6
and support. During the various steps of a start-up many
incidents could and will occur. In order to keep operation
safe and preserve plant integrity, it is therefore important
to always have qualified operating personnel available to
take crucial decision and react quickly. During the start-up
phase, in addition to operating and coaching, the support
team will:
• Maintain a set-point tracking report
• Adjust control plans as necessary
• Lead sampling campaigns, standardize sampling pro-
cedures, and sample processing methods
• Communicate effectively with equip-
ment manufacturer personnel
• Communicate effectively with the consumable
provider
• Evaluate operators’ knowledge and progress
• Implement sampling inventory procedures for post-
production validation.
Effective communication is key to success:
• Coordinate with plant management to align
objectives
• Clarify roles and expectations with operating person-
nel and gather input
• Explain the process and key observations to the
maintenance team
• Communicate work progress with the construction
team if construction is ongoing alongside commis-
sioning activities.
Communication secures group buy-in and helps catch
any oversights.
Post Start-Up Actions
Once production and quality control are stable, and regular
personnel can operate the plant independently, the operat-
ing support team still has tasks to complete, albeit with less
intensity than during the startup phase. These tasks involve:
• Review of operating documents: Documentation pro-
duced before start-up requires adjustment to incor-
porate new details and operating strategies that were
not evaluated prior to the start-up.
• Review of control philosophy and alarm management:
The control philosophy developed during the engi-
neering study needs updating. After a few months
of operation, insights are gained on how to better
operate and control the process. Likewise, alarm lev-
els and management should be revised.
• Troubleshooting and process optimization: After start-
up, the operation staff is usually busy maintaining
the new operation and managing the final modifica-
tions. The regular staff has limited time for trouble-
shooting and process optimization. Therefore, it is
advisable to keep the process support team involved
in optimization projects. This helps achieve the final
ramp-up of the production and targeted perfor-
mances. As the operating staff gains experience and
plant operation stabilizes, they will gradually be able
to take over these projects.
INDUSTRIAL CASE STUDY
Since its beginning in 2000, Soutex has been involved in
over 20 plant start-ups, at various levels of participation.
The team supported plants built by junior, mid-tier and
major mining companies. The geographic distribution of
these projects is displayed in Figure 4.
In each of these projects, the start-up responsibility
was shared with various partners such as equipment pro-
viders, mechanical and electrical commissioning special-
ists, maintenance specialists, engineering firms, corporate
and operating teams from the client. In order to evaluate
the performances of these projects in comparison to other
start-up in the literature, the database compiled by Rollins
and Lam (2017) is replicated in Figure 5, compared to
the projects illustrated in Figure 4. Among these start ups,
Figure 3. Example of operating support team with control room operators and operators in the plant
and support. During the various steps of a start-up many
incidents could and will occur. In order to keep operation
safe and preserve plant integrity, it is therefore important
to always have qualified operating personnel available to
take crucial decision and react quickly. During the start-up
phase, in addition to operating and coaching, the support
team will:
• Maintain a set-point tracking report
• Adjust control plans as necessary
• Lead sampling campaigns, standardize sampling pro-
cedures, and sample processing methods
• Communicate effectively with equip-
ment manufacturer personnel
• Communicate effectively with the consumable
provider
• Evaluate operators’ knowledge and progress
• Implement sampling inventory procedures for post-
production validation.
Effective communication is key to success:
• Coordinate with plant management to align
objectives
• Clarify roles and expectations with operating person-
nel and gather input
• Explain the process and key observations to the
maintenance team
• Communicate work progress with the construction
team if construction is ongoing alongside commis-
sioning activities.
Communication secures group buy-in and helps catch
any oversights.
Post Start-Up Actions
Once production and quality control are stable, and regular
personnel can operate the plant independently, the operat-
ing support team still has tasks to complete, albeit with less
intensity than during the startup phase. These tasks involve:
• Review of operating documents: Documentation pro-
duced before start-up requires adjustment to incor-
porate new details and operating strategies that were
not evaluated prior to the start-up.
• Review of control philosophy and alarm management:
The control philosophy developed during the engi-
neering study needs updating. After a few months
of operation, insights are gained on how to better
operate and control the process. Likewise, alarm lev-
els and management should be revised.
• Troubleshooting and process optimization: After start-
up, the operation staff is usually busy maintaining
the new operation and managing the final modifica-
tions. The regular staff has limited time for trouble-
shooting and process optimization. Therefore, it is
advisable to keep the process support team involved
in optimization projects. This helps achieve the final
ramp-up of the production and targeted perfor-
mances. As the operating staff gains experience and
plant operation stabilizes, they will gradually be able
to take over these projects.
INDUSTRIAL CASE STUDY
Since its beginning in 2000, Soutex has been involved in
over 20 plant start-ups, at various levels of participation.
The team supported plants built by junior, mid-tier and
major mining companies. The geographic distribution of
these projects is displayed in Figure 4.
In each of these projects, the start-up responsibility
was shared with various partners such as equipment pro-
viders, mechanical and electrical commissioning special-
ists, maintenance specialists, engineering firms, corporate
and operating teams from the client. In order to evaluate
the performances of these projects in comparison to other
start-up in the literature, the database compiled by Rollins
and Lam (2017) is replicated in Figure 5, compared to
the projects illustrated in Figure 4. Among these start ups,
Figure 3. Example of operating support team with control room operators and operators in the plant