Production without danger, or who controls the process safety in Tatarstan
An ambitious construction at TAIF-NK, the modernization of Kazanskaya CHP-3 on the basis of innovative GTU (gas-turbine unit), the reconstruction of production at Kazanorgsintez and Nizhnekamskneftekhim, joining the group of companies TAIF have made Tatarstan one giant industrial site. When we talk about such industrial scales, most often we think about an economic growth of the Republic and about new technologies that will ensure it. And very rarely we talk about people with whose efforts all these projects become a reality of our tomorrow.
Nuances of Rostekhnadzor
If there are no accidents at the production sites, it means that someone has elaborated this question very carefully, organized and controlled. Behind each project – not just the work and knowledge of professionals but also a huge, often invisible to us, work on the safety provision. Each country has adopted their own standards on process safety. In the USA, for example, this issue can be solved through insurance: the higher risk in production, the more expensive the insurance for its owners. Accordingly, if you want to save money — you should lower risks. In Russia, this issue is built differently. The government directly controls the safety of each industrial facility through a special government agency — Rostekhnadzor.
In Tatarstan, everything is controlled by the Volga Region Department of Rostechnadzor, the head of which, Boris Petrov, on 25 April celebrates his 60th anniversary. More than 10 years Petrov has been responsible for industrial and energy safety, including overseeing one of the leading marathoners of the industrial construction – the multisector holding TAIF that has powerful industrial potential in Tatarstan.
In honour of the anniversary of the top person of Rostechnadzor, Realnoe Vremya online newspaper publishes the article in which we have highlighted all the nuances of this important, daily, difficult and sometimes invisible to the townsfolks work for ensuring the industrial safety policy.
The cost of negligence
At the meetings on the issues of state supervision over the construction of capital buildings, the Deputy Head of Rostekhnadzor Svetlana Radionova always gives the example of the accident at Achinsk. It happened at summer night in 2014. The residents of the Siberian town of Achinsk smelled a burning. Awakened residents noticed a huge cloud of smoke in the distance. 30 kilometers from the city there was a fire. At Achinsk refinery, there was an explosion of the fractionating column.
At the only refinery in Krasnoyarsk Krai there have always been increased safety measures. However, even the slightest fault can be catastrophic. First, an employee of the Achinsk refinery violated the technical regulation, allowing a liquid overflow of the gas-fractionation plant, then the other did not notice the deterioration of the pipeline. As a result of seal failure, there was the emission of a mixture of hydrocarbon gases in a liquid state at high pressure. The consequent devastating fire claimed the lives of eight people. About 30 people were injured. The company suffered damages at more than 440 million rubles.
'To be honest, I prefer in the next 5 years, like an old grouchy person, to talk about the same accident in order not to have a new one. This is the worst accident in 30 years, and let it be the only one,' said Svetlana Radionova at the seminar meeting in Tatarstan.
Risk minimization
Every industrialist knows that process safety ensuring is no less important than the production and the economic effect. Sometimes people start talking about the total safety control only after an accident… Due to the efforts of the industrialists of Tatarstan and the management of Rostekhnadzor in the Republic of Tatarstan, this issue has always paid with great attention.
'Rostekhnadzor acts according to the rules written in blood,' says Director General of Kazanorgsintez Farid Minigulov. 'All existing requirements have a reason. Behind each item, each line – someone's life, or injury.' In the group of companies TAIF, there is concentrated the dangerous production of the largest petrochemical companies of Tatarstan, therefore, the holding monitors the safety of its facilities with high responsibility. It is impossible to implement complex technological processes in a highly competitive environment without their smooth operation.
Every year at the group's companies they work on the improvement of the system of process safety, basing on the results of regular monitoring. They always pay attention to minimize the risk of accidents and incidents. The amount of 8 billion rubles says a lot. This is the costs of the group of companies in 2014 on the implementation of activities in the field of process and labor safety.
Last signature before commission
One of the most costly and necessary measures today — the replacement of obsolete equipment. However, all large enterprises, rooted in the Soviet period, have a flaw: morally and physically outdated equipment. The programme of technical re-equipment on such enterprises as NKNK and KOS has started more than 10 years ago. This year Kazanorgsintez is planning to invest nearly 58 million rubles to increase the reliability of power supply, more than 230 million rubles to increase the reliability of heat supply and to reduce losses of heat in networks — almost 52 million rubles.
The process safety issues are solved not only when replacing worn-out equipment but also when implementing new ones. Last year at the plant Ethylene of Kazanorgsintez PJSC there was built two-chamber furnace of pyrolysis of ethane of Technip, started the construction of base depot of hydrocarbon raw materials for the storage of propane-butane fraction. 'All these objects are introduced with the participation of Rostekhnadzor,' said the head of the production and technical department of Kazanorgsintez Nikolay Korablev.
As we found out, due to the coordinated work of Rostekhnadzor with the enterprises, the supervisory authority not only detects violations but also contributes to the realization of new projects or the technical improvement of existing ones.
