1. Main Problem Identified: The refinery faced a short-term staffing gap from turnover and parental leave, leading to rising bad-actor recurrences, RCFA slippage, and PM compliance falling to 82%. A near-term turnaround and higher crude variability amplified the risk of repeat failures, increased maintenance cost, and lost barrels.

2. Approach: An embedded reliability engineer stabilized daily reliability workflows while building durable systems—standing up a weekly defect-elimination cadence, executing bad-actor reviews and RCFA (Apollo/5-Whys) on the top 20 events, and refreshing criticality rankings to refocus on assets. The workstream cleaned data and job plans, rationalized spares, optimized PM/CBM, and deployed KPI dashboards with a maintenance–operations governance rhythm.

3. End Results: In six months, PM compliance recovered to 96%, repeat failures on the top five bad actors dropped, and the >90-day corrective backlog fell, avoiding ~1,250 hours of unplanned downtime and ~$1.8MM in estimated loss-to-plant. The engagement delivered a hardened reliability playbook (standards, job plan library, RCFA templates, and a risk register) and trained two staff engineers to sustain gains after handover.

1. Main Problem Identified: A refinery unit faced a compressed 28-day outage with an overloaded worklist—column tray repairs, heater convection coil replacement, two new tie-ins, and more than 500 controlled flange breaks—creating high risk to the critical path and a leak-free startup. Historic delays were tied to late field RFIs, incomplete test packages, and inconsistent flange assembly practices that produced hot-start leaks.

2. Approach: A two-engineer on-site team provided 24/7 field engineering and QA/QC, owning RFI triage, weld mapping, and mechanical-integrity hold points while running daily SIMOPS and critical-path reviews with construction and operations. We built and issued pressure-test packages, executed controlled flange management per PCC-1 (torque/tension tables, gasket QA), coordinated NDE (MT/PT/UT/PAUT) and PWHT, and closed discovery work via rapid calcs and red-lined drawings for approval. Pre-startup, we led line walks and reinstatement (blind lists, LOTO clearance, torque verification, hydro/pneumatic tests) and delivered as-built P&IDs and turnover dossiers.

3. End Results: The unit achieved mechanical complete on day 26 and met the day-28 window, with zero recordable incidents and a leak-free startup across 100+ flange breaks. Critical-path tasks (heater coil swap and tower tray repairs) finished with at least 18 hours of float, and discovery work—19 additional welds and two nozzle repads—was absorbed without schedule slip or capital variance. The engagement delivered a reusable flange-management toolkit and updated test-package templates, reducing next-outage planning time and setting a standard for future turnarounds.

1. Main Problem Identified: High-pressure low-temperature separator built to ASME Section VIII, Division 2 required a repair plan and certification by a licensed professional engineer to ensure compliance with NBIC and ASME Section VIII-2.

2. Approach: Reviewed User’s Design Specification (UDS), Manufacturer’s Data Report (MDR), PWHT procedures, weld overlays, and insulation installation methods in accordance with NBIC NB-23 Part 3 rules. Developed the details of the repair plan in conjunction with client specifications and requirements.

3. End Results: The PE certified repair plan was provided to the client as complete and code-compliant; approved for implementation under National Board Inspection Code guidelines. Repairs were completed and the vessel was put back into service successfully.

1. Main Problem Identified: An in-service reactor vessel had widespread internal erosion, driving remaining wall below site minimums and making repair uneconomical ahead of a planned turnaround. A replacement was required, but prior procurements suffered from inconsistent vendor assumptions that led to change orders, nozzle misalignment, and schedule risk.

2. Approach: A comprehensive Mechanical Purchasing Specification (M-Spec) was authored to define design and construction requirements per ASME Section VIII, Division 1 with supplementary analysis where nozzle external loads warranted, including MAWP/MDMT, corrosion allowance, materials, impact testing, NDE, PWHT, coatings, and nameplate/U-stamp requirements. The deliverables included purchasing and bid requirements (schedule, pricing breakdown, exceptions register), a process/mechanical datasheet, conceptual GA drawings with nozzle map and allowable external loads, and a vendor data/ITP matrix with hold points, MDR content, shipping/lifting instructions, and preservation criteria.

3. End Results: The standardized package yielded three fully compliant “apples-to-apples” bids with fewer than five minor exceptions, eliminating scope ambiguity across vendors. The selected fabricator committed to an acceptable turnaround cycle and a cost reduction versus the last comparable buy, and IFC vendor drawings matched existing foundations and centerlines with minimal RFIs during installation. The new vessel entered service with leak-free performance and documentation complete for turnover.

1. Main Problem Identified: Inspection found crack-like indications on the outer shell near the head-to-shell weld of a recycle-service vessel; attempts to grind out the defects were unsuccessful, leaving several small flaws within locally thinned cavities. The evidence pointed to stress corrosion cracking driven by chlorides in insulation or fluoride exposure, and the weld discontinuity at the head junction meant a higher-rigor assessment was warranted.

2. Approach: A Level 3 fitness-for-service evaluation per API 579/ASME FFS-1 was performed, modeling the local thinned areas with a nonlinear limit-load analysis and developing a through-wall stress profile for crack assessment. Crack stability was checked using Part 9 Failure Assessment Diagram methods with conservative assumptions (infinite-length surface crack at measured depth, residual weld stresses), while Part 5 addressed the LTAs under design pressure loading with appropriate symmetry constraints.

3. End Results: Both the LTA and crack assessments were acceptable for continued service: the limit-load model showed margin and the crack assessment points plotted below the FAD acceptance curve. To manage the SCC mechanism and risk, recommendations included applying a removable external barrier, initiating close post-startup monitoring (about monthly initially), and recognizing that with 316SS toughness any progression would likely present as leakage rather than catastrophic fracture; longer-term run/replace decisions were tied to risk tolerance.

1. Main Problem Identified: Local thin areas were discovered on the second bottom shell course of an amine stripper vessel, prompting a fitness-for-service evaluation. The assessment considered the design condition and included site loads, while external pressure was excluded via administrative controls.

2. Approach: A Part 5 Level 3 assessment per API 579 used elastic-plastic analysis requiring convergence at an effective load factor of 3.6 for plastic-collapse acceptance; buckling was evaluated by ASME VIII-2 Method B using an eigenvalue-derived imperfection equal to 1% of vessel diameter with a stability target of ≥ 1.67. Global loads were calculated in COMPRESS and applied to a bottom-section FE model that incorporated measured thickness mapping and corrosion allowances. The load set included pressure thrust, deadweight, wind shear/bending, and platform clip loads.

3. End Results: The vessel satisfied the acceptance criteria—plastic-collapse cases and buckling analysis achieved acceptable load factors. The evaluation found the component acceptable with RSF = 0.9 and a 1/16-in future corrosion allowance at the LTA, recommended re-inspection in six months, and treated external pressure by administrative control rather than calculation.