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Modular, mammoth project
A key challenge of the project is not its spatial and technical
size or the material used, but rather project coordination across
national borders and cultural differences. Other important
factors include a strict time schedule between engineering input
and acceptance, as well as additional design modifications
that must be made in time for subsequent operations. Project
management, coordinated from Brühl, synchronised the
numerous interrelated process steps over several years, enabling
successful implementation.
From the initial planning phase to the
final acceptance
Prior to the start of the contract, HIMA’s experts and the basic
process control system (BPCS) supplier tested and validated
hardware and software functions. The company’s team dealt
primarily with the engineering and the design of the project. The
aimwas to clarify specifications in order to minimise subsequent
plan corrections and the additional time that this would involve.
Specific applications and various interconnection possibilities of
field devices were considered from an upstream perspective.
The onshore and offshore facilities and the pipeline are
connected to a total of 25 000 safety related input and output
points. Safe networking was implemented using the company’s
safeethernet protocol. Cybersecurity and network management
includes the installation of associated hardware and
components, e.g. smoke detectors in employee living
accommodation. Numerous workstations and servers, along
with an additional recovery system, are other components of the
safety solution.
In addition to ensuring safety, HIMax
®
safety controllers
provide uninterrupted systems operations, maximising system
availability and productivity. The safety systems comply with
IEC 61508 and IEC 61511 standards and meet SIL 3 and SIL 4
requirements. HIMA Planar4 controllers used on the project can
achieve SIL 4 – the highest possible safety standard – in
compliance with IEC 61508.
Worldwide coordination
Of the company’s five locations involved in the project,
Singapore is second only to Brühl in strategic significance.
In terms of worldwide coordination, Singapore offered the
shortest routes for all parties involved. In addition to INPEX
representatives, HIMA safety engineers and the control system
manufacturer, the three contractual partners for engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) are represented on site. All
contractual partners have occupied one building
complex in order to communicate directly and
efficiently.
In Singapore, function tests of all safety systems
were performed on more than 1200 control
cabinets. In addition to the cabinets supplied by the
company, 800 cabinets were supplied by the BPCS
supplier and contractual partners. At the same time,
safety engineering activities were distributed over
three floors – one floor each for the
semisubmersible platform, the liquefaction facility
and the onshore facility. All facilities achieved 100%
acceptance in the prescribed time.
Prepared for the future
Changing with the times also meant developing
modular, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)
systems. During large scale projects and under
extreme working conditions, COTS systems
ensure higher production quality, lower prices,
shorter implementation times and less effort at the
construction site.
Today’s new complexity applies to more than
technology. In the case of functional safety, the
operator must also comply with a multitude of
constantly changing laws, guidelines and standards.
A functional safety management (FSM) system
must be established over the entire lifecycle of a
project – from the initial design and
implementation, through to the production process.
Tailor-made safety solutions can provide the
operator with higher system availability and lower
maintenance costs, as well as better insurance
terms.
Figure 3.
The monoethylene glycol injection module is lifted and installed onto
the floating semisubmersible platform.
Figure 2.
Construction progress of the onshore facilities of the Ichthys LNG
Project in September 2015.
