheric storage tanks, what should be the inter-distance between one hydrant point to the next in OSBL and in ISBL area, what should be the criteria for arriving at pumping capacity, islanding valve arrangement in nodes etc. He even reviewed Dave Conolly's preliminary conceptual network layout
&endorsed his approach.

There after he has periodically undertaken field check visits to Jamnagar. Though in overall he was satisfied with engineering and field execution, he had a few specific observations where he insisted that unless and until they were rectified he cannot sign off  his approval. I am listing here only a few :

1) MVWS piping arrangement for auto ignition temperature  rated pumps in crude units
2) Either make provision of roof shelter for the sweet water pumping system for fire water first fill in MTF network or do not declare them as fire water pumps and take credit for fire water pumping capacity augmentation.  As we had sufficient margin with the original DTA pumping arrangement itself, we opted the choice of not taking augmentation credit.
3) Provision of riser pipe isolation valve at 1m from grade level
4) Rectification of support for HVWS piping in fin fan coolers all across JERP.
5) His insistence on provision of riser pipe with hydrants at top platform of deaerators- his argument being there are lighting cables going on top and they have to be protected.  Though the rest of the team was not convinced with his logic, there was no alternative but to implement!
6) Location selection of periphery monitors in compressor shelters.
7) Interface logic check between Honeywell supplied F&G system with deluge actuation in field as well as FM200 system in PIBs. He insisted to check the actuation of MVWS in some areas to check the throw pattern.

Having seen all about fire water systems, let me touch about my dual role as primarily instrument engineer by qualification and experience added with the responsibility of safety engineering implementation. As OSBl project manager, the FW network, its pumping system and hydraulics analysis check responsibility rested with me. But when it came to Fire &Gas system, the functional responsibility was with the instrument department but the system responsibility fell on me . It was because, I was identified as safety manager in projects  and the ultimate F&G panel location placement in fire station ,  regular operation and monitoring responsibility came to fire department.
So I became internal consultant to process/instrument engineering for identification/selection of type of F&G device for various set of pumps depending on service /compressors/MCP etc.

Other than  Loss Prevention and HSE, I had several sundry roles as OSBL project manager. They are the tasks like Natural gas receipt facility interface with Gujarat State NG Pipeline Ltd, B/L Custody Transfer metering systems for export and internal transfer metering etc. So in all these cases, more than technical aspects, my responsibility enhanced with transfer logistics, identifying the mandatory customs levy,  convincing custom authorities, selection of type of custody transfer metering- coriallis type for  custody transfer for export and positive displacement turbine type for B/L transfer, routing them internally so that we do not violate DTA and SEZ line of control etc.
                                                                                                      Contd.....

Key Aspects :-  Accountable, Codes&Standard, Critical challenge, Incident analysis,
Multi discipline exposure, Responsible,Technical issue, 

P 92 JERP Execution

 P  92

JERP Execution  Fire Water System &Safety features

Though we had engineered robust fire water system , during plant commissioning trials  we faced certain tricky situations.  In spite of having sufficient hydrant points and monitors in ISBL, we faced shortage of water throw quantity during emergency or accessibility restrictions. To find resolution for those challenges, Dilip Patel of Bechtel, me combined with JMD Fire leads took  field rounds  and identified the dark spots where suitable provisions have to be made and how portable trolley arrangement with sufficient take-offs for hydrant/monitor point provisions can be made.
That resulted in development of MHO (Multiple hydrant off take ) with X'Mas tree arrangement, portable trolley with different take-off hydrants/monitors etc. These became handy when there was freak fire incident in Coker plant commissioning trials.

But still there was a major challenge when it came to addressing the coke drum structure fire protection. There were several suggestions/options and each had its own limitations! One group suggested to opt for water spray system but that was ruled out from the angle of accessibility of nozzles for maintenance and nozzle choke due to coke dust. Another group came out placing several ground monitors; that was ruled out from emergency operability angle and throw reach to 55M height. There came Larry King with an ideal resolution. He proposed to try ROOMS with remote joystick arrangement.ROOMS is nothing but an oscillating monitor mounted at 20M high, which can be adjusted for spray range/direction and angle of throw etc. by a joystick placed at remote safe area.
Considering 110X55X55M coke drum platform we have gone for 6 numbers ROOMS strategically placed on either side of the structure. That solved our major worry.

