During the preparations of commissioning a key question facing commissioning managers and engineers is that of “who shall we utilise to help us to commission this project?”

There are implications for sure on cost in the staffing of a commissioning team and of course finding suitably qualified and experienced persons, however an important driver also, is the retaining of the knowledge base learnt during the commissioning process and perhaps more important to me, inspiring individuals to stay in the commissioning discipline to go onto the next project and the next etc..

So many organisations turn to the internal operations and engineering groups to help staff the commissioning team and this can be very beneficial. The cost base is lowered, the knowledge is retained and we just may excite one or two individuals to make the commissioning practice a job they want to pursue again and into the future.

We must plan to bring these key and important individuals into the commissioning team, offer a clear job description, responsibilities of what they will be expected to do, train them in the basics of commissioning and plan further on-the- job training to further broaden their commissioning expertise base, send them on commissioning courses, coach and mentor them and assist in any way we can, always be available to share wisdom (buy the book on commissioning!) share key topics such as “punch listing, leak testing etc.” in tool box talks or ice breaking briefs at commissioning team meetings.

As a core group of commissioning exponents we value and appreciate the contribution that operations and engineering (and other groups) make, your efforts are will be rewarded by the information gained during the commissioning process and therefore retained in your ongoing teams, a big thank-you from me .

Safe and successful commissioning always…

As I believe I have shared in the past, becoming a commissioning manager, engineer or technician is not something one can go to college or university and learn, experience and expertise is gained in the field, through the actual process of commissioning, so gathering together experienced commissioning folks in our teams can be a challenge as with being a small community and the demand on us from current projects being high, how do we then recruit talent into the commissioning field?

Some operating companies demand that their personnel be experienced and qualified, which as mentioned above can be an issue for commissioning teams, but we must bring new blood into our group, and therefore must make opportunities to allow this to happen.

The process I think starts with a simple definition of the role to be filled, hence produce a job description. During the interview process for commissioning staff and the role in question, as well as looking for individuals with suitable base experience (and that is any discipline in the chemical and related industrial fields), I look for candidates with enthusiasm, a flexible, adaptable approach and certainly attention to detail in a systemised approach. After the interview, having reviewed their CV and training records, I would plan for the individual to be given some basic training in the “art” of commissioning, a couple of hours on the fundamentals of a robust commissioning methodology, then training on what pre-commissioning is all about and certainly the punch listing process and all-round training of general items such as safe systems of work, change control, etc. It would be wise to highlight in a future training log, weak areas the individual may need “on-the-job” commissioning training (e.g. witness a number of flush or blows, loop tests, execution of commissioning procedures, attendance at site acceptance tests, motor rotations etc.) until deemed suitably experienced and comfortable to then witness and manage commissioning tasks solo, reviewing this training log annually is an acceptable practice also.

This type of process will grow our ranks of commissioning exponents and hopefully satisfy those organisations who need qualified and experienced personnel. Good luck in your recruiting quest!

Safe and successful commissioning always…

A little light hearted offering today on the importance of taking notice of signs.

In our professional life we adhere to them all the time, on the roads, as we move through different areas of our plants, in lab’s, even to commissioning our new washing machine at home, getting the right message across is very important. For us commissioning folks especially at those crucial initial, first off times, first energy introduction, signs to notify those of commissioning efforts in an area, introduction of hazardous chemicals or power in an area etc. it’s essential we get it right.

I include below a good guide I have found useful as inspiration!

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Safe and successful commissioning always…

Keep explaining that terminology…

One of our biggest challenges on projects is to gain a mutual understanding simply of what things mean, I like the saying “misunderstanding leads to confrontation” just because it is true, so we must work hard to get all interested parties in our project familiar with the terms we use.

Common terms that must be agreed and understood tend to be around the area of turnover or handover, what constitutes pre-commissioning or the end of construction, a definition of what and when the scope of one discipline or another is complete, what documentation we must have available and checked at the point of acceptance, how punch listing will be managed and what the process is, all things we must get done but also many things that unless clearly defined will cause frustration and confusion.

It is also worthy of note that knowing and understanding roles and responsibilities is also a must understand topic as you will surely asked to explain it!

Safe and successful commissioning always…

Hot off the press – literally!

Some personal great news to share as my book makes its first translation; one can now obtain a copy in Russian!

Спасибо (thank-you) to all who made this possible, I do hope the book is helpful to you all.

Safe and successful commissioning always…

Leak testing is often a subject I am asked about and is the basis of my short brief with you today.

Let’s first dispel, well for me anyway, the myth that Leak Testing is the same as a construction Hydro test, which I believe it is not. The Hydro Test is the highly important test piping and equipment undertakes to prove the integrity of the welds etc. During the setup of Hydro tests, many items of equipment will be removed (delicate instruments and control valves) and items isolated with blinds and other isolation devices. Hence in the execution of a Hydro test many flanges will not have been checked for leakage.

Therefore our commissioning Leak Test, undertakes a test with either air, water or sometimes Nitrogen to prove all leak paths, joints, valve spindles, instruments etc. usually within a system and incorporates all the system equipment with no isolation included.

So what pressure do we conduct a Leak Test? I would  advocate undertaking a system leak test at 1.1 times the normal operating pressure of that system, I am not certain of the formal guidance to this matter, but through my career, this has been the guide I have followed.

Leak testing is an important step in our commissioning journey as it indicates that we have checked there will be no leak paths when Hazardous Chemicals are considered for import.

Safe and successful commissioning always…