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Articles tagged with: TAPS

Client Expands the Use of TAPS and P6-Loader to Their Western Division

TAPS and P6-Loader help client streamline their turnaround schedule development and maintenance

TAPS and P6-Loader help client streamline their turnaround schedule development and maintenance

Written by Mary Lynn Backstrom

Client Overview

A large plastics and chemical company has expanded the use of P6-Loader and TAPS from their site in Eastern Canada to now include their Western Canada site.

Challenges

  • Client was updating P6 manually at the end of each shift during their turnarounds

  • They needed a way to make P6 updates quick and error-free

  • Client also wanted to help streamline their scheduling processes

Results

  • TAPS is providing the turnaround team with quick, easy to use schedule updates

  • TAPS is improving the accuracy and speed of updates as well as the overall update process

  • P6-Loader is currently proving an asset in building turnaround schedules as well as processing changes for the Western Canada site

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TAPS Case Studies

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P6-Loader Videos

on Tuesday, 26 September 2023. Posted in Case Studies

Lubrication Company Implements TAPS

Discover how this refinery used TAPS to improve the accuracy and speed of progress data entry during their turnarounds.

Turnaround progress entry more efficient and streamlined at the refinery

Client Overview

Client is an independent petroleum refiner and marketer that produces products like gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other specialty products.

Challenges

  • The refinery needed a way to streamline data entry and schedule updating.

  • Manual data entry of progress after each shift was taking two schedulers 4-5 hours to complete, which took time away from the analysis of their updated schedules.

Results

  • Schedule updates take a matter of minutes using bar code scanners, rather than several hours.

  • The time savings using TAPS freed up schedulers time to analyze the results, and provide better reports to management after each shift.

  • P6 updates are more accurate

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on Tuesday, 04 April 2023. Posted in Case Studies

P6-Loader Used to Create a P6 Schedule

Learn how Emerald helped an oil refinery prepare for a turnaround using Primavera P6

Refinery used P6-Loader to create a P6 schedule prior to a turnaround starting

Client Overview

The client is one of the largest refineries in Canada. They were using CASP as their project management solution for their turnaround (TA). They moved to P6 EPPM six months before their TA and needed to get the historical data from CASP into P6 without delay while getting the team up-to-speed on P6.

Challenges

  • Previous turnarounds did not finish on time and on budget and were hard to manage.

  • They had more than 1000 work packages planned, but they were in Excel or on paper.

  • They had no schedulers familiar with P6.

  • Time was short - Emerald was put on the project only 6 months before the turnaround was starting.

Results

  • Emerald sent two implementation specialists four months before the TA started. They set up P6 and created a resource-loaded CPM schedule.

  • Used P6-Loader to automate grabbing simple Work Order, Task, and Resource sheets from Excel to create the P6 schedule. More packages were being developed and loaded right throughout the turnaround.

  • A full critical path schedule was built, resource leveling was developed, and reporting and metrics were standardized.

  • Emerald helped run their three subsequent TAs.

  • Utilized TAPS for updating progress of the activities.

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Primavera P6 Case Studies

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P6-Loader Videos

on Monday, 23 January 2023. Posted in Case Studies

TAPS Rolled Out at Oil Refinery

Learn how TAPS helped with a successful turnaround

Refinery used TAPS to run a successful turnaround

Client Overview

Client is one of Canada's largest oil refineries and a major supplier of Canada's fuel. The complex completed a $2.9 billion upgrade project (2012) that increased operations up to 145,000 barrels per day.

Challenges

  • Running large turnarounds without needing to increase staff.

Results

  • Successfully ran a $60M turnaround.

  • Gave them more time to focus on analyzing the schedule.

  • Less licenses of Primavera were required for updating progress.

  • They didn’t require a scheduler for updating progress and were able to use a summer student instead.

From Our Customer

“We never worry about the accuracy of the updating progress in P6.”

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on Thursday, 19 January 2023. Posted in Case Studies

Large US Oil Company Implements P6-Loader and TAPS

One refinery using TAPS and P6-Loader saw great improvements in speed and accuracy when working with P6 data that the company rolled out the tools to all refineries.

Simplify the STO process from beginning to end

Client Overview

Client is an oil and gas company with a focus in refining and marketing petroleum products, processing natural gas and gas liquids, and manufacturing petrochemicals, polymers, and plastics.

Challenges

  • The Planners wanted to add information to their schedules in an easy way using information provided in spreadsheets.

  • The Washington state refinery was seeking to simplify and accelerate the input of progress.

  • The contracted master scheduler at the Ferndale Refinery had used P6-Loader and TAPS before and knew the tools would simplify their STO processes.

Results

  • TAPS was initially used at the Ferndale Refinery and saved so much time, it is used on turnarounds at all the company’s refineries now.

  • After using P6-Loader at the Ferndale refinery, the tool was purchased company-wide for use with all P6 databases.

