Page 29 - Industrial Plant 2020

that proactive safety and environmental indicators transporting the two 90-ton separators for the new
(i.e. those leading toward continuous improvement train all the way from Italy to Algeria to the gas field,
of HSE performance) are tracked as a core metric. which is deep in the Algerian Sahara, 1,200 km from
the Mediterranean. Workers had to carefully excavate
• Global and Local orientation. In addition to its the ground where the new 200 train would be installed
long global track record, Arkad has had significant to make room for the new unit and prepare its
experience in Algeria. The firm has worked in the foundation without disturbing or stopping the operation
country since 1970 and maintained an office in of the 100 and 300 trains.
Algiers since the early nineties. Past projects in
Algeria included development of the El Merk oil Keeping the material arriving at the right time and
and gas field, a gas flaring elimination project at planning for the arrival of the two 90 ton, 11-meter long
Haoud Berkaoui, and the delivery of utilities, separators required extensive planning. “We are not
storage and export facilities for the central talking about a site where you can reach the facility
processing plant at Menzel Ledjmet East in the easily,” recalls the Project Manager.
Berkine Basin. Many of the 200 people who
worked on the Rhourde Nouss project were local The project’s peak workforce reached 200, a number
employees of SARPI, a construction company that could have easily overwhelmed the facility without
jointly owned by both ABB and Sonatrach. careful scheduling. To limit the chance of bottlenecks,
Arkad planners focused on simultaneous operations
(SimOps), and securing works permits early.
The project Arkad’s emphasis on health, safety, and environment

Construction began in November 2016. also helped speed operations. Several Health, Safety,
and Environment teams trained workers on a
Planners had to work around a variety of serious continuous, ongoing basis and monitored the
constraints. Located in the remote and almost implementation of every HSE-related procedure.
uninhabited province of Ouargla, 1,200 km from Everyone from top management to subcontractors
Algiers, the Rhourde Nouss gas fields are served by were required to follow Arkad’s HSE system and KPIs.
flights to the capital only twice a week. To make
matters still more challenging, in April, May, September, The HSE teams focused particularly on works at height
and October, sandstorms can sometimes ground and excavations, which are often particularly thorny
flights and stop outdoor work for 3-5 days. from an HSE perspective. Revamping a site like
Rhourde Nouss requires delicate maneuvers at height
Most of the equipment and material had to come from and a lot of excavation work by hand, to minimize the
Italy, and coordinating its movement presented a disturbance of systems underground, according to
number of logistic challenges. One of the biggest: Arkad executives.

IndustrIal Plants - May 2020
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