S A F E T Y M AT T E R S

In the summer of 2013, an offshore oil and gas operator needed to isolate a large diameter subsea pipeline. Although the company had performed basically the same operation on the same line just a few years earlier – utilizing SmartPlug® isolation technology to double block and seal the line – this was not a simple case of procedural “copy and paste.”

Following recent catastrophic events, operators have become even more conscious of process safety risk, gaining a heightened sensitivity to low-frequency, high-potential consequence operations. And as a tribute to an industry in constant search of safer operations, the mindset has shifted toward a more customized and comprehensive approach, even for routine maintenance.

It’s not just operators that have changed their outlook in recent years. Pipeline service companies are taking a new approach to how they do business, as well. Service companies have been traditionally very tool or singular service-centric. They know hot tapping or pigging, Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) or hydrostatic testing. Ask them about inline inspection or cutter repair, and they could write a white paper. But ask them to leverage their expertise to create a well-rounded risk-mitigation plan, and they’d likely tell you that wasn’t in their wheelhouse.

This operation was going to break tradition. This time, hazard identification, risk assessment, and Hazard and Operability review (HAZOP) meetings were no longer the other guy’s job. This time, big-picture risk was everyone’s job.

T.D. Williamson (TDW), the service company that provides

Seeing All the PIECES

“The P&ID diagrams are highly technical, so learning

how to read them is like learning a different language.

Without that understanding, we can’t effectively engage

in high-level risk discussions. We’d be too tool-centric and

not environment-centric.”

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SmartPlug technology, was involved in planning meetings from the start. For the project, they worked through various scenarios and emergencies: How will communication work? How will the diving control center on the vessel get information on the status of the isolation? What’s considered a sound isolation, and what should be done if something does not meet the criteria?

The collaborative planning proved to be worth it.After the technicians deployed and activated the

SmartPlug tools on each side of the target area, one of the seals wasn’t keeping the pressure consistent enough. While the pressure was in normal range, it did not seal to the operator’s unique requirements. These project-specific limits were specifically designed to provide additional diver safety during the operation.

Now, the teams had the ability to follow the established contingency plan. They quickly pulled the plug and replaced it with a backup plug at another location in the pipeline, which worked. Due to the pre-planning, the teams didn’t need to stop and develop a response to the setback.

A New Mode of OperationSome service companies are taking their involvement in risk assessment and planning one step farther. For example, at TDW, technicians receive specific training aimed at getting them to see things from the operator’s perspective. In the training, engineers teach technicians how to read the P&ID (called either a Piping and Instrumentation Diagram or a Process and Instrumentation Diagram, depending on the company) and to analyze and

understand the full environment surrounding the isolation operation, not just in relation to the particular tool.

By thinking beyond how the tool operates, to how it impacts and is impacted by what’s happening on the platform or facility where the isolation is taking place, the technicians are better prepared to consult operators in the project planning phases.

Larry Ryan, Director of SmartPlug Operations for TDW, says this new way of doing business isn’t always easy, but it’s certainly worth it. “The P&ID diagrams are highly technical, so learning how to read them is like learning a different language. But with this added knowledge, our technicians can sit in the HAZOPs and discuss what would happen if things don’t go exactly as planned. They can’t do that unless they can understand the diagrams. Without that understanding, we can’t effectively engage in high-level risk discussions. We’d be too tool-centric and not environment-centric.”

Cool-headed DecisionsWhen service company personnel and operator staff share knowledge from day one, the team as a whole is better equipped to handle situations that arise and keep a cool head when things don’t go correctly.

“When you’re offshore, and you’ve got your whole field shut down on a huge pipeline and infrastructure, time is not your friend,” Ryan said.

“So the last thing you want to do is make decisions in the heat of the moment. You want to make them in the cold light of day when everyone is sitting around onshore, before anything happens.”