Reducing gas facility production costs through training

In today’s market, the goal of energy companies is to reduce their cost of production. While most consider the solution to rest in the assets themselves or by investing in expensive technologies, one of the most efficient ways of reducing production costs is through continuous training and upskilling of employees.

World industry standards dictate that oil and gas facilities should have an online availability of at least 97 percent. However, in Australia many energy producers legacy facilities are running far below this average, leading to increased costs of recovering availability performance.

In order to fix this problem, facilities need to reduce downtime while maintaining or increasing throughput rates. Companies can only do this if their teams have the most up-to-date skills and training.

When oil and gas facilities experience downtime, it doesn’t just mean a loss of profit, there is also a large expense incurred returning the plant to full production. Downtime can be reduced when adequately skilled employees can confidently perform thorough inspections because they are more familiar with the complexities of rotating equipment and multiple output components.

Skilled and experienced employees are the difference between proactive and reactive maintenance.

In Australia, rotating equipment, technical and business solutions company AJ Stack Solutions (AJSS), and energy infrastructure company Wasco, are the leading providers of affordable and practical training courses to the oil and gas, power generation, pipeline and mining industries.

Approaches to training

Managing Director of AJSS, Arthur Stack, said AJ Stack Solutions prides itself on being the market leader of affordable, interactive training and tailored courses.

“Our courses are typically tailored based on input from engineering and operation groups, and based on the installed equipment and specific operating profiles,” Mr Stack said.

“Currently, AJSS has three gas turbines and a reduction gearbox that are used to deliver hands on experience including borescope inspection training. The result is ‘unintentional learning’ that transcends seamlessly into the workplace.

“There are also a series of gas turbines package hardware, including complete fuel modules and the latest Precision Engineering Controls Corporation (PECC) electronic fuel valve.”

At Wasco, its team provides training on multiple precision measuring methods, including rim and face dial alignment, reverse dial/cross dial alignment and laser alignment.
General Manager Compression at Wasco, Michael Maroti, said Wasco’s course involves complete two-day training using laser and dial indicator measurement instruments.

“The course is designed to be a hands-on, practical, ‘studs and nuts approach’ to training. Our trainers demonstrate why the older methods of alignment are still used today and really how the laser technology has kept the concepts similar but completes all the equations,” Mr Maroti said.

Using training to lower costs

Mr Maroti said it’s important to stay educated on the tools and equipment used in day-to-day operations.

“Upskilling of employees for me is really peace of mind knowing that we are building their core skill set and instilling confidence in themselves to perform the tasks required of them. It helps us all focus on equipment reliability and most of all safety,” Mr Maroti said.

“When I think of a reliable asset I think of one that performs whenever it is required to. We expect this reliability in our day-to-day lives, from the coffee maker, to our vehicles, so there is no reason not to expect similar reliable assets in the natural gas compression market.”

Wade Elofson, the founder of business development company Powered, agrees that one of the most efficient ways to lower the cost of production is through upskilling employees to run gas facilities efficiently.

“We are interested in working with companies who can help drive down the cost of energy production in Australia,” Mr Elofson said.

“AJSS and Wasco have proven this to be the case through their unique delivery methods by providing training that focuses on what can be done every day on-the-ground to support the overall reduction of costs and the increase of efficiency.

“If companies are looking for a cost-effective solution to boost efficiency, they need to first and foremost invest in their employees.”

If you’re interested in finding out more about the training courses from AJSS or Wasco, please contact Wade Elofson at welofson@poweredaus.com.au.