World pipeline tilos_article
- 1. ® Volume 12 Number 02 - February 2012 World Pipelines FEBRUARY 2012 www.energyglobal.com
- 2. Figure 1. Crossing the Waupisoo River.
- 3. Scheduled for Hubert Geier, Managing Director, Linear Project, Germany, explains the advantages of linear scheduling for pipeline projects. success T raditional planning and scheduling software for the construction industry is dominated by Primavera and Microsoft Project. Both solutions enable a planner to develop a series of activities that are logically connected, to provide a sequence of events from linear project such as a pipeline, high voltage power lines, rail system or roadway. The Gantt chart, with tasks grouped and sorted in different ways, is the most common approach these programmes use to present schedules. Using traditional planning software, the project start to finish. While these tools are designed for project execution can only be represented by increasing the the construction of buildings and other facilities (power number of tasks to split the work of a crew into many small generating stations, refineries, etc.), they are not adequate parts to reflect the constructability issues (i.e., reverse lays, for the constructability issues and demands of building a environmental restrictions) of the project. The end result is 58 Reprinted from FEBRUARY 2012 | World pipelines
- 4. large schedules that do not readily provide an overview of the the tasks and resource usage, as well as the sequencing and interaction between site and schedule. direction of the work. The difference in a linear project, such as a pipeline, is This article introduces TILOS, a linear planning and that the work is highly repetitive, with the crews moving management tool that through the use of march charts (also along a defined right‑of‑way (ROW). Changing site conditions, known as time distance diagrams), enables a pipeline planner environmental and regulatory constraints impact the to integrate the schedule with the site data and logistical production methods, work rate and the logistics of building constraints. Rather than presenting the plan as a series of the pipeline along the length of the project. The planner Gantt bars, this approach allows the planner to integrate always needs to be aware of these conditions when planning and print as much detail as required about the schedule on a single page. This detail can include elevation profiles, land acquisition, environmental windows, crossings and crew movement and direction of travel. The key is the use of two axes: the time and the location axis in a 2D grid. In Figure 2, the location axis is horizontal and the time axis is vertical, but this can be changed on demand. Each task is defined by the start and end co‑ordinates in both time and location. The line between these points defines the task and describes when the crew is at a specific location. The slope of the line Figure 2. An example of a TILOS 1 page time-distance plan. indicates the speed of each crew in the different segments. The steeper the slope, the slower the crew is moving. Furthermore, the sequence of tasks in pipeline construction is strongly determined by the production processes, one crew cannot overtake the other. Using TILOS, any lines that cross immediately indicate clashes. Activities such as horizontal directional drills, road bores or mainline block valves are typically shown as rectangles because the crews are working in one location. Environmental constraints and hydrotest segments are also typically represented by rectangles, as these are clearly defined in time and Figure 3. Linear schedule with ribbons. distance. Reprinted from FEBRUARY 2012 | World pipelines
- 5. Connecting alignment sheets with the schedule using the ‘clearing’ profile and is shown as a table. The table In the pipeline industry, detailed information about the ROW also represents the land coverage showing each type as a is documented in the alignment sheets that are typically different colour. The work rate in the last column adjusts the prepared with CAD systems. This information includes: work rate of the clearing task for that segment. elevation, crossings, pipe thickness and type, pipe weight requirements, environmental restrictions, land permitting, and Integrating GPS data municipal districts that the pipeline is traversing. The integration of maps and satellite can further enhance This type of information is added in a TILOS view as a the time distance diagram. If GPS co-ordinates are available, ribbon along the distance axis that represents the ROW. These the ROW can be drawn as a route on a map and the pictures ribbons can contain graphs that are generated using TILOS can be added to the TILOS view. Locations of crossings, profile data, which are easily imported from Excel or other camps, stockpiles and access roads to the ROW are important data files. Thus, a time distance diagram looks similar to an components of the planning process. All of these can be alignment sheet but also has an extra ROW that displays the readily identified and located in TILOS using GPS data during schedule in a march chart form. planning. Figure 3 shows the main crew movements as different TILOS is able to slice the task data to any time period or coloured lines. The road bores and the hydrotest tasks are distance section. By mapping the KP values of the tasks to shown as rectangles. The area between KP 59+000 and 62+600 the GPS co-ordinates of the ROW, each task can be shown in (where the pipeline is crossing a valley) is represented in the the map view as well. Setting time filters, snap