Woodside Karratha Gas Plant

North Rankin and Karratha Gas Plant are two natural gas facilities owned and operated by Woodside Energy Limited. North Rankin being offshore and Karratha Gas Plant being an onshore facility. Both are currently operational assets extracting and refining gas for the local and international markets.

Scope of Work

DBM Vircon has been engaged to undertake works to assist with the creation, development and execution of operational activities and requirements of the assets. This included, creation of a fit for purpose 3D model, retrieval of 2D pdf’s including P&ID’s, isometrics, general arrangements, line lists and images, as well as automating the identification of corroded items or items of potential risk of corrosion using drone imagery and solar analysis.

Project Challenges/Highlights

The Virtual Model

When DBM Vircon was initially engaged, one of the first requirements was the creation of a fit for purpose 3D model. Asset management requires a model with an accurate representation of the current site conditions, that could be used to assist with the development of a custom asset management tool. This model would be engaged on a tablet or desktop, where planning, inspections, planned and reactive maintenance, item interrogation and visualizations could take place.

At this point Woodside had existing design, working and “as-built” 3D models in various native formats including PDS, PDMS, AutoCAD, AutoPlant, Microstation and Smart Plant 3D, and various exported formats including Navisworks, IFC, DGN and DWG. Along with these models we were also given access to retrieve 2D pdf’s including P&ID’s, isometrics, general arrangements, line lists and images. Existing point cloud data and photogrammetry was also provided. The challenge we had was that the information was not all there, it had been completed at differing times (over 20+ year period) and at times was somewhat contradictory. On review of the information it was evident that works needed to be done to bring the existing information up to a standard where it would be considered fit for purpose , not only the geometry but the data held within the objects.

Managing Corrosion

Corrosion management was a crucial part of Woodside Energy assets. DBM Vircon assisted with a process of automating the identification of corroded items or items at potential risk of corrosion throughout their assets. Typical corrosion inspection involves a team of people to manually assess and identify it. This is sometimes difficult due to access and surface treatments present. Once identified, an engineer would then go back to the highlighted areas and make a recommendation on the procedure required to remedy the issue.

Using a combination of drone imagery and solar analysis, DBM Vircon was able to pinpoint areas which were likely to be an issue and needed to be reviewed on the model. These areas were given a status based on the predicted criticality.

User Upskilling

Methods of engagement for the project team were changing due to the updated models and processes in place. To ensure that members of the project team received the full benefit from these updates DBM Vircon carried out scheduled training and general ad-hoc user upskilling. Sessions varied from individual virtual assistance through to on-site group upskilling where methods, workflows and tips & hints were demonstrated.

Training was held for users of all abilities from those who had not used a 3D model before through to those who needed to troubleshoot complex workflows or processes.

Project Communication and Collaboration

As works become larger and more complex there are natural time pressures associated with operational assets. To ensure adequate project team communication, collaboration and effective time use is maintained DBM Vircon introduced project issue management tools and reporting dashboards. Through the use of BIMTrack, DBM Vircon was able to establish automated workflows whereby issues flagged on site or the project office were captured, processed and actioned with full clarity of the project team.