AVT-6 Furnaces Complete Refurbishment

Five Furnaces, Zero Injuries, and a Schedule Completed 5 Days Faster

A project the industry considered "nearly impossible":
simultaneous overhaul of five furnaces, including:

• 900 tonnes of heat-resistant coils
• 2,200 weld joints
• 4,000 m² of refractory replacement
• 450 people on a constrained site
• multiple cranes, loaders, and transport streams

Key outcomes

• 3,760,000 USD economic gain from AVT-6 alone; 37,420,000 USD combined with G-43-107
• 0 injuries
• Full furnace overhaul completed in 34 days
• 5 days ahead of plan (3 days saved in planning, 2 in execution)
• 100% weld acceptance rate on the first attempt

How it was achieved

Through deep-granular scheduling (down to 15–30 minutes) and high-intensity optimization sessions, which revealed breakthroughs such as:

• parallelized screen demolition
• specialized scaffolding
• protected furnace floors
• coil-installation guides doubling installation speed

As the Plant Director said:
"A unique project — one of the most complex tasks in our industry — executed with quality and ahead of schedule."

R-202 Regenerator Replacement

An 8-Day Early Startup and 6,860,000 USD in Value

The catalytic cracking regenerator is the heart of the unit.
Replacing it under extreme time pressure, with:

• 687 tonnes of equipment
• 85 tonnes of steel structures
• 1,370 m² of refractory
• 39 km of cable
• 600,000+ man-hours of construction
• 180 installers in peak, in tight, parallel workfronts
• more than 76% CAPEX share

Key outcomes

• 8 days ahead of business plan
• 6,860,000 USD economic effect from early startup
• 0 injuries

How it was achieved

• Scheduling in 4-hour increments
• 6 optimization sessions, producing innovations that removed up to 15 days from the schedule
• Large-block preassembly
• Resequencing refractory work
• Full operating rhythm: daily control, multi-level KPIs, on-site leadership coaching

The General Director stated:
"Delays were unacceptable. The team delivered the critical task on time, safely, and with precision."

ABHM Construction

Seven Days Early, Zero Budget Overrun, and a 3× Improvement in Management Maturity

8,500,000 USD generated by early start.

A capital project that had already slipped by 60 days.
The Investment Committee advanced the deadline by four months — leaving almost no time.

Baseline challenge

• Forecasted finish: Aug 31
• New business deadline: June 30
• Our team arrival: February
• Required acceleration: ~60 days

Key outcomes

• Start-up completed on June 23 — 7 days early
• 0% budget deviation (28M USD executed exactly as planned)
• Work volume optimized from 215k to 141k man-hours
• Project management maturity across the client's organization jumped from 41% to 71–100% across key domains (integration, schedule management, procurement, risk, quality) as shown on pp. 5 and 21 of the report

How it was achieved

• Operating Rhythm across the entire project
• 3-day rolling planning
• On-site coaching of leaders and contractors
• 6 optimization cycles revealing 30 days of potential acceleration
• SQR application improving schedule quality from 12% to 65% and network connectivity to 95%
• Real-time procurement coordination: 2,508 items delivered on time, despite extreme deadlines

Client feedback:
"STO Management helped us achieve what seemed impossible. We finished early, safely, and with full alignment."

TNK-BP Ryazan — Contractor Safety Management

900,000 Man-Hours with Zero Injuries

During the largest TAR in the refinery's 40-year history — involving 3,000+ contractor workers — the objective was uncompromising: zero harm.

Key outcomes

• 900,000 man-hours without a single injury
• New methodology "Managing Safety of Contractors" (21 sections, 370 actionable items)
• HSE performance of general contractors increased from 36% → 53% during the Spring TAR and 33% → 50% during the Autumn TAR

This project became a reference standard inside the entire TNK-BP downstream system.

TNK-BP Ryazan — Fuel & Loss Management

$6M Saved in One Year; $12M generated in Next Year

A refinery-wide transformation of fuel and loss control:

Key outcomes

• 2012 result: 5.14% fuel & loss, delivering ~$6M above business plan
• 2013 result: $12M savings
• Implementation of full Operating Rhythm: daily crewtalks, bi-weekly reviews, boardwalks
• TMP sessions uncovering high-value opportunities across units
• Full analytical oversight of loss sources and prioritization

Vice President of Commerce:
"Ryazan sets the standard for Fuel and Loss Management in TNK-BP."

TNK-BP Ryazan — Walkthrough System

75% Reduction in Incidents; $1.8M Impact

Modernization of operator walkthroughs across a 17-million-ton refinery.

Key outcomes

• 75% reduction in incidents on pilot units
• $1.8M impact from performance improvements
• Senior operators reporting problems fixed before their shift begins
• Full redesign of shift handover, monitoring, KPIs, and feedback loops
• Nine new processes added to the walkthrough system

General Director:
"Nobody has such a strong product. It must be implemented everywhere."

Why These Results Matter

Across all these projects — shutdowns, reconstructions, capital builds, safety systems, production optimization — the pattern is consistent:

1. Complex → Predictable
   Even the most challenging projects were delivered early or on time.
2. Risk → Control
   Zero injuries on projects with thousands of workers.
3. Uncertainty → Structure
   Full schedule and scope maturity — often where none existed.
4. Waste → Value
   Hundreds of millions of rubles saved. Millions of dollars in annual recurring value.
5. Fragmentation → Alignment
   Teams of contractors, operators, engineers, and managers working as one.

These are the types of outcomes that change how leaders think about what is possible.