Plant Operations and Maintenance
IPSC offers flexible, site-specific O&M programs with field-proven policies and procedures that ensure a project's success. Your IPSC team has a wealth of field O&M experience with a wide variety of power generation technologies, including combustion turbines, steam turbines, reciprocating engines, boiler, geothermal, and renewable energy assets, in regulated and deregulated energy markets.
As a third party contract operator, IPSC believes that our performance goals must be fully aligned with the customer's economic goals in order to fully leverage the economic potential of the generating asset.
Complete O&M Services
- IPSC offers complete outsourcing of operations and maintenance services and provides 24x7 operations and maintenance of power generation facilities.
- IPSC implements O&M programs emphasizing worker health and safety, maximizing plant equipment reliability, availability, and performance.
- IPSC will also manage major maintenance activities, such as routine and overhaul outage planning and execution.
O&M Procedures & Training
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Prepare customized operating procedures and implement plant-specific training programs at one or more plant sites
Maintenance Planning
- Prepare preventative maintenance plans, schedules, and procedures, and then integrate them with predictive maintenance programs and MIS systems
Project Management
- Provide experienced project management teams that have experience taking a project through the entire process including pre-commercial checkout, operation during startup, plant commissioning, and commercial operation.
Instrumentation & Controls
- Provide experienced I&C technicians capable of performing DCS software updates, modifying/updating existing DCS systems, and upgrading of older DCS systems with modern hardware.
- Provide instrumentation calibration and checkout services
Plant Staffing
- Hire plant personnel and assist with plant employee relations.
- Benefits administration and compliance with laws and regulations.
- IPSC provides technical specialists and project management personnel through all phases of a project, including development, engineering, construction, commissioning, and ongoing operations and maintenance.
Administration
- IPSC sets up processes for accounting and finance systems, such as purchasing and inventory control, payroll, accounting, and administrative training. Common accounting and finance systems can be setup for multiple plants for consistent financial reporting.
The IPSC team understands what is important to our customers: Put the health and safety of employees as first priority, while also optimizing the economic return of the plant for the customer through excellence in O&M services.
Technical Support
IPSC provides comprehensive technical and engineering services focused on maximizing efficiency at power plants. IPSC technical support services and site-specific training programs can train and qualify O&M employees, performance test plants of any fuel-type, and can review, improve and/or prepare O&M procedures for a single or multiple plant operation
IPSC's technical services are available to assist clients from project concept, project development, engineering, construction, commissioning, and lifecycle O&M.
Start-up & CommissioningThe IPSC team has worked on more than 30 plant start-ups and knows how to work closely with the construction management team and facility owner during every stage of the project. Our Start-Up and Commissioning team members are experienced in managing all phases of the startup and commissioning program, such as:
- Start-up system scoping
- Start-up and commissioning schedule development
- System commissioning procedures and turnover packages
- Start-up operations support
- Developing commissioning manuals and planning
- Commissioning punch list management
IPSC experience will help the contractor and owner anticipate problems in advance so that there will be a smooth transition from construction to commercial operations, without schedule delays. Our goal is to ensure the project is built avoiding predictable cost overruns and schedule delays, while never losing focus on our commitment to safety and environmental compliance.
Operating Procedures Development
IPSC can develop a comprehensive set of customized, site-specific O&M procedures incorporating OEM recommendations and industry best practices. A typical set of procedures for commissioning and O&M operations will include operating modes such as:
- Plant Startup
- Normal Operations
- Off-Design Operations
- Emergency Operations
- Plant Shutdown
Preventive Maintenance Planning
IPSC offers our customers preventive maintenance planning tools that are integrated into a facility's Computerized Maintenance Management Support (CMMS) system. Using OEM data and the IPSC team's long experience, customized plans can be developed that will improve plant availability and reduce periods of forced outage while lowering the plant's overall O&M cost.
The IPSC team can also implement and manage the CMMS system, including system installation and setup, conversion, upgrades, and training. IPSC can also collect the necessary equipment data, identify preventive and predictive maintenance tasks, write site-specific maintenance procedures, and upload the final product into the plant's ERP system.
NERC Training & Compliance Support
IPSC provides compliance packages and NERC training solutions tailored for your facility. Our regulatory experts will prepare a customized action plan to achieve full NERC compliance for entity registrations such as GOP/GO/TO. IPSC will provide all required NERC training to your staff. IPSC has successful experience in performing the following:
- Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) compliance
- Create Protection and Control (PRC) maintenance plans
- Registration and footprint change submittals
- Create/improve your Internal Control Program
- Optimize your recordkeeping and evidence structure
- Elevate your NERC training program
Outage Planning
The IPSC team has extensive experience with outage planning and support. The team is also experienced with equipment from all the major manufacturers, such as Siemens, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Vogt, Nooter-Eriksen, Alstom, GE, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls Royce. IPSC has prepared many outage execution plans over the years. A typical outage plan includes the outage schedule, the recommended spare parts list, the list of critical spares required and the procedure for how inventory will be managed during the outage. The IPSC team has "hands on" experience managing major outages and has worked closely with contractors, construction managers, and facility owners to complete many outages on time and on schedule.
Asset Management
IPSC offers comprehensive asset management and project development support services to project developers, EPCs, strategic and institutional investors for acquiring an existing power plant or developing a new power plant project. Some of our services include:
Design and Operability Reviews
Our background with gas, coal, biomass, hydro and geothermal generation provides a broad range of services to the client. IPSC offers a comprehensive review of plant design from an operator's and an owner's perspective to identify areas which may not fully support safe, reliable or economic operations. Using our team's vast experience and knowledge of power generating equipment, we have provided valuable input during the design phase, the construction phase and the commissioning of projects and recommended design changes which greatly improved the operability and maintainability of specific plant systems, equipment and processes. We have also utilized similar reviews for existing facilities. Changes and recommendations IPSC made have resulted in proven benefits to safety, reliability and return on investment.
