Established in Lafayette, Louisiana, Bilfinger Salamis has served the oil and gas, refining and petrochemical industries in the Gulf Coast region for over 35 years as a highly respected provider of managed maintenance services, primarily in surface preparation/coatings, access solutions, NDT services, insulation, scaffolding and fireproofing systems. As Bilfinger Salamis continues to expand its digitization and technological capabilities to support the midstream, downstream, refining and petrochemical industries, the company is now more committed than ever to innovation, continuous improvement, cost reduction and, ultimately, delivering value to its customers.
Phil Finley, CEO of Bilfinger Salamis, maintains that "Safe Business is Good Business," and this is the creed by which the business operates. It is important to note Bilfinger Salamis has remained lost time incident-free for over 14 years and recordable- free for five years.
"While these outcomes are exceptional, we have to understand the energy, passion and commitment that goes into continually upgrading and targeting the 'Beyond Zero' approach," Finley said. "At Bilfinger Salamis, every employee carries a personal commitment to safety for both their colleagues and themselves."
Year over year, employees choose to set the bar increasingly higher in terms of expectations and planned inputs into their HS&E management improvement plan. The plan features the implementation and evolution of the Human Performance program and its associated management processes, which Bilfinger covered extensively in BIC Magazine (March 2020, pg. 44).
At Bilfinger, integrity, quality and compliance are an integral part of the company's infrastructure and corporate culture. "We never compromise in this regard," Finley said. "We hold our customers and vendors to the same standards of safety, quality and integrity. We have taken the stance to only enter into partnerships with businesses who hold the same values."
To ensure clear, consistent standards of quality, integrity and policies across the business, Bilfinger Salamis has implemented a total management system aligned to ISO 9001.
Bilfinger integrated maintenance services
By moving toward "bundled outsourcing" -- using a single contractor to deliver multiple services -- plant owners can transfer risk off their balance sheets and concentrate more on their core businesses.
With numerous factors impacting the U.S. economy and the oil and gas sector facing unprecedented challenges, plant managers are increasingly being pushed to increase productivity while enhancing overall cost and resource efficiencies. With this in mind, companies should increasingly consider engaging with outsourced service providers in both the U.S. and international markets.
Bundled outsourcing refers to the use of a single provider like Bilfinger Salamis to deliver multiple service functions. For example, an organization might engage one supplier to provide complete lifecycle support on a new plant or facility, from consultation to installation to maintenance and repair of equipment. More specifically, in an industrial scenario, an organization might agree to a bundled framework to provide industrial scaffolding and insulation services, while also providing maintenance services such as fire and corrosion protection. Bundled outsourcing can help to cut costs, reduce complex supply chains and associated administration, and simplify back-office functions.
Plant owners looking to benefit from bundled outsourcing should consider an outsourcing provider like Bilfinger that self-delivers, rather than one that subcontracts to a third party. This provides the opportunity for multiskilling and multitasking, which can generate further operational efficiencies and performance benefits.
Managing risk
An excellent way to mitigate risk is to engage an outsourcing provider like Bilfinger that is well established, with a reputation for transparency and high-quality service. Plant owners should keep in mind that effective outsourcing requires clearly established goals, a timeline from the outset and continuous lines of communication. To support this, Bilfinger has developed its "Bilfinger Maintenance Concept," "Bilfinger Connected Asset Performance" and other digital software such as a "Client Portal" that allows customers direct access to approval processes and a display of KPIs in alignment with their business drivers. To further mitigate risk, there's always the option of introducing an incentive-based shared risk and reward pricing model. Although these agreements can vary significantly according to individual business needs, they are typically based on projected revenue generation or cost savings and involve a reward for providers if they exceed service performance or a penalty if objectives aren't met.
To maintain these standards, Bilfinger Salamis draws from its own substantial managerial, technical and operative resources. An inherent strength of the company is the length of service and depth of experience within its management, supervisory and technical support disciplines. A large number of employees who make up the core workforce have been with the company for between 15 and 30 years, on average. This accrual of expertise and experience has been instrumental in the company's advancement to its current status.
Bilfinger employs full-time subject matter experts (SMEs) for each service line. These SMEs bring with them a depth of extensive experience and achievements in their particular craft. The in-house SMEs manage the interfaces between service lines under one roof. The management team at Bilfinger Salamis is equipped with both a wealth of knowledge and in-field experience to provide customers with the most optimum solutions. Bilfinger has an extensive track record that illustrates its effective implementation of this approach.
Bilfinger Salamis recognizes its most important assets are its people and, as such, is committed to adopting an approach that allows all its employees the opportunity to learn new skills, develop new abilities and enhance performance within their current roles. Training is undertaken in line with specified corporate and project-driven goals and targets. With the adoption of SAP SuccessFactors, all employees are actively encouraged to identify their own development needs. In addition to specific function improvement, education and training is aimed at each individual developing enhanced self-reliance and flexibility toward the nurturing of creativity and enterprise.
Bilfinger Salamis' training program addresses operating procedures, safe work practices, and emergency response and control measures through both textbook theory and hands-on application. Health and safety training are given at all levels of the organization, relevant to spheres of focus and responsibility.
The ability to train and field multidisciplined teams lies at the heart of Bilfinger's bundled service approach. Owners and operators value innovative solutions, timely completion and consistent quality. As a result, they are always seeking best-value options that focus on multidisciplined, bundled services offerings, and the ability for contractors to bring new products and technologies that offer extended field life and reduced maintenance cycles. Doing so through innovative methods of working along with integrated outsource principles has been the key to its continued success in the oil and gas industry.
Integrated asset integrity
Bilfinger Salamis offers an extensive and fully comprehensive range of support services, including coatings, CUI remediation, alternative access solutions, NDE services, composite pipe repair systems, insulation, scaffolding, welding enclosures (habitats), sling testing and proprietary fireproofing systems. All of these can be bundled together to provide the advantages of economies of scale, interface management and accountability of service delivery to agreed KPIs that are supportive of customers' business objectives. Bilfinger Salamis is able to assess, monitor and maintain customer assets and, with its CUI campaign, is able to draw from global expertise to orchestrate the most efficient multicraft teams with access methods that provide the optimum solutions to locate, identify, repair and mitigate the potential of further CUI.
Continually challenging and collaborating with leading coating manufacturers, Bilfinger Salamis has always promoted the development of new materials that can support lower lifecycle costs of maintaining assets and keeping corrosion and erosion in check. It is sought out by leading companies like Chevron, Anadarko/Oxy, Shell and Total to test the qualities of each application, greater tolerance to moisture, widening of weather windows, durability and the adequacy of various coating systems related to real-world application requirements. Testing procedures include surface preparation, adhesion testing, impact resistance and torque tests. An example of this is the provision of coating systems tolerant to moisture and surface variations, capable of curing quickly at low temperatures. Coating system applications that protect surfaces double as metal repair systems. These systems are multipurpose, durable repair composites, resistant to a wide variety of chemicals. This offers owners and operators the opportunity to maintain assets at code for lower costs while reducing downtime associated with the mobilization of construction crews.
Bilfinger has taken the position that it stands firm on integrity and innovation, evolving over the years into an organization advanced beyond the times so it can continuously provide customers with cutting-edge solutions. The Bilfinger team is available any time to offer more information regarding Bilfinger's integrated approach to asset integrity and maintenance.
For more information, visit https://northamerica.bilfinger.com or call (337) 289-0092.
