Milestone Moments: Technicians Prepare to Support Production in Central Maintenance Building
Upkeep is vital to keeping the plant running at peak performance once it’s operational. After two years of planning, the team was given the keys and settled into the Central Maintenance Building.
By Shell Polymers on Jun 13, 2021
The Central Maintenance Building is a major step in the construction process, bringing the site closer to start up. Kenric Taylor, Central Maintenance Manager, excitedly shares about the experience, “It’s beginning to feel like we’re transitioning from a project site to a running asset site.”
While the plant was in the design phase, the Shell Polymers team really wanted to make sure there was a single, high-quality location for all things maintenance. In this Central Maintenance Building, the administrative area will be on the top level, while the main area on the bottom floor connects to the warehouse and technician shops. The teams that work here will primarily support production, by doing both reactive and proactive maintenance activities. In this space, experienced technicians will be equipped with modern tools to ensure the plant is able to provide its customers with confident PE supply. It’s truly the one-stop place for any maintenance need.
In the two weeks since the building was handed over to maintenance teams, over 250 pallets of supplies have been delivered for the technicians to excitedly sort through. The maintenance technicians have been hard at work opening up the pallets, seeing what we ordered, and sorting through them.
“It’s beginning to feel like we’re transitioning from a project site to a running asset site.”
Kenric Taylor, Central Maintenance Manager
For the staff, it’s been a surreal experience to now physically touch and see all the new furniture, gear, and supplies they’ve spent two-and-a-half years planning. Weston Turner, Maintenance Engineer, shared about the experience, “The shop is a crazy exciting milestone, as is the Central Maintenance Building. We actually get to put our hands on all the stuff we’ve been buying. We get to touch it. We get to see it. It’s monumental.”
With the Central Maintenance Building completed and the equipment turned over, this is just another step in the start up process towards providing a reliable PE supply to plastics converters. With this building supporting plant production, we’re one step closer to being the supplier of choice for converters for years to come. Reliability Engineer, Kate Justin, says it well: “It feels really good to be moving forward, one step closer to the plant being ours, to starting up, to being an unrivaled polyethylene producer.”
Central Maintenance Building Handover
Title: SHELL_Central Maintenance Building_V2
Duration: 2:15
Description:
A short video showing the handover of the Central Maintenance Building to the maintenance team
[Kenric Taylor, Central Maintenance Manager speaking]
The building that we’re in right now is titled the Central Maintenance Building. It’s the place where the maintenance organization is housed and all the associated departments that feed into what we do.
[Weston Turner, Maintenance Engineer speaking]
Maintenance will primarily support production in the site, doing reactive and proactive maintenance activities. If it’s equipment that needs to be prepared or anything like that, that’s what we’re on the job to do.
[Brett Kirk, Engineering Manager speaking]
Maintenance will be vital in supporting and running a safe and reliable operation for the asset and help start up and commission this facility.
[Alan Mckee, Construction Manager speaking]
We have people in ATA and FT1, and now this is our home. People feel excited and re-energized. This is where people are hanging their hats. This is where we’re starting from. This is a state-of-the-art plant that people are proud of.
[Kyle Ford, Maintenance Manager]
We really wanted to make sure that there was one central location. In this facility, we have the administrative building upstairs, we’re connected to the warehouse, the technician shops. It’s kinda the one stop place to be for maintenance.
[Weston Turner speaking]
The shop is a crazy exciting milestone, as is the CMB. Now, all this furniture that we have, all the gear that we’ve been buying for two-and-half years, we actually get to put our hands on it. We get to touch it. We get to see it. It’s monumental.
[Mike Lender, Shop Supervisor speaking]
Over the last week, we’ve had over 250 pallets brought here so we’re sorting through them. It’s really cool to see the maintenance technicians open them up, see what we ordered, sort them through. You see that ownership right away from the maintenance technicians.
[Billie Jo Haught, Maintenance Team Lead speaking]
This week has been a great week, being able to come here and have a seat instead of working from home or working from trailers. It’s really great getting this maintenance building handed over to us.
[Kenric Taylor, speaking]
It’s beginning to feel like we’re transitioning from a project site to a running asset site.
[Kate Justin, Reliability Engineer speaking]
Seeing this building turned over, seeing equipment turned over, and this building is just another step in this process.It feels really good to be moving forward, one step closer, to the plant being ours, to starting up, to being an unrivaled polyethylene producer.
[Huberto Diaz speaking]
Over the last decade, this project came to life. Whether you were wearing this red uniform, or you were wearing a craft uniform in the field, everyone was all marching, walking in the same direction to make this a success