Rim Seal Fire protection for large diameter floating roof tanks :
Though in DTA we had incorporated CHUBB make poly-urethene tubed rim seal fire protection system for all large diameter floating roof tanks, unfortunately that party went out of business and we had an issue. Somehow Praful got reference from Shell Scotland about  a party named BLAZE and that was chosen. Instead of conventional sensor tubing, it had a balancing arm arrangement to sense and release the foam for fighting the rim seal fire. But it never worked at all  and it was major blow.
Luckily that was the time the statutory authorities issued the gazette to relinquish its mandatory requirement. So we escaped then.  But it is different story now,that OISD incorporated them back with specific type and made to be incorporated  retrospectively even for small diameter tanks storing Class'A' liquid products.

One should remember and thank (Late) S Narayana for his acumen to recommend to opt M/S Rosenbauer for all fire fighting vehicles in JERP. The back ground may be that he has experienced major difficulty in financing the Indian party during DTA and quality control. But his decision was blessing in disguise.

Charted Engineer Audit

Though there is no statutory obligation to carry out pre-commissioning audit of fire fighting system for a hydrocarbon processing complex, following NFPA guidelines( Jurisdiction of Authority) Reliance/TechnoFire made it as standard practice to conduct Chartered Engineer Audit for all fire fighting systems. Mr TRA Krishnan, a chartered engineer by Registration is usually contracted to carry out the audit at engineering stage in DEC office and later to undertake field inspection as well as conduct spot trials of installation. Mr Krishnan being a thorough professional with repute, will go deep into design aspects  and question the DEC/Bechtel/TechnoFire/Reliance (AR) for even minor discrepancies. Let me share some of my personal experience in his audit of JERP.
                                                                                                         Contd....

KeyAspects :- Attitude, Conviction, Incident analysis, Initiative, Innovative, Technical issue, Team building 

P 91 JERP Execution

P  91

JERP Execution- Fire water System &safety Features

Having seen about the OSBL &ISBL Network, let us see the specific specials what we have incorporated in JERP .  Having experienced several difficulties in DTA with respect to throw height, accessibility,  throw quantity requirement, distribution in demand area, safety of hydrant point in heavy traffic/crane  movement spot etc. Bechtel/TechnoFire/Reliance went on configuring several new developments and succeeded to overcome those hurdles.  Some of them are explained here:

Our  senior construction manager Charles D'Souza came up with a fantastic improvisation of protecting the hydrant point from being damaged by crane movement in plant ISBL area. He suggested to add an additional spool below grade and place the hydrant point in built concrete pit.
His suggestion was to construct the  hydrant take-off point in that pit but defer erecting the spool as well as the hydrant point until all the heavy crane movement completion in that area. To allow free movement of crane, he got that pit filled with sand and put a concrete slab cover. Once the heavy equipment erection and crane movement was over, he arranged to clean the sand from the pit and fixed the spool and hydrant point and carried out service test for testing the integrity. His idea was revelation to all concerned in the industry.

With standard ground based monitor placed about 20M apart from the target object, when the network operating pressure at that point was  about 9-9,5 kg/cm2g, the discharge throw height reach was only about 35M height, whereas in refinery the tall columns are about 45/72M and some are even nearing 90M also. This handicap was highlighted by JMD fire team during the engineering stage; Reliance projects and Bechtel took that as a challenge  and searched for suitable solution in the market. One party  M/S Stang claimed to have hi-rise monitor that too mounted at grade level. Both Bechtel and Reliance believed their data sheet and committed an order for 50 numbers on that party.
But good sense prevailed on us and JMD fire team insisted to have a field sample trial for testing its performance. The party has agreed to carry out the same and asked Reliance/Bechtel to develop test rig with inflow orifice, inline flow meter and pressure gauge etc. with scaffolding arrangement . The whole thing was engineered and developed fully; the party's MD with specialist consultant turned up with two test pieces of monitors. The full battalion  of JMD Fire team, Reliance OSBL project members including me, Technofire represented by  Praful and Dilip Koimattur, Dilip Patel of Bechtel, M/S Stang' s representatives assembled at 3PM to conduct the field trial test. We simulated the throw quantity and requisite pressure at nozzle throat to test the samples; but to our utter surprise the throw reach height was not even crossing 18M elevation, when an adjacent fixed ground monitor of another make was giving at least 34M! the party tried to change another nozzle and adjusted its throw alignment etc. but could not improve it at all. The whole exercise went on until night 2AM and then we gave up. The party MD could not face us , he went away without telling anybody and later wrote to cancel the order. We were back to square one!

