The El Segundo Refinery Coke Drum Reliability Project in California USA has been awarded the prestigious PMI Global 2015 Project of the Year Award.

Almost every person in mining at some point is involved in a project of some kind.

If we explore the details of the project the El Segundo Refinery Coke Drum Reliability Project offers a lot of valuable lessons for us at VBKom and the mining fraternity at large.

Project Summary:
PROJECT: El Segundo Refinery Coke Drum Reliability Project
BUDGET: US$150 Million
LOCATION: El Segundo, California, USA
KEY PLAYER: Chevron
HIGHLIGHT: The team worked with external stakeholders to create a simpler and safer plan for transporting six massive oil refinery coke drums through California’s streets. The final route was one-fifth the length of the original route, and members of the public cheered as drums passed by late at night.

View the project's video here: 

Lesson 1: Front-end Loading pays off

Investigations by Chevron with regards to the replacement of the six coke drums began in 2009 leading to the ultimate approval only three years later in 2012. This allowed Chevron sufficient time to (i) understand the complexity of the project, (ii) get a grip on the real timelines of delivery and (iii) acknowledge and focus on the drivers of success. Proper analysis and investigations during feasibility stages also allowed for value engineering and options analysis, as well as thorough risk assessment.

Lesson 2: Pro-active Risk Management works

Having identified the drivers of success and thoroughly understanding the complexity, the early application of thorough risk assessment (at a project level) allowed for identification and mitigation of risks (such as crane schedule delays, power outages during transport, safety risks during installation). Not only were the threats understood, but strategies were implemented to convert apparent negative threats into project opportunities (e.g. converting the transport into a positive Public Relations event, Lifting community awareness and appreciation of Chevron, boosting worker morale by visible safety leadership & engagements).

Lesson 3: Collaboration and Team-work pays generous dividends

The project management team of the El Segundo Refinery Coke Drum Reliability Project purposefully sought input from the broader team and relied on a collaborative brainstorming approach to identify and address risks and issues (e.g. seeker alternative transport & route options, as well as engaging local authorities on their plans and concerns). The results were that (i) better solutions were identified and embraced by all, (ii) the execution of the schedule was significantly smoother, and (iii) various “must not happen” threats were avoided.

Lesson 4: Stakeholder Engagement is crucial to success

By understanding the perception of Chevron in the eyes of its stakeholders, and appreciating the inherent negative sentiment which their project carried, the project team leveraged Stakeholder Management to deliver a Public Relations success. Not only did the project team identify their crucial stakeholders, but engaged them so successfully that their inputs and participation turned a potential local authority & community disaster into a fun and exciting spectacular to the city’s benefit.

Lesson 5: Learn from the past and harness experience

The project looked to historical mega transport projects, like the Space Shuttle transport to the LA Museum, and incorporated their learnings into the project’s execution approach. The management team even went further to contract in personnel who worked on these previous projects to make sure their personal experience was fed to the rest of the team. The team also drew safety learnings from previous Chevron coke projects and incorporated them into their safety practices.

Lesson 6: Leadership determines tone & climate

Knowing the risks and drivers to success, Project Leadership took to the stage and visibly led from the front (e.g. in safety & planning meetings). They deliberately engaged project employees and stakeholders and created an atmosphere where “no tolerance” and “uncompromised discipline” became the mantra and status quo. The Project Management team stuck to their own processes and controls and consistently lived the tone and climate which they themselves demanded. In doing so the workforce began to copy them and this created the open air for success, engagement and proactive issue resolution.

Lesson 7: Employee Engagement determines results

Project Leadership consistently and frequently challenged employees to suggest better alternatives and step forward if they didn’t agree with the current practices. The end result was a committed workforce, zero LTI’s and project delivery ahead of time and under budget. Without the workforce embracing the “Stop the Drop” and “Double Harness” -campaigns, safety management would have quickly digressed into a compliance and punitive discipline, eroding engagement even further.

Lesson 8: Discipline delivers

It is not by luck, chance or accident that the El Segundo Refinery Coke Drum Reliability Project was delivered ahead of schedule, under budget and with zero LTI’s. This end result only came as a consequence of rigorous daily adherence to the key project management processes. By their own admission, the project team had to force themselves not to get off track or excited about out-of-scope opportunities. They stuck to their own processes and demonstrated uncompromising behaviour. Discipline drives results, but unfortunately does not come by itself!

Lesson 9: Empowerment enables

The Project Leadership of the El Segundo Refinery Coke Drum Reliability Project tailored their Change Management processes and empowered sub-ordinate managers with an approval level tied to cost estimates. This resulted in quicker decision making and a more agile, smooth execution. The nett result was an acceleration of the schedule due to the compounding and aggregation of many small improvements coming from an empowered workforce over a long period of time.

Lesson 10: Don’t compromise on Safety

El Segundo Refinery Coke Drum Reliability Project was an inherent hazardous undertaking with significant threats to safety across virtually the whole execution schedule. The safety risk profile of the project was not only continuous, but peaked at the very end of the project (e.g. the lifting of the six 181 tonne coke drums and working at heights of 60 meters off the ground). Only by the collective effort of sustained safety focus and the implementation of rigorous safety practices did the project achieve a zero fatality outcome. Learning from previous projects, safety plans, risk assessments and implementation of safety controls were drilled, talked, rehearsed and lived every day, every action, by everyone.

The local & global mining community alike has a lot of challenges to overcome in 2016 as it is. Let’s not make our mining projects another source of further concern. 

May we all be humble enough to learn from those who went before us and showed us a better way. The El Segundo Refinery Coke Drum Reliability Project is one of these rare, great learning opportunities.