To simplify maintenance and effectively support South Africa’s largest petrochemicals company’s operations, Kaefer provides various technical industrial services, minimising risks while offering “globally aligned innovation”, says Kaefer business development and strategy GM Diaan Roode.

He says shutdowns and turnarounds are among the most time-critical and commercially sensitive periods on any petrochemicals facility’s calendar, as every day of downtime carries a direct cost to the client in maintenance spend and lost production. This, in turn, places significant pressure on all contractors to perform.

Kaefer has been working with the petrochemicals company for over 30 years, specifically at the complex located in Secunda, and the company’s turnaround scope has evolved to span multiple service lines, delivered in a coordinated sequence. This includes core specialist disciplines such as industrial insulation, access solutions, surface protection, corrosion management and passive fire protection.

Roode explains that every interface between separate contractors typically results in risk “falling back on the client or landing with whichever party is least equipped to manage it”.

As an integrated provider, Kaefer has fewer interfaces and can, therefore, respond faster to changes during a shutdown, consequently improving turnaround times, decreasing overheads and the risk of overruns.

“When these services are delivered by a single contractor, with a single safety plan and a single point of accountability, namely the project manager, the coordination is fundamentally different to managing multiple contractors,” says Roode.

Petrochemicals plants operate at extreme temperatures and pressures, with process streams that are often highly flammable and corrosive. Roode stresses that these plants cannot be approached with a generalist mindset.

As opposed to general contracting, Kaefer leverages its extensive experience and Kaefer Group’s international network to provide the level of technical depth required by large-scale operations across all its services.

While Kaefer is a fully independent South African entity, the company can liaise with Kaefer Group’s German Centre of Excellence, where experience is shared across the Kaefer Group’s global entities.

In instances where a client requires a niche or specialist solution, Kaefer can raise it with the centre, outlining the client relationship, constraints, environment and request.

“They’re usually very helpful and come back with very solid solutions, albeit sometimes a little over-engineered. As the South African entity, we have the opportunity to adapt the approach to what is fit-for-purpose locally,” says Roode.

Scope of Work
In its work with the petrochemicals company, access solutions are installed first to provide the platforms from which work can be conducted. Insulation is then removed where required to give mechanical contractors access to equipment, pipes and vessels.

During this period, Kaefer carries out surface inspection, preparation and protection before reinstating or repairing insulation once mechanical work is complete.

Every insulation system must be correctly specified for the operating conditions to ensure it operates as designed and required; every coating system must be selected based on the specific corrosion risks of the area; and every access solution needs to be engineered for those risks, the geometry of the plant and the hazard profile of the structure, Roode explains.

The petrochemicals company’s large-scale and energy-intensive operations make the cumulative effect of insulation on the performance and energy consumption of these facilities meaningful, he adds.

“Insulation tends to be invisible when it’s working well, but very visible when it isn’t. Every metre of poorly insulated pipework or vessel means heat loss that the process had to generate elsewhere, resulting in financial and environmental impacts.”

In addition to affecting process temperatures, unplanned heat loss can also affect product quality. To address this, Kaefer offers energy audit services, with a team assessing the facility to identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency.

Additionally, poorly applied or maintained insulation can accelerate corrosion under insulation, presenting operational risks.

Therefore, Kaefer also prioritises systems’ performing as designed throughout their service life and being maintained to their original standard.

Through its contact with the German Centre of Excellence, Kaefer can present new insulation technologies as they emerge and as costs fall, alongside other key recommendations, consequently improving ease of maintenance, installation and related activities.

Roode adds that shutdowns also provide an opportunity to advance passive fire protection, helping clients to reduce process risk and, in some instances, insurance premiums, owing to newer technologies or additional protection.

He expects Kaefer’s service offering to the petrochemicals company to expand, with the partnership moving towards deeper integration and broader scope.

The working relationship is also evolving towards a longer-term, collaborative contract structure, allowing for greater data sharing, planning and experience between client and contractor, which Roode anticipates will improve productivity and outcomes for the petrochemicals company’s plant.

“As the client continues to navigate pressures around energy transition, cost management and the need to extend the productive life of fairly old assets, demand for specialist services like ours will only grow, and this relationship can only develop further,” he concludes.