How we do it

The LNG terminal that has been the focus of my dedication for seven years is located in the Tokyo bay area. It receives and re-gasifies LNG, which it supplies to a number of adjacent power plants that collectively generate 6,200 MW of electricity.

Once the revamp of one of these power plants is completed, total output will reach 6,650 MW, ensuring a stable supply of clean energy to the city of Tokyo. The LNG terminal is automated with Yokogawa CENTUM CS systems that ensure the supply of natural gas is never, ever interrupted.

In a typical refinery or petrochemical plant, the ability to shut down a plant quickly and safely when an abnormal situation occurs is a key consideration in engineering. Various safety shutdown measures are incorporated to protect plant equipment and prevent fires and explosions when abnormal conditions occur. In the case of an LNG terminal, however, the safety requirement does not end there. To ensure the highest level of reliability in the gas supply to power plants, LNG terminals in Japan deploy highly complex automation systems that automatically detect signs of trouble, stop processes if any abnormal conditions are indicated, and immediately bring on back-up processes to minimize any possible disruptions in the transfer of gas.

This complex network of interlocked mechanisms for automatic diagnosis and back-up makes site engineering at these LNG terminals an ongoing challenge. LNG terminals in Japan never fully shut down even when periodic maintenance is done. Site engineers must be able to help the customer modify, expand, or replace either part or whole of the automation systems without stopping the plant, paying utmost care and attention to the complex nature of the automatic diagnosis/back-up mechanisms.

In Japan, we have a saying that goes “good preparation gets you 80% there.” This is my guiding principle in site engineering as well. I believe that work procedures make all the difference in site engineering. I do not mean procedures that are written up somewhere off-site, that are consulting documents only. Technically you can create work procedures from documents without checking the actual site, but such procedures can lead to unexpected accidents if they do not fully address the peculiarities of the actual site. Therefore, we have a clear rule requiring us to make a detailed check of the actual site with our own eyes during the work procedure drafting stage. One of the most common causes of failures at the site is assumptions. We always try to eliminate risky assumptions upfront, and sometimes go so far as to create procedures for the generation of the work procedures themselves.

The actual description of the work procedures is another key success factor for safe and high-quality site engineering. The work procedures must guide every single step of the site engineer's actions in an engineer-friendly manner, precluding any possibility of misunderstanding, doubt, or assumption. This attention to detail is not limited to critical and complex tasks; we apply the same level of care and attention to technically simpler tasks such as tuning and loop-checks. From long experience, we know that these seemingly simple tasks can sometimes hide critical points of leverage that can affect all of a plant’s operations.

Our typical site work procedure documents include not only the procedure itself but all the documents from which the procedure is derived, making it a complete source for all the information relevant to the site work that needs to be done. Yokogawa site engineers typically carry around a few days’ worth of such work procedure documents, using their free time to check the actual site in advance and go over the upcoming site work in their minds. That way, they can have full confidence during the actual site work, knowing the site and the procedure by heart.

All this preparation is still not enough to ensure safe and high-quality site engineering, for the site environment is never the same from day to day. Seemingly small changes can sometimes necessitate a fundamental change in a work plan. Therefore, every one of our site engineers attends the daily meeting organized by the EPC and/or the customer in charge of the overall site work to confirm the work plan of all the parties involved.

A scene from a typical daily meeting

Especially important in these daily meetings is the need to note whether other teams at the site will be working in the same work area. It is also critical to confirm whether there has been any change in the work area conditions.

A scene from a typical TBM Meeting

After thus acquiring the overall site information, all the Yokogawa site engineers meet for what is called the Tool Box Meeting (TBM).

In this meeting we confirm whether there has been any change in the end user’s plant operations schedule, and if any, we generate concrete plans to match our own work plan to that of the end user by realigning both our resources and equipment allocations. Again, all Yokogawa site engineers participate in this TBM, confirming both the overall work plan and their individual work schedule for the day.The participants also double-check the emergency communications protocol for the day.

A scene from a typical KYK meeting

The final part of our daily preparation is what we call a “KYK,” a Japanese acronym that means “danger anticipation activity.”
This is a participative brainstorming session wherein all the members of our team are encouraged to revisit the work schedule of the day and point out any remote possibility of risk and danger. The guiding principle in this KYK session is for all members to voice their views freely. No one is to criticize or dismiss any observations. If any potential risk is pointed out, the team is to consider it as a definite possibility and devise a fundamental countermeasure to eliminate that risk.

Our long experience has taught us that it is not necessarily the under-experienced site engineers that cause accidents. Everyone working on-site including the most veteran engineer has the same potential for causing an accident. That is why we take the extra care to do the KYK session each and every morning as a mechanism to eliminate any remaining potential risks. The key to a successful KYK session lies in devising and implementing fundamental measures to avoid the identified risks. Otherwise the whole exercise would be meaningless.

To illustrate, suppose one of our fellow site engineers pointed out that another group working in our vicinity planned to open up floor panels in our work area in order to do their part of the work. One potential danger here is falls. A typical inadequate countermeasure is just to dictate that site engineers “watch their step.” That is exactly what site engineers cannot do when they are either in an emergency situation or are feeling fatigue. Such a superficial countermeasure does not work exactly as intended when the risk of accident is the highest. A better countermeasure would be to surround the potential risk area with pylons or put up signs to limit access. We make sure that everyone on the team devises and implements a fundamental countermeasure for each and every potential risk that is identified.

As mentioned before, it is my belief that good preparation accounts for 80% of the quality of site work. Designing the right work procedures and communicating them effectively takes care of this 80%. The KYK session each day is our final touch to make sure we get the remaining 20% right, anticipating and eliminating any possible hurdles to flawless site work.

We always make time for a 30-minute KYK session each morning, but sometimes the KYK session can run slightly longer. The end user may come telling us that we are late starting work. Even in such situations, I make it a rule to explain to the customer why we need to complete the KYK session right. Pressuring a team to finish a KYK session early is not the right kind of compromise to make.

The protocols that I have explained above are defined as a work standard in our department, and they are strictly observed and applied no matter what kind of user site we work on. In addition, we are responsible for participating in regular safety training, and this helps us keep our safety knowledge and motivation very high.

Speaking of the different kinds of user sites, I belong to the petrochemical and LNG site engineering team. My major specialization is LNG terminal sites. Yokogawa world headquarters has dedicated site engineering teams for electric utility, water and waste water treatment, iron & steel, pulp & paper, and pharmaceutical applications. In the LNG related application that I am most familiar with, Yokogawa has extensive application know-how throughout its entire supply chain. With well heads, turbine compressors, production facilities, liquefaction and shipment facilities, LNG carriers, receiving and re-gasification facilities, terminals and satellites -- any plant or process having something to do with LNG -- Yokogawa can help the user with safe and high-quality site engineering.

The Start-Up Department of the Yokogawa world headquarters has an over thirty-year history of safe and high-quality site engineering work, and I consider it a privilege to be able to carry on this tradition. Our team of Yokogawa site engineers takes pride in the fact we have extensive knowledge and experience in LNG-related site engineering and are helping customers all around the world embrace a new source of energy that promises cleaner air and a stable supply. I would like to thank all the users and fellow site engineers who have been my inspiration through the years, whose support and guidance have helped me complete my tasks at the LNG terminal with the level of safety and quality expected of a vigilant Yokogawa site engineer.

For more information about Yokogawa LNG solutions, please visit our Industries (Oil & Gas / LNG solutions) Site