shots of the overview plan by just a single summary task. This section is progress can be shown. Furthermore, it allows a simulation of performed by a special crew and is detailed in another time the construction process by moving the time stepwise forward distance diagram using a different scale to show more details. and adding the built section for the time periods. Environmental restrictions and land tracks that have not been acquired are monitored as rectangles to indicate that Reporting and controlling there is no access to these areas. Each crew line touching During project execution, the time distance diagram is a these objects represents a clash and the planner is notified of valuable tool as it provides all the necessary information these events during a reschedule in TILOS. In Figure 3, the blue about stockpile sites, restricted access, crew locations, and rectangle indicates a weather restriction that the planner has access roads to plan the daily construction. had to consider in developing the project execution strategy. Daily progress is typically recorded in worksheets that Figure 4 shows a portion of the entire schedule discussed are then entered into Excel or a company‑owned reporting earlier. In this view, a filter has been applied to display system. This progress data is easily imported into TILOS using only the clearing activity. The different clearing work rates its extended import facilities and allows the construction team (here m/d) along the ROW are indicated by the changing slope to monitor the progress along the ROW. While traditional of the task line and the differential work rate is generated project management systems report on a % completed for each task, TILOS also records the location and date where the work has been executed. Recording both the time and location of completed activities quickly identifies where move arounds and work stoppages have occurred. Finally, a good progress overview can be achieved using the distance‑based Gantt chart in TILOS. This is a unique feature that show bars along a distance axis (not using Figure 4. Clearing crew with a variable work rate. a time axis that is typical of Gantt charts). By grouping the task by crew and filtering for only performed sections, the distance Gantt chart clearly displays the sections that each crew has completed. Other information can also include earned value analysis on a crew or project basis. Figure 5. Satellite view with pipeline route, crossings and progress situation. This includes: % completed Reprinted from FEBRUARY 2012 | World pipelines
- 6. to date, % complete planned, completed quantity, remaining quantity, earned value and schedule variance. A distance Gantt chart is shown in Figure 5. TILOS calculates the expected end date using the actual work rate to date. After rescheduling, any remaining work can be easily planned using a new work rate required to recover the baseline end date if necessary. Integration concepts Figure 6. Progress in a march chart and distance Gantt chart. Compiling all this information into the plan does not necessarily mean that a lot of effort is required. Most of the data to the company portfolio management tools, such as information is already available and can be imported into Oracle’s Primavera using the API integration tools developed TILOS during the planning phase. for TILOS. The software exchange module can import the In TILOS, most graphs are not simply pictures but are whole project including WBS structures and resource usage generated based on grid data that can be easily imported. into Primavera Project management. For MS Project, a similar Spreadsheets, the most common tool used by engineers for integration is available using a VBA application that can build calculation and management, are easily imported into the the whole project from scratch. software by using the clipboard or importing XML data. The TILOS template strategy allows a planner to setup Summary a project in a minimum amount of time. The layout of the This article has shown a new approach to the traditional view, including ribbons, and the standard task templates planning methodology. By visually developing the with predefined work rates can be predefined and saved as a project, while incorporating all known constraints and TILOS template. New projects are then created based on this constructability issues, the planner can readily develop a template. Setting the execution time and the distance axis feasible execution plan. Using the layer‑based cell system in values adjusts all the views in the project automatically. TILOS, as much detail as required by the planner and project The planning starts by importing site data such as team can be incorporated into a TILOS view. Company crossings, county list and elevation to generate the ribbons tailored templates reduce the work efforts and costs for for the view. Activities can be added by drawing them directly planning by providing more precision during the early on the view or importing them from Excel or another project planning phase. management system. Many owner organisations now require a march chart submission as part of the bid package so that the contractor Portfolio management can demonstrate an understanding of the constructability In many large organisations, TILOS is used to plan and control issues and constraints and to prove that the work can be individual projects because of its comprehensive schedule completed in the required timeframe. presentation. In these organisations, TILOS is used to push COMING NEXT MONTH Reprinted from FEBRUARY 2012 | World pipelines