 |
| Hawk Rope Access, Inc. 124 Parker Avenue, Rodeo, California, USA 94572 |
| Phone 510-245-8728 Fax 510-245-1728 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Home > Hawk At Work > Flare Tip Replacement |
|
| Hawk Rope Access, Inc. |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
| In refineries, a flare stack is an elevated vertical tower that is used for burning off unwanted residuals or flammable gas and liquids during planed maintenance cycles. It also acts as a safety device to protect vessels or pipes during unplanned upsets. Whenever plant equipment items are over-pressured, the pressure relief valves on the equipment automatically releases gases (and sometimes liquids as well) which are routed through large piping runs, called flare headers, to the flare stacks. The released gases and/or liquids are burned as they exit the flare stacks until personnel can fix the problem and redirect them back into the normal process system. |
|
Scope of Services:
Our Industrial Rope Access teams recently completed an extensive flare tip project at a Gulf Coast refinery. |
|
|
|
| Our technicians were tasked with the demolition and reconstruction of the top 30 feet of the 230-foot flare, including the burner assembly, decking structure, piping, conduit and structural steel. |
|
| Industrial Rope Access techniques offered the ability to complete the project despite limited access for cranes and a tight timeline dictated by the need to have the facilities only flare off-line for the shortest time possible. The project began in early May and was completed in 27 days. |
|
Location: Baytown Texas
Project Clients: ConocoPhillips/Gulf Coast Fractionators |
|
| During the demolition phase of the project technicians removed the main flare tip including piping and conduit. The inner and outer headers were removed including top sections of primary piping. The upper walkway was removed including handrails, guardrails and the ladder. The support skid was removed and temporary guy wires were installed while the original guy wires were removed for the riser removal. |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Every morning, the technicians were “flown” up to their rigging at the flare tip using a crane and man basket. With the teams rigged for work and for rescue the same crane could now be used to "fly off" each piece of steel. Careful planning for access had to be completed before removing each piece. For example, before the top platform was removed, ropes had to be rigged underneath so that technicians could maintain safe access while they cut it free. |
|
Next came the installation
During the installation phase the rope access work teams; installed the new riser, installed new guy wires, installed new 360-degree deck/walkway, installed and re-fit a maze of secondary piping and a new support skid. Rope access technicians installed the new main flare tip; the outer and inner headers with associated piping, new electrical conduit; and finally, the team installed a new FAA lighting system, including a complete cable system for retracting and servicing the lights from the ground level. |
|
|
|
| Rebuilding the flare tip required the same careful planning. Complex components had to be assembled, lifted and fitted into position, technicians often had to rig the ropes on the primary component while it was still on the ground, fly it up with the crane, bolt it into position and then complete the final assembly of the piece while on ropes. The rope access team set up temporary guy-wires before removing the existing upper guy-wires and dismantling the upper section. As the installation progressed the team then installed three new permanent guy-wires and tensioned each of them to 12,000 pounds. All lines had to be tensioned simultaneously while maintaining the plum of the stack. |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| It was a complex project with many different trades involved. The industrial rope access team members were often faced with additional challenges. Weather got in the way of the work on quite a few occasions, with wind and lightning. During these times our workers were able to quickly shut down and secure equipment and then return to work when the storm had passed. There were rusty bolts that had seized, and technicians had to do extensive cutting. The many different replacement parts had to be located in multiple lay down yards scattered throughout the refinery including one that had become an overgrown field. There were issues matching new components with old components and parts that just plain did not fit. In addition, the job scope expanded some, adding to the time crunch of working on the plants only flare in a turnaround situation. |
|
|
|
| Our Industrial Rope Access Team worked closely with the refinery and its vendors to complete this project. They were able to identify potential problems early and avoid significant delays. Our team's extensive training and experience from previous industrial rope access projects allowed them to adapt quickly to changing conditions and work safely and effectively while significantly reducing the overall costs and man-hours |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Home | | |
| | | | |
Hawk Rope Access, Inc.
Phone 510-245-8728 Fax 510-245-1728
124 Parker Avenue, Rodeo, California, USA 94572 |
| |
|
|
|