To my luck, that was the time Mr Larry King of M/S TFT was interacting with me and JMD fire team to promote their monitors for JMD. When I personally discussed with him about the possibility of utilizing their standard monitor mounted at high elevation, he also jumped with joy and agreed to carry out field trials.  Then came the challenge about mounting them at high elevation but at the same time to keep the safe distance of 20M away from target object. We took up with structural and piping group of Jamnagar engineering( Anil Chaudhary )&NR Prakash . They came out with two propositions-1) to design self standing tower of 13.5M high&mount the monitor on top, 2) strategically locate the monitor in already available structural platform in rack area and in both cases
route the riser pipe with an isolation valve at 1M from grade level. These were welcomed by one and all and the field trial was a roaring success. The only limitation is that the monitor focus is fixed and one has to climb through monkey ladder to adjust/change its direction. But that handicap was acceptable to the end user  and that has become Reliance standard for Hi-Rise monitor arrangement.


KeyAspects:-   Communication, Critical challenge, Faith, Incident analysis, Initiative, Innovative,
Multi discipline exposure, Technical issue

P 90 JERP Execution

P  90


JERP Execution-Fire water System and Safety features

Network drain arrangement and valves

As JERP  underground fire water network was about 300Kms in overall length, we realized the need for drain valve provisions at strategic locations in overall OSBL network. That became essential since the network is always filled with water under 10.5 kg/cm2g pressure, that too stagnant water is prone to develop bacteria , bad odor and lead to corrosion of header. There came the controversy!
The end user-JMD Fire department marked about 250 number of points in the overall network drawing and gave it to projects for engineering and incorporation. But the site construction management questioned its need that too for this much quantity of drain take-offs. As usual I played the role of mediator and concluded to opt for about 120 points.Took the responsibility of field marking the strategic requirements and got it engineered by Becrel. The end result, all members got satisfied.

Cathodic Protection and Corro-Coat application.
 We did not think the absolute necessity of  cathodic protection of DTA underground fire water network,  thinking  that three layer wrapping and coating will take care of &eliminate underground pipe wall corrosion. But towards the end of DTA project stage we observed some deterioration of headers. When we consulted Raju Narayanan for his expert advice, he recommended its incorporation both for the old DTA systems as well as for new JERP headers. Rather he took the responsibility of engineering the same and we got it executed by M/S Corrosion Controls Ltd.
More or less, that was the time M/S Kirloskar Brothers came out with Corrosion-Coat application, an upgraded substitute for conventional coal tar coating and wrapping. Reliance tried with a sample and got convinced about its excellent properties. Since then that has become Reliance Standards and made sure that KBL opened a permanent application shop within our site premises.

Having addressed the overall OSBL FW Network system, let us look into the specifics what we faced in interface between OSBL and respective ISBL headers. As engineering for various ISBL were distributed across various Bechtel offices globally, interface issue was challenging! That was very high when it came to Coker plant since that engineering was under responsibility of M/S Foster Wheeler Houston whereas OSBL was engineered at London/Mumbai offices.

Here one specific aspect has to be highlighted! As the OSBL and ISBL Fire water network and internal distribution  were engineered in different geographical location offices, we ended in having two independent network  with tie points ! That made us to end up with adjacent hydrant points and monitor points at 1 or2 M intervals, which I termed them as Laurel and Hardy. We could not remove/get rid off them because each party had its own logic and technical justification. But with involvement of Bechtel, TechnoFire specially Praful and Dilip Koimattur, the team envisaged to develop an overall integrated co-ordinates matched  complete JERP Network including OSBL and ISBL fire water network distribution. That task responsibility was undertaken by Mr Dilip Patel of Bechtel.With lot of constraints and without their own management support, Dilip took up that challenge and performed tremendously. Our ultimate customer-JMD Fire Department are extremely satisfied and enjoying the fruits of his labour.
                                                                                                                 Contd......