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P6-Loader Videos

on Thursday, 17 June 2021. Posted in Case Studies

TAPS - Reduce Stress, Improve Forecasting

TAPS helped turnarounds run smoother and with less stress.

Scanning made all the difference

Client Overview

As an international integrated Oil and Gas organization from Vienna, Austria, large turnaround projects are second nature; however, getting updates and forecasting done is still a challenge.

Challenges

  • Updating thousands of activities within 2 hours of a shift change.

  • Ensuring a simple forecasting at the end of the shift to get the next crew lead to status this to complete.

  • Knowing what inspections were needed.

  • Getting the crews to the right place for efficiency.

Results

  • The New Zealand group got TAPS at the recommendation of the Engineering leads, and this has been great for them. With TAPS, the updating process was much more smooth and painless.

  • The team had a lot less stress, and reporting was simplified.

  • Accurate forecasting went up significantly.

  • The turnarounds have been smoother on the impact analysis.

  • Better mitigation of work area access.

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TAPS Case Studies

Oil and Gas Case Studies

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on Tuesday, 08 June 2021. Posted in Case Studies

TAPS at Suncor Energy

Discover how Suncor Energy harnessed Emerald Associates' TAPS to reduce their scheduling costs while boosting their speed.

TAPS makes updating faster and easier

Client Overview

Suncor Energy is a Canadian integrated energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It specializes in the production of synthetic crude from the oil sands.

Challenges

  • Updating schedules was incredibly slow

  • Updating schedules was inaccurate

  • The schedulers they had to hire were expensive and in high-demand

  • Early shifts were needed to get updates in on time

Results

  • 3x faster progress entry into schedule

  • Updating schedules was much more accurate and efficient when the human component was taken out

  • Less skilled resources could be used - can use entry clerks and foremen instead of the more expensive schedulers

  • A lot of money was saved

  • Decided to implement TAPS throughout their multiple refineries

From Our Customer

“We have used this system for progressing Primavera scheduled activities for three turnarounds now, and I and everyone who has used it for updating are most favorably impressed with the speed and accuracy achieved. What used to take an experienced user 1½ to 2 hours to update manually, can now be done in ½ to ¾ of an hour and can be done accurately by a less experienced user.”

Lead TA and Construction Scheduler, Suncor Energy

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on Monday, 31 May 2021. Posted in Case Studies

TAPS v11 - New Release

Our latest version of the Turnaround Progressing System brings a fresh UI to mobile, activity searches and enhanced sorting and filtering capabilities.

May 10, 2021

Our latest version of the Turnaround Progressing System brings a fresh UI to mobile, activity searches and enhanced sorting and filtering capabilities.

New Features

  • Mobile - New search function allows you to find your activities fast with sorting and filtering capabilities.

  • Mobile - Allows you to configure the percentages (25%, 50%, 100% or any amount you like) that can be assigned to activities. Automatically saved with your other settings.

Enhancements

  • Mobile - Completely redesigned look and feel for an even better user experience.

  • Desktop - Improved controls to sort and filter your activities in the browser.

  • New technology changes for better performance

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TAPS Videos

TAPS Case Studies

on Monday, 10 May 2021. Posted in News, TAPS

Large US Refinery Implements Emerald Tools

Learn how this refinery used P6-Loader and TAPS to improve accuracy and speed when working with data in their P6 schedules and how they used EP-datawarehouse and custom dashboards to help with cost control and management visibility for their turnarounds.

Cost controls more effective and schedule updating more streamlined

Written by Sue Hopkins

Client Overview

Client is one of North America's largest integrated energy companies. Their Lima refinery was looking for a way to improve their turnarounds and create custom dashboards for better visibility for management.

Challenges

  • Their Lima refinery was looking for a way to have more effective cost controls for their turnarounds.

  • They needed a way to streamline data entry and schedule updating and reporting.

Results

  • Emerald's Turnaround Productivity Package - TAPS, P6-Loader, EP-dashboard, and EP-datawarehouse was implemented

  • Schedule updates are now completed in less than a quarter of the time. Updating takes a matter of minutes using TAPS, rather than several hours

  • P6-Loader streamlined the addition of found work to both the working schedule and the baseline schedule

  • EP-datawarehouse is used to store snapshotted data for multiple uses for EV and Trending

  • EP-dashboards utilize the snapshot data to create custom dashboards for management including Green-Ups, Inspections and S-Curves

From Our Customer

"Coming in at 6am instead of 4am each day made a big difference to our team; not only on a daily basis but by not being exhausted at the end of the turnaround. TAPS saved 600 grueling hours.”

-Ken Admire, Lead Planner/Scheduler

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TAPS Case Studies

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P6-Reporter Case Studies

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P6-Loader Videos

on Wednesday, 24 March 2021. Posted in Case Studies