Asset Due Diligence
IPSC offers due diligence services that investigate historical and future performance of generation assets across various fuels and equipment types. We provide a review of many segments of plant operation including Chemistry, CMMS, Environmental, Fuels, Human Resources, O&M, NERC, Safety, Security, Supply Chain and Training. Our due diligence projects often include a site visit and a review and analysis of the plant O&M organization, O&M manuals, programs, budgets and operational reports.
The due diligence audits performed by the IPSC team have provided valuable feedback from an operator's perspective on the strengths and weakness of the subject asset. We uncover the hidden operation and maintenance challenges that would directly affect the success of the asset and provide recommendations to overcome those challenges
Acquisition & Divestiture Support
IPSC provides acquisition and divestiture support services to project developers and institutional and strategic investors in the power industry. IPSC combines it technical, commercial, regulatory and market knowledge to provide a range of consultative services in acquiring and managing a power asset on a long-term basis. Some of these specialized services that we offer to our customers include analysis of:
- Plant Operating Performance
- Plant Cost Structure & Benchmarking
- Technical Asset Due Diligence
- Environmental Permitting Assessment
- Regulatory Strategy & Risk Analysis
- Market Analysis
- Asset Valuation
- Bid Preparation Support
Distressed Asset Turnaround
Using a variety of tools and models, the IPSC team can review an operating facility's past performance or projected performance and develop a comprehensive report which the customer can use to improve the economics of the facility.
We undertake this by optimizing plant operations and recommending appropriate fuel, operational, maintenance changes and capital projects.
Environmental, Health & Safety Programs
IPSC provides a range of EH&S services to help our clients comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws, regulatory compliance, due diligence, industrial hygiene, loss control, and permitting requirements. IPSC also has staff members that are skilled in EH&S program development and implementation, as well as the important areas of permitting including:
IPSC continuously monitors safety and environmental regulatory and legal issues so the plant staff remains current with emerging or changing requirements. The safety team at IPSC can inspect a plant and develop a customized, site-specific safety manual that contains all the necessary information for the plant staff to perform their duties in a safe and efficient manner. In addition to safety manual development, IPSC offers EH&S Training (10 and 30 Hour OSHA courses).
Comprehensive Compliance Training and Assessment
IPSC's programs guide plant personnel through complex environmental and regulatory issues to ensure compliance by performing the necessary plant monitoring and preparing the necessary reports. . The IPSC team also has significant experience obtaining the necessary environmental permits from local, state, and federal authorities required for a plant project or modification.
Utility MACT and Boiler MACT Compliance
Boiler MACT and Utility MACT Compliance are key regulatory goals for many power plants. Commercial and industrial boiler power plants that are major Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) Sources need to implement programs to meet Boiler MACT Compliance. IPSC can assist such facilities in identifying methods and/or technologies to achieve Bioler MACT Compaliance. Also, IPSC can evaluate a facility's Utility MACT Program to identify potential gaps in compliance.
Summary of Environmental Services
Corporate Programs
- Environmental Initiatives / Policies
- Environmental Strategies
- Proposed Rule – Regulation Comments
- Corporate Reporting Performance Data
- EMS Implementation
- Compliance Assurance / Nonconformance
- Audits / Assessments / Corrective Actions
- Annual Reviews and Plans / Business Planning
- Training / Stewardship / Pollution Prevention / Contractor Control
- Records / Metrics
- Emergency Preparedness and Response
Plant Compliance
- Permitting Renewals / Modifications
- Compliance / Reporting
- Emergent Compliant Issues
- Rule - Regulation Applicability / Data Requests
- Agency Interface / Negotiations / Site Visits
Various Functions
- Due Diligence / Transitions / Divestitures / Acquisations
- Special Projects
- Presentations / Meetings
Biomass Fuel Management Services
The key to operating a reliable and successful biomass power plant begins with fuel. IPSC recognizes and has seen the value in having Plant Operations and Fuel Management work closely together in developing and maintain fuel at a high quality level.
IPSC’s Fuel Management Services provides a wide range of experience and expertise to ensure that a plant’s performance and reliability are maximized. The true cost of fuel goes beyond the price paid to fuel suppliers. Fuel Management Services include strategic planning, fuel legitimacy, fuel procurement, handling, testing (visual and laboratory), and storage of biomass fuel. IPSC plants have seen improvements in operational run time and higher annual generation totals through rigorous and focused fuel management.
Total fuel cost savings are not usually seen in a reduction of the cost of fuel per ton. The savings are recognized in the total tons required to produce the same generation output, improved plant performance, decreased maintenance costs, higher availability and generation. Fuel suppliers receive incentives for the quality and heating value of the fuel delivered, not just a cost per bone dry ton.
The primary objectives of IPSC’s Fuel Management Services are:
- Engage public agencies in support of long term viability of biomass power
- Utilize current market data to optimize wood fuel purchases, transportation, and delivery cost
- Cost-effectively purchase fuel that meets or exceeds IPSC fuel quality plan.
- Incorporate IPSC Fuel Legitimacy plan in the daily plant operations.
- Cost- effectively purchase sufficient supply from within the fuel supply area to meet plants production targets
- Identify and build on each plant’s individual strengths in the market
- Manage the storage of fuel to minimize fuel degradation and environmental impact.