Key Aspects :-  Attitude, Critical challenge, Incident analysis, Lack of experience/exposure,
Leadership, Responsible, Technical issue, Team building

P 89 JERP Execution

P  89

JERP Execution- Fire water&Safety systems

As said, with my past exposure and technical contacts, I could effectively interface with Mr Steve Wiggins of Bechtel when it came to fire water systems engineering.  Steve being one of the experts in systems definition and conceptual basic engineering, we had an excellent understanding  in converting our thoughts and vision effectively.

When it came to meeting the disaster management requirement of having full back -up sourcing of fire water from DTA to SEZ, vice versa, though that aspect was restricted item from SEZ angle, we could get  away by taking up with the District Magistrate ( Chief Revenue Authority for the District ,at the same time Disaster management Chief for the District). So we could get royal tie-in with isolation valve put in closed condition during normal operation. But when it came to SEZ tank farm fire water network, there was no neighboring fire water source pond for back-up! There came Steve's brilliance ; he  came out with an idea of taking 20" pipe manifold with isolation valves taken from 66"/60" sea water intake lines for JERP. As these lines were passing adjacent to SEZ tank farm, the execution became easy and effective.  So in this case, since the tank under fire may require very large
quantity of fire water that too for extended period( maybe 2/3 days continuously) we decided to go with sea water as worst case emergency back-up.

Here I have to particularly mention Dave Conolly's name. Though on first look ,one may conclude that he is  disinterested man and may not contribute any value, he was the best asset for fire water engineering of JERP. All his pipe diameter selection for each node in JERP fire water network, both in refinery area and tank farm went through successfully in first pass itself. His first and only hydraulic check calculations were appreciated by one and all. He was one person who could assimilate all the IFs andBUTs of various applicable laws and meet all of them comprehensively.

Having seen about the overall fire water network integrity, let us go in detail about various pin pricks of JERP fire water system.
To start with, let me narrate the issue about network isolating  valves selection,  valve pits dimensions to suit the valve and distance piece, network drain valve qty in numbers and location , valve status position indicator etc.

Valve type selection: Considering overall cost aspect and space/operability, avoiding muck settling in valve body, project team opted to go with sandwich type butterfly valves from M/S L&T valves. But JMD site management and operations were bitter to accept selection of butterfly valves since they had miserable experience of using TYCO butterfly valves in DTA network, which never isolated the node what they wanted to isolate for maintenance. After long deliberations, project team convinced the end user to accept and go with L&T butterfly valves that too type tested for positive shut-off.

Typical of interface mismatch between piping and civil discipline when it came to internal piping configuration and the overall pit dimensions to accomodate the zig zag piping arrangement. Each engineering discipline was taking stand and it became project manager's responsibility to mediate and resolve.      
                                                                                                                 Contd......

Key Aspects :- Accountable, Incident analysis, Leadership, Multi discipline exposure,
Proactive approach, Technical issue, Team building

P 88 JERP Execution

P  88

JERP Execution

Having seen the packages, let us look at the challenges we faced in offsite ! Since JERP is placed back to back with that time existing refinery (DTA) and this being SEZ establishment, we had several restrictions in terms of routing the lines, exchange of media for intermediate processing, project capital equipment to reach its identified foundation location, custody transfer metering of fluids to go to marine etc.

Out of all these, main issue was to arrive at the pipe rack bridges elevation at main roads coming from Haul road alignment. Since the design office at London (OSBL) could not understand and appreciate the  transport hurdles. Route selection to reach that equipment final destination , equipment height, mode of transport , trailer width  with equipment placed on it etc., me along with Sh Deepak Gupta took over the responsibility.  Deepak being the OSBL Utility area construction manager and overall heavy equipment handling and erection in-charge at JMD, he had all the inputs  about the cranes to be deployed for equipment based on its weight/dimensions etc. and where the crane booms have to be mounted/ dismantled etc. So we along with his team members  studied/ analysed the routing for each equipment and its estimated time of arrival  and gave the inputs to Becrel( Bechtel- Reliance) engineering office at RCP.  Mr Jain, Civil Chief of Becrel effectively undertook the responsibility for checking the bridge elevation requirement, load distribution/transfer due to elevation change of piping etc.  Three of us jointly took the call, which are the bridges to be put on HOLD until that identified equipment reach site ,cross that alignment and which are the bridges can be executed by widening the road width on that area etc. I still remember the challenge we faced for raising the bridge bottom elevation to 13 M height, when the original pipe rack elevation was only 9M at J avenue entry. Especially in that alignment the rack had diversions and turning by 90 Deg. etc., this study became very crucial. Also we had real issue of bringing the last coke drum in F Avenue- road belonging to DTA but the equipment under SEZ. For this it took more time for us since we have to convince customs authorities but they fully cooperated once they understood the involved challenges in turning radius  of trailer/crane etc.  Here I would like to record , how important is that  the team should have open vision to pre-study these sort of challenges before designing the pipe rack bridges. By this we could achieve optimum elevation of rack bridges  and timed out the field construction to suit to equipment arrivals and foundation readiness.

