Use the accidents you know to prove the importance of public utilities!

Let me start by throwing out an idea to stimulate discussion. In the old plant area, the instrument air compressors are operated in a one-in-use and one-backup configuration. During a scheduled maintenance session on the backup unit, the compressor that was in use suddenly tripped, resulting in a shutdown of the entire old plant area. Since then, the company has placed extra emphasis on utility engineering; in addition to carrying out urgent repairs on the relevant equipment and increasing the supply of spare parts, it has also improved the compensation for the managers, technicians, and operators responsible for utility systems. This shows that utility engineering is extremely important – even more so than certain main processing units – because a shutdown of the utility systems leads to a shutdown of the entire plant, with far-reaching consequences.

Generally, senior leaders have backgrounds in process engineering, and promotions also prioritize those with such expertise.

It’s been some time now; we once experienced an incident related to the quality of the refrigerant water used in utility systems. One day, analysis showed that the pH value of the refrigerant water dropped rapidly, and an increase in sulfate levels was observed; it was concluded that chlorine had caused perforations in the plates used for drying concentrated sulfuric acid, leading to internal leakage. Emergency system shutdown to replