May 2018 - Back Cover - TWS
You know them. They are the "bulldogs." And they wear it as a badge of honor. It is esteem, and it is earned. They are the elite. They are Turnaround Welding Services (TWS).
As one of many welding services companies, TWS performs pipe welding and fabrication; heater, boiler and reformer repairs and revamps; converter repairs and revamps; 24-hour emergency response; shop fabrication; and vessel, tower and exchanger work. But what makes TWS one of the foremost welding
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services companies in the country is what it excels at: leading successful projects every day.
More than a motto
'Safety first, no matter what' isn't what starts each TWS job. It is each TWS job. The bulldogs not only secured one of the best safety records in the industry, but they also maintain that record. Each job is led with the primary goal of providing a safe environment for both employees and clients. Success is measured by how well employees provide safety-oriented service to customers. The result is millions of man-hours worked with an extremely low total recordable incident rate across the many large capital expansion projects in both the refining and chemical industries.
Customers expect and deserve safe, quality- driven and productive services that consistently exceed industry standards, and the TWS bulldogs deliver time and again.
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TWS: Very selective with top talent
TWS has worked multiple turnarounds for a large Gulf Coast refinery. According to a project engineer at the site, the company's reputation is well known there.
"The labor force TWS has provided in the past has performed well and exceeded expectations on execution and schedule delivery," he explained. "They have built a reputation for having skilled craftsmen with excellent productivity and exceedingly low to zero weld rejection rates."
TWS has worked on several piping metallurgy projects in the refinery.
"All of these required special skills in the welding of alloys -- challenging projects that involved bull rigging pipe in pipe racks and post-weld heat treating," the engineer said. "Most recently, they worked on a unit expansion with a very tight schedule.
"They started that project seven days late due to issues outside their control, but despite the setback, they completed it on time and on budget, not inclusive of scope additions throughout the turnaround."
TWS' flexibility in accommodating scope changes stood out to the project engineer.
"TWS was a very nimble turnaround contractor, responding to scope additions without having to add head count," he said. "They were very efficient and flexible in serving our specialty welding needs.
"For example, into the first week of the turnaround, they were given an additional project that required replacing several hundred feet of large bore pipe. Despite this huge scope addition, they didn't bring in any additional people, and they met the schedule requirements."
He said he would not hesitate to recommend TWS for specialty welding services.
"From my experience, TWS has some of the best craftsmen in the industry," he said. "What makes them successful is their people. They are very selective in who they bring on the jobsite and are willing to pay top dollar to attract top talent.
"The supervisors are seasoned turnaround professionals who are up to taking on any challenge. Where most other outfits follow the union approach where each employee only serves one function despite being nonunion, TWS employees are more willing to change roles throughout a turnaround. Their employees' willingness to wear different hats from fitter to welder to QA/QC is what makes them so efficient.
"They may not be the lowest-priced turnaround contractor, but their efficiency makes up for it when considering lost opportunity for missed turnaround schedules.
"I would absolutely use TWS again. In fact, there are a few projects on the horizon that we will be planning with them."
TWS: Highest quality workmanship
A Gulf Coast ammonia plant has had many successes with TWS -- so much so that the site has relied on the bulldogs for 20 years.
Some of that work included mechanical integrity and process safety management projects spanning six years. Highlights included:
- Process waste heat boiler replacement. The project was executed utilizing jacking and temporary rail concept. All heavy wall process P11 piping required hydrogen removal by baking prior to rewelding.
- The addition of a nozzle to each plant 1,650 psig steam drum for a new additional relief valve to satisfy relief requirements.
- The addition of a high-pressure, high-temperature F91 check valve in the startup heater circulation loop piping supporting each ammonia plant synthesis loop.
- The replacement of a high-temperature section of a start-up heater coil supporting the ammonia plant synthesis loop. All existing coil and exit piping had to have hydrogen removed by baking.
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Jim Liskey, the site's chief plant and chief project engineer involved in the projects (now retired), explained, "Each of these items was executed in the minimum time forecasted by TWS and within TWS' estimated cost. The workmanship of the piping and equipment installation was of the highest quality with emphasis on welding productivity and quality."
Another project at the site involved new plant construction. TWS performed the installation of the high-alloy reformer catalyst tubes and welding in the primary reformer of the new ammonia plant. Ten TWS personnel executed this scope of work. Subsequently, TWS was asked to assume the main pipe rack, 1,800 psig steam system, compressor deck (process air compressor, carbon dioxide compressor and synthesis gas compressor and ammonia refrigeration compressors) ammonia plant areas. Additionally, TWS assumed completion of the piping scope in the urea plant.
"TWS was selected based on their high productivity and workmanship quality as their work scope was increased," Liskey said. "TWS increased their field manning to approximately 1,000 personnel. TWS' successful execution of their work scope permitted the new plants to be completed, commissioned and initiate production by the targeted time, which was extremely important to the site."
TWS: Proactively brought solutions
One project typical of many TWS projects demonstrates the team's versatility. The TWS bulldogs estimated, planned and executed a major FCCU turnaround for a large refiner. Project highlights included:
- 396 piping packages on 69 different piping systems, including both capital projects and maintenance.
- 4,295 welds on over 7,000 feet of pipe.
- 72,500 man-hours with a peak manpower of 125 people.
- Overall duration: 50 weeks. During the planning phase, TWS identified a portion of the work that could be executed during the pre-turnaround. By doing so, the bulldogs removed a significant portion of the man-hours and resources from the turnaround window. This also reduced the strain on operations resources during permitting activities as well as on support craft resources during the turnaround window.
"Planning effort and detail were outstanding," noted a client representative.
TWS fabricated all piping spools on-site from 44-inch piping to one-half-inch piping, including carbon steel, 5 chrome, 316L stainless steel and hastelloy piping spools. The bulldogs completed 3,846 welds during the fabrication phase with an under 1-percent weld reject rate.
During the turnaround phase, TWS installed 5,800 feet of pipe and completed over 500 field welds with an under 1-percent weld reject rate. The bulldogs encountered a 30-percent scope growth during the turnaround window due to discovery work and successfully managed the additional scope to bring the turnaround in on schedule. The refiner evaluated TWS following the project with scores of "exceeded expectations" across the board
"TWS proactively brought solutions and optimized plans to drive opportunities on value creation," observed the client representative. "Craft and supervision were extremely high quality and performed at a high level. On-site supervision was very involved and their skills and knowledge were standout!"
Please visit TWS at the AFPM 2018 Reliability & Maintenance Conference and Exhibition May 22-25, booth no. 225.
For more information, visit www.turnaroundweldingservices. com or call (225) 686-7101.
