Project Completion

PES recently completed an upgrade of the LDAR program at the Hovensa refinery in ST. Croix, USVI. The project was a cross between the traditional tag program already in place at Hovensa, and the tagless program normally offered by PES. It was a hybrid in that the primary component identification method continues to be tags, while Hovensa still realizes the advantages of the ProView system.

Frank Burgard III, the Air Manager in the Hovensa Environmental Group, and Maurice Pinder, the LDAR Manager, sought solutions to three nagging problems that were inhibiting the success of the LDAR program. First, they were looking for a way to conduct and document a total quality audit of their program. They identified the ProView system as having all the tools necessary to merge the multiple elements of LDAR into a clear, concise documentation package. The isometric drawings proved to be the perfect media with which to record changes to processes, streams, piping modifications, and to cross reference changes to other LDAR data.

Secondly, they wanted to reduce the inordinate amount of time spent on problem resolution. In the past, when a technician reported a component or group of components that could not be found, it started a series of research events that significantly added to the cost of LDAR. A great deal of manpower was expended in order to find out what happened to relatively few components. Now, using the LDAR specific isometric drawings in combination with the ProView Data Suite, an LDAR search and organizational tool, problem resolution has been transferred back to the technicians. They have tools at their disposal to resolve their own issues as they are encountered. Time allocated to problem resolution issues has been greatly reduced as a result of ProView implementation. One long-time technician in the LDAR group quipped, “I don’t know how we ever got along without it.”

Finally, Hovensa wanted a drawing system that would communicate with LeakDAS, their fugitive emissions management software. The engineers at Inspection logic provided the tool with the “View Drawing” feature. While viewing a record in LeakDAS, a technician can see the associated drawing with a click of a button.

Hovensa continues to be on the cutting edge of fugitive emissions reduction technology, and Proactive Environmental Services is proud to have partnered with them in this venture.