As part of Valero Energy Corp.'s commitment to continuous improvement, Valero has initiated a vigorous restructure of its Thickness Management Systems (TMS) data. This restructure is designed to improve the corrosion rate calculations to more precise locations. Critical service piping is determined by a service-contained classification process. The more corrosive/erosive the service, the more monitoring locations and fewer months between intervals. This allows the engineering and inspection department to focus on more critical systems with a higher potential for failure. The restructure also allows Valero to link its Thickness Management Software (PCMS) to its Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing (SAP), and other engineering and drafting software systems. PCMS provides inspection-due reports, exception reports to flag anomalies and inspection-scheduling reports.

"Although Valero has taken the viewpoint of SAP being our primary repository for information, we recognize the need for specialized programs," Mark D. Haag, lead systems specialist for Valero, said. "These programs provide information to the user that cannot be found or generated within SAP. In these cases, the secondary program tends to utilize data that is duplicated in SAP, and Valero's biggest concern is that this data matches. The interface between PCMS and SAP enables PCMS equipment details to be synchronized with SAP equipment details. The other half of the interface provides the freedom of creating work requests in PCMS and transporting the data into SAP to create a notification. This allows the inspector to maintain his data in a program with which he is familiar."

With the PAL link (PCMS autocad link), plant inspectors and engineers can instantly display data directly on to their existing inspection drawing. This information window can contain any information field within the PCMS system by the user simply selecting the field he wishes displayed from next inspection date to expected retirement date or even what method of accessibility is required to get to that inspection location.

Other advantages of PCMS include future projections of required replacements, budgeting reports and historical archiving of equipment repairs and replacements. This effort, headed by CONAM Inspection's PCMS group with project management and 12 full-time dedicated inspectors, resources the implementation and compiling of all necessary data both from the office and field sources.

"Equipment have nominal thickness when new," August Riemer, site project manager at the Valero Refinery in Texas City, Texas, explained. "We monitor equipment to prevent catastrophic releases of hazardous chemicals, flammable chemicals and petroleum. We also monitor failures to determine revenue losses and monitor erosion and corrosion to isolate problem areas BEFORE they fail. PCMS, because of its stored data, lets us know when and what to inspect. It flags anomalies, which saves inspection time and reduces costs." The Valero Refinery recently won an award for Outstanding Safety Performance and Initiative from the OSHA Voluntary Protection Star Program (VPP), making the refinery an "OSHA Star Site." "On the inspection side, the OSHA representative said that Valero was putting together a premier system that facilities nationwide will model after, due to Valero's vision and PCMS's implementation," Riemer said. "PCMS has been a valuable tool for us and was instrumental in helping us win the VPP award," Hollis Wood, Chief Inspector for Valero at Texas City, said. "Through PCMS, we have been able to get a handle on our corrosion rates, and we've been able to better plan our turnarounds. PCMS allows us to better forecast our corrosion and inspection needs, to better classify our pipes and has enabled us to track valve repairs and recommended inspection frequencies. We can now spend more time on our high-priority hydrocarbons. I am very happy with the PCMS crew here!"