Plant outages for equipment cleaning and maintenance are a necessity, but can result in prolonged downtime that affects overall production. With so much at stake, major plants, refineries and mills need a partner they can count on from start to finish. Trust is a big factor in considering who to partner with during crucial downtime. Thompson Industrial Services ensures you get safe, quality work done in the most efficient way to keep costs and schedule controlled.
Thompson developed the Outage Management Team (OMT) when it saw an opportunity to maximize efficiency and resource allocation for clients. This team comprises seasoned industrial cleaning experts with over 75 years of combined industrial cleaning experience. The team ensures a safe, well executed, cost-controlled project or shutdown with optimal results.
The OMT plans, organizes, motivates and controls resources, procedures and protocols to achieve all project goals. The primary challenge is to meet or exceed clients' objectives while honoring the preconceived constraints of scope, time, quality and budget. They combine extensive pre-planning, scheduling, on-site execution, daily reporting and post-project review. They have extensive experience and historical data to help project and forecast job durations and identify opportunities to optimize schedules and minimize resources needed. The team ensures daily, thorough communication and modern, advanced tracking and reporting capabilities for every client.
When you combine the OMT's ability to control costs and manage scheduling with the Automation Team's (AT's) expertise and custom-designed technology, you have a recipe for the safest and most efficient outage possible. Thompson's automated technology is implemented wherever possible to optimize efficiency, lower costs and downtime, and minimize risk.
Safety is Thompson's No. 1 priority. Having a meaningful commitment to safety means acting on that commitment through automation and modern safety programming. Thompson has been providing automated industrial cleaning solutions for over two decades and is nearing its goal of 100-percent hands-free hydroblasting.
For decades, Thompson has offered automation with its specialized high-volume and ultra-high-pressure hydroblasting services. In 2015, the company expanded its automation capabilities with the implementation of an AT and expansive new line of equipment that continues to grow.
Thompson accomplishes safe and thorough tank and vessel cleaning using automated 3-D tools, devices and positioners. This nearly always eliminates the need for confined-space entry and reduces operator exposure to hazards. In addition, the company's new track-lancing equipment offers the same safety and precision benefits for 12,000; 20,000; and 40,000 psi applications. The flex, two- and three-lance tube cleaners allow operators to remotely manipulate and control multiple flex hoses simultaneously. Thompson's hands-free capabilities also include remote shot-gunning and the ability to clean pipes with rotary jetting tools. Each automated tube and pipe cleaning device permits 100-percent additional dwell time since the pressure is maintained not only during the "in" stroke but also safely applied on the "extraction" stroke.
Recently, Thompson was able to save a mill thousands of dollars during an outage by automating several cleaning processes that had historically been done manually. This particular mill needed to clean extremely plugged tubes in its first and second effect evaporators. The previous manual hydroblasting method took 130 hours and required 14 personnel, two hydroblasting pumps and confined-space entry. After Thompson completed the same job using custom-designed automation technology, the comparative data was astounding. This hands-free method took operators out of harm's way, eliminated the need for confined-space entry and thoroughly cleaned the evaporators with greater precision in one-third of the time. The cleaning was completed in just 40 hours using only eight operators and one pump, which in itself saved the mill over $60,000. The winning combination of automation and Thompson's outage management is the ideal way to control schedule and cost, minimize hazards and garner exceptional results.
For more information, visit www.thompsonindustrialservices.com or call (800) 849-8040.