As the complex size was becoming mega in size- having two refineries side by side that too one under DTA tariff and the other under SEZ( all produce have to be only exported), as offsite project group we faced innumerable hurdles. The major ones are roads, drains and fire water network.  Especially in fire water network, we had peculiar challenge! The rules called for exclusive independent network for SEZ refinery but under Disaster management criteria, it should have fall back from the neighboring network. Since I was the member-secretary of rules amendment committee under PESO , I could visualize escape route and implemented a way-out.
                                                                                                                                      Contd....

Key Aspects :-  Accountable, Communication, Critical challenge, Incident analysis, Leadership,
Responsible, Technical issue, Team building

P 87 JERP Execution

P  87

JERP Execution
Having addressed the CTs and N2 package, let us look at the mega ETP execution ! Having faced some trouble in DTA ETP operations, Bechtel/Reliance approached the issue with due care.
As first step, we ensured that a pre-treatment facility is incorporated for handling Desalter waste having phenol  in crude units before they were routed to main ETP. In ETP itself, with technology advancement we incorporated primary/secondary/ tertiary treatment. Considering enough safety margin the design was made for 4 X 500 M3/Hr. classifying HTDS and LTDS. Though the design specification was rugged, the commercial group made a mess during order commitment!In spite of the Project Director advising them not to go with X party from their experience and financial capability to handle such a large challenge, they went ahead in committing the order on that x party and made project management group to face the trouble during entire execution.

Reliance is always lucky that the technology partner for that X party was excellent , which facilitated to obtain state of art technology and equipment specifications.  But the Indian partner could not cope up with the project execution due to lack of technical manpower and financial trouble. Added to misery the engineer-in charge in Becrel ( a joint venture between Reliance and Bechtel) to take care of indigenous operations of the project  created group politics within the project management  and things went out of control.That forced Reliance Projects to take direct control of the project  and my able assistant Mr NK Gupta and his team started directly expediting the sub-ordered items and spool fabrication shop at far off places. Then came the payment issue as the main Indian partner did not have funds to remit payments and the delivery from fabrication shop/s were  getting delayed.  That forced us to make direct payments to suppliers  and accounting became a question mark! Neither Reliance commercial nor the main Indian party were coming to our rescue. Luckily , since the management was keen on timely completion of the project , they condoned and helped us; rather they appreciated our initiatives to directly take over the responsibilities and ensured timely completion.

Overall since we introduced pre-treatment within desalter area in crude units and sourced a sound technology from M/S Waterleau, the performance of ETP was beyond our expectations and end user was very happy.

Next let us look at the challenges what we faced in main flare commissioning! When we were lining up the main flare header to the flare seal drum , which is prior to high rising stack/s , we were getting a very heavy hammering sound  and we became literally afraid! When it came to line integrity and weld  joint leak test, we carried out complete smoke test with soap water bubble test and got it 100% cleared. So there was never a doubt on that account. We took the matter with the Flare supplier M/S Zeeco , who gave seal drum design and data sheet to Bechtel/Reliance. In parallel we posed that issue to RTG-research cell for CFD study at JMD.  Fortunately, both the parties could track the defect in the interior nozzle  orientation of the seal drum and by inverting it we can get over the problem. Once that was rectified, touch wood we do not have recurrence of that problem and flare is on since then.
                                                                                                                                   Contd.....

Key Aspects :- Critical challenge, Incident analysis, Lack of experience/exposure, Responsible,
Technical issue,