Refinery Coker Head Handling System Design, and Remanufactured

The Problem - A critical piece of refinery production equipment (so critical that onboard inline spares were included) had undergone a previous remanufacture and redesign. Even after that, system malfunction and dependability problems had gone unresolved for over a year delaying production and causing lost opportunity.  The original vendor, consulting engineering companies, and the internal engineering department had been unable to resolve the problem.

Additionally, any solution was complicated by the explosion-proof requirements of the application and heightened safety concerns due to the inherent danger of the manufacturing process. 

The first step IRG too was troubleshooting the situation. The equipment was observed in operation and production and maintenance personnel were consulted. The team developed a course of action which included:  

• Redesign of a circuit.  
• Replacement of misapplied components  
• Upgrade in the filtration  
• Redesign of backup system  
• Additionally, maintenance and production personnel were trained in the function, proper maintenance,  and troubleshooting procedures of all components.  

Results: 

• The system malfunctions due to inherent design flaws were eliminated.
• Component duty cycle was increased by 200+%
• System downtime related to hydraulic system failure was reduced to ZERO.