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DIRECTORY OF SINGAPORE PROCESS & CHEMICALS INDUSTRIES 2021/2022
HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY, TRANSFORMING BUSINESSES: SESSION 2
In the second webinar session of the “Harnessing Technology, Transforming Businesses” series on 27 January 2021, Mr Naresh Kumar Govindan, General Manager (BD & Corporate Affairs) and Mr Lim Chee Yong, Assistant Manager (IT & Digital Solutions) of JEL Maintenance Pte Ltd (JML), shared how the adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) technology has transformed the way their company operated during the pandemic.
Mr Naresh opened the webinar by giving an overview of JML, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jurong Engineering Limited (JEL). Incorporated in Singapore in 2000, JML provides maintenance and project services to refineries, power and petrochemical plants. With strong emphasis on
innovation, sustainability and Industry 4.0, JML specialises in plant facility expansion on EPC basis, dismantling, construction, STO (Shutdown, Turnaround, Outage) planning and execution, annual outages, routine-maintenance, and asset life cycle improvement projects, including retrofitting and modifications.
One of the projects that JML oversaw was the replacement of a flare seal for one of Singapore’s refineries. Standing at 150 metres high, it is one of the highest flares in Singapore. JML was required to replace 16 tons of the flare seal and install the necessary piping related to the replacement works using a 600-ton crane.
Several challenges were identified in the planning stages, key among them was the limited access to survey it as it was a live flare. JML had to conduct the project planning activities to identify modifications to existing platforms and critical processes, which included
dismantling the existing flare seal, disconnecting pipes at height, installing the new seal, and then reconnecting the pipes, all during the plant shutdown window, which left very little room for errors and re-work. In the past, workers would have to climb the seal at the risk of falling from height and exposure to the high heat.
In view of the challenges, JML decided to adopt the latest digital technology. Drones were flown to record video footage of the flare. With the video footage, JML was able to employ VR technology to create an immersive flare environment. This enabled them to simulate work processes and study the scope in greater detail to ensure efficiency. Workers were then able to monitor the live footage through mobile devices when necessary.
The presentation was followed by a Q&A session on JML’s adoption of VR technology.
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