What We Offer – Facilities Under Construction

Sierra Power Consulting LLC offers oversite to monitor transitioning a new facility from construction to commercial operation. For a project to be successful, this overall evolution must be performed in a safe and timely manner while staying within the project budgetary guidelines.

During the construction of a new facility, coordinating the transition from system / major component construction to normal operation is critical. We will lead / provide oversight for the development of programs to ensure a smooth and safe transition. The following are some examples:

  • Schedule review and evaluation
  • Punchlist – identifying system defects and deficiencies
  • Turn over documentation – system / component installation information for future reference
  • Safety programs – Safe Work Permits, Lockout / Tagout, Confined Space Entry Permits, Hot Work Permits, etc…
  • System flush procedures
  • System Operating procedure

When a facility is under construction, system progress and component installation quality are closely supervised by engineers with discipline specific (mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, electronics, etc.) knowledge. Once a system has been completed, we will assist in assuring that the proper steps are taken to ensure that it will be capable of reliable, long term operation. The following are some examples of how a system is readied for service:

  • System Flush Procedure – A document identifying specific steps to ensure that a new system is free of construction debris
  • System Monitoring Checkout – Documentation systematically verifying that all instrumentation is operable to monitor component operation
  • System Electrical Checkout – Documentation systematically verifying all electrical components are operating properly
  • System Operating Procedures – A document identifying specific steps to start / operate a system within the intended parameters

Once it has been demonstrated that all EPCC contractual obligations and equipment performance guarantees have been met, the facility should be ready for commercial operation. We will assist in preparing your operating staff for the safe and efficient operation of the entire facility before COD to ensure that it will be a seamless transition into commercial operation. The following are some examples:

  • Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Compliance – Ensure all employees are trained on regulatory requirements related to the facility and procedures are in place
  • EH&S Equipment – Ensure equipment (LOTO and CSE equipment, spill kits, respirators, etc.) has been purchased and ready for use
  • Operational Procedures – Ensure that system / plant operational procedures have been developed and are readily available
  • Reference Documents – Ensure that the latest detailed documents have been provided by the EPCC contractor and are readily available to the Operators and Maintenance personnel
  • Facility Output Optimization – Ensure that communication lines are well established between the facility and required utilities (Electrical Grid, Fuel Supply, Water, Sewer, etc.)

What We Offer – Operating Facilities

Sierra Power Consultants offers oversite to monitor / evaluate optimization of facility operations whether it is a newly commissioned facility or a facility that has been producing for a longer period. Elements of the facility are constantly changing and even subtle changes (e.g. normal equipment wear) can impact system operation and overall plant efficiency. Elevating the awareness of the personnel operating / maintaining the facility with standardize expectations will develop more of a proactive versus a reactive approach to maintaining overall facility efficiency.

As indicated above, system and facility operating procedures are crucial for standardizing the way in which all personnel perform a given task. Typically, these procedures will be developed during the early stages of commercial operation and then seldom formally reviewed. We will work with your personnel to ensure that the facility procedures:

  • Are standardized – Documents are consistently formatted
  • Conform to regulatory requirements – Current on (OSHA, EPA, NERC, Company, etc.) requirements
  • Are relevant to current operation – Reflect operation of a system that been modified
  • Reflect any equipment changes or new equipment install – Any varied or new operational procedures

Equal to sound facility procedures is personnel training on the procedures. All employees will benefit from facility / system training whether it is initial training for a new employee or refresher information for an employee who has been present for a longer period. We will work with your personnel to ensure that initial and refresher training programs are established and maintained with the following:

  • Tracking program
  • Periodic review / update

It is critical to properly define the scope and duration of a planned facility outage. We will assist in developing an outage plan which will include, but not be limited to the following:

  • Outage duration
  • Available spares
  • Vendor support
  • Craft support
  • Specialty work (machining parts, code welders, etc.)
  • Recertification of pressure parts or vessels

Not only do the above elements need to be captured, the personnel required to prepare for and restore from the outage will need to be evaluated. We will assist in developing an outage support plan which will include, but not be limited to the following:

  • Properly shutting a specific system or the entire facility down
  • Implementing a zero-energy state on all facility systems intended to be worked on during the outage (drain, depressurize, neutralize and LOTO)
  • Properly train all vendors and contractors on facility EH&S policies
  • Ensure staffing is available to manage the EH&S programs during the additional temporary staffing (LOTO, CSE, Work Permits, etc.)
  • Ensuring all work has been completed and all workers are cleared from LOTO’s and permits
  • Restoring systems from the outage
  • Restarting the system or entire facility