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