Page 55 - SAPREF 50 year

Technology
The Technology department encompasses Process Technology, Advanced Process Control, Masterplanning, Laboratory and ICT Services teams. The 74-member department is led by John Harris.
The Process Technology team provides technical process support to the Production department, including process monitoring, troubleshooting and optimisation, as well as longer- term work such as studies, development of projects, maintenance of the Linear Programme models and evaluation of new crude oils for the refinery. The Technology department also manages refinery catalysts — when to change them, selection and budget, as well as regeneration, re-use and reclamation. The group ensures that the proper infrastructure is in place to maintain product quality and reliable utility systems, and provides specialist support to Island View.
Process Control is responsible for the maintenance and development of all refinery- wide base layer control strategies that reside in the Honeywell TDC system, all Advanced Control applications (SMOC), all Safe Guarding logic applications, and the refinery’s Process Historian system (PI).
The Masterplanning team focuses on a
world that is forever changing. There are
new challenges in terms of product quality specifications, emission standards or permit conditions as well as new technological developments. A Master Plan maps out the best route to follow in moving SAPREF from our current reality to our desired future position. The team also manages our capital expenditure plans.
The Laboratory team analyses feed, intermediate and product streams and assists in investigating process performance and quality issues, completing around 2000 tests per day across 250 samples. The team helps manage product quality because the product release and quality-assurance decision-making process relies heavily on analytical data, which if not controlled may lead to product quality incidents.
The ICT section provides and supports the network and computing infrastructure outside the Process Control domain. This entails network cabling and switches, user workstations (both mobile and desktop), office tools, printers, the
main business applications and the “behind- the-scenes” servers, databases, and storage and backup devices. The section also provides intranet, internet and telephone services.
Concludes John Harris, “The department has seen a lot of improvements over the years. Some of our team members remember the days when reports were written by hand in pencil, sent to a typing pool, where they were often misinterpreted because of technical jargon, and many iterations were required to obtain
decent documents; today of course each technologist does his/her own report writing, publication and distribution at their desk. And who can forget those main communications to shareholders via telex, with a long approval
list to be signed off before being sent, and the huge storage cabinets for the paper copies? Not to mention the open-plan office with the main thoroughfare going through the middle — the present own-office configuration has boosted productivity!”
Columns magazine of May 1985 told us: “The advent of computers has changed our lives. Today we have a system which supports these departments: financial, personnel, engineering, Lubs Blending Plant, and manufacturing. All of these systems, housed in six computer rooms, are supported by continued use of the Shell mainframe as well as 14 mini-computers on site and 17 personal computers.”
Kamil Soni, Quality Systems Advisor, preps a sample of light naptha for the sulphur analyser in the Laboratory.
COMMEMORATING 50 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
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