A Successful Turnaround

Since its inception, one of the core businesses of the MS&R (maintenance, safety and reliability) Team for Kuwait Oil Company’s NK (North Kuwait) Facilities has included carrying out Preventive Maintenance (PM) activities as directed by the established shutdown schedule. We understand that the PM business is diverse and is vital to maintain the safety and integrity of the Production Facilities. We pride ourselves on services and quality workmanship with excellent personnel who are accustomed to working to the time schedules put before them.

Due to technological advances, the requirements, challenges, and competitiveness of the oil industry have grown tremendously. In order to meet management's Target / Corporate goal for the NK Operations Group ("increased production becomes the core responsibility"), the MS&R, NK Team is always prepared to "step up the pace" and utilize the best working values and practices to the maximum possible extent for our core business development.

In line with our well-known tradition of continuous improvement, since the inception of the MS&R (NK) Team, we are pleased to announce the successful development and implementation of our new PM philosophy. This philosophy was used during the GC-24 Major Survey, which resulted in the huge achievement of added production. This achievement would not have been possible without successful development and implementation of the new PM philosophy. Success factors produced from the new PM philosophy, "some of the few", combined to lead to the minimization of the shutdown duration from the deep-rooted old standard of 42 Days (for MJS shutdown of a Large GC) to the initial plan of 30 Days and finally to an actual shutdown duration of only 6 days!

We would like to thank all the teams involved for their cooperation and excellent coordination. We would like to particularly thank the Production Operation (NK), Inspection and Corrosion (N&WK), and Central Workshop teams for making the new philosophy successful. We hope that the new PM philosophy will be used company-wide as a useful way forward toward implementation of the best practices to compete and match new trends necessary for accomplishing Kuwait Oil Company's goals.

Planned Maintenance is a Key to Operational Success

"Our Preventative Maintenance philosophy is focused on teamwork, enhanced coordination, striving for excellence, top supervision, and a 'round-the-clock' 24 hours, working strategy for achieving our set milestones." -Mohammed Dasan Al-Ajmi, Sr. Engineer Planning, MS&R (NK) Team, KOC-North Kuwait.

New PM Philosophy

The traditional view of PM shutdowns is that they are mainly maintenance events. This is a simplistic assumption that is held by many professionals in our industry. However, a more realistic and holistic perspective recognizes that the impact and scope of shutdowns extend far beyond the maintenance and engineering functions. PM shutdowns can significantly affect production. Furthermore, they attract the attention of upper management and are, therefore, "whole business events", not simple function-specific ones.