Link to original article: Shell and Bechtel Partner with Cumulus Digital Systems to Enable Project Digitalization. Managing critical piping construction with continuity.

At refineries and chemical plants, flange leaks are a major problem. These leaks are one of the most common repair items and can cost over $3 million USD each year. These leaks release more than 170 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to the emissions of one fifth of all cars in the United States. Further, the amount of rework required to correct poor work quality and missing paperwork in flange management is substantial. For that reason, manual paperwork can be a large hindrance in overcoming the challenge of flange leaks.

To overcome this challenge, Shell and Bechtell partnered with Cumulus to develop and implement a solution for Shell’s Pennsylvania Chemicals project (PennChem). Digitalization and scalability were key criteria for implementing an effective, long-lasting solution. A digital flange management system was deployed at scale, yielding clear benefits for the PennChem project. The deployment included manual tightening, hydraulic tightening, and hydraulic tensioning activities.

Project engineering controls were enforced using the following metrics:

Metrics
✓ Flagging changes to technical data that
impacted work previously completed in
the field
✓ Building a digital completion report for
each activity
✓ Recording the complete history of work
activities
✓ Building a data model for each joint with the
appropriate information
✓ Enforcing the proper engineering and
quality controls for each joint
✓ Capturing data during workflow activities
✓ Flagging exceptions encountered during
each activity

Results:
Leak and Rework Prevention
With Cumulus, leak rates are
reduced to approximately 0.1%,
a 100X reduction compared to
traditional methods.

Digital Twin Developed
Over 120,000 bolted joint
assemblies were managed on
PennChem’s project, with all
data stored digitally

Hours Saved On Paperwork
Digital records and processes
were implemented, replacing
paperwork with a streamlined,
organized system.

Deploying Cumulus technology to enable project digitalization yielded strong results for PennChem.
Decreasing leaks and the use of manual paperwork represented a major win for project productivity.