As a rule, the inspection of industrial objects is carried out 2-3 times per year. If there is a remark, they issue an injunction to eliminate it. Then, once the object is ready for commissioning, it is thoroughly tested by the experts of territorial administration. If there are no remarks, they issue a certificate of final inspection. The last signature of the site complying with all security regulations belongs to Rostehnadzor. Only after all these procedures they make a document about the commissioning of a new plant or process unit into operation.
Not only external monitoring helps to ensure safe conditions of the work and the work of the technological facilities. The companies of the group are introducing automated systems for monitoring industrial safety and workplace protection.
Constant incoming control
Of course, such good results of work of the state organ are directly dependent on the personal contribution of the head in the question formulation.
'By nature of my work, I am obliged to criticize the companies and to make them strive towards a dynamic improvement of safety production,' said in an interview the head of Volga Region Department of Rostekhnadzor Boris Petrov. 'But I think that Tatarstan is ahead of many Russian regions according to the rate of upgrading production facilities. The system of industrial safety has been built in Tatneft, TAIF, at the objects of our energy. In some regions, this has not even begun'.
The industrialists believe that this is largely due to thoughtful and coordinated work and permanent working contact with Rostechnadzor.
When realizing its ambitious project – the Heavy Residue Conversion Complex – TAIF-NK takes into account the modern requirements of process safety. According to the chief engineer of the company Igor Bogomazov, during the construction of the complex, there is a constant incoming control of incoming equipment in its own laboratory of nondestructive testing. The company's specialists together with manufacturers take part in the tests of new equipment supplied to facilities of the HRCC (Heavy Residue Conversion Complex). Quality control over construction and installation works are conducted by the experts of management of capital construction and the HRCC and attracted specialized organizations — FSUE VO Bezopasnost, Promtekhexpert PLC and others.
Besides, TAIF-NK, which works simultaneously in two directions — provides raw materials for petrochemistry enterprises and produces motor fuels — last year was examined for the catalytic cracking unit in order to switch to the mixed raw materials and to get diesel fuel of quality standard EURO-5. Also technological facilities of the enterprise have been equipped with high-speed automatic reserve switching (ARS) in distribution devices, stationary dynamic equipment monitoring system; also there have been implemented a number of projects of technical re-equipment, the modernization of a number of technological equipment and many other.
'The cooperation of our company with Volga Region Department of Rostechnadzor is based on the full understanding of the goals and objectives. But they are common,' says Rushan Shamgunov. 'Safety at work, environmental protection, life and health of our employees is a priority direction for us. And the specialists of Rostechnadzor with their constant attention and control do not allow us to relax. And it's good.'
Growth energy
Partner relations with Volga Region Department of Rostechnadzor play a key role in creating safe conditions for work at hazardous production facilities of TGK-16, including at the large-scale construction on the territory of Kazanskaya CHP-3 of gas turbine unit. Today it is the newest and most efficient in the world gas turbine manufactured by General Electric with the power capacity of 388.6 MW.
As TGK-16 reported to Realnoe Vremya, last year for uninterrupted power supply, oil circuit breakers were replaced with vacuum ones, electric engines – with modern ones; for attaching of the key mechanisms the power transformers – with advanced system of management and monitoring, there have been embedded microprocessor protection at the devices of power-system protection; steam-powered and heat machinery equipment have been reconstructed.
The norms of rigid adherence to the laws and all related regulations accepted in the holding help to interact constructively with the regulatory body.
'When I came to TAIF, the first thing I heard from the Director General Albert Shigabutdinov, – you must work strictly within the current legislation,' tells Ramil Khusainov, the head of TGK-16.
'This approach imposes discipline on all employees. Besides, in the event of any defects which under such intensive development can occur, the head of Volga Region Department of Rostekhnadzor Boris Petrov himself always treats us with genuine attention and understand specifics of each process,' says Ramil Khusainov.
Human resource
The head of the Volga Region Department of Rostekhnadzor Boris Petrov in the comments to Realnoe Vremya noted that now the agency is actively reviewing the regulatory documents in the field of process safety. In other words, the training of the specialists for the prevention of emergencies will reach a new level. Thus, last year Nizhnekamskneftekhim approved the programme for the deployment in the SAP system of the task 'The planning of vocational training of workers' in order to improve the system of planning and monitoring the training of the workers.
It is a pilot project yet but already has the first results. All departments with no exception are connected to the programme 'Professional growth' in the SAP system. This allows not only to use accumulated since 1997 information but make all compulsory courses and their frequency staff position. The ultimate goal in this area is the automatic control over the training of personnel, selection and movement of personnel on the basis of available types of training.
Along with the issues of training of professional activity, an important factor is the provision of security — the availability of certified emergency rescue. For these purposes, Nizhnekamskneftekhim for the last three years created 69 non-staff units of 650 rescuers.
Complying with the standards of process safety, the group of companies TAIF reduces traumatism, eliminate accidents at the production sites, maintains health and life of people, constantly works to reduce a negative impact on the environment. Nothing is more important than human lives. And gives us hope for a prosperous future and development of industry and the fact that our security is controlled by such dedicated people and professionals, as Boris Petrov, his colleagues from Volga region Rostekhnadzor and the leadership of the group of companies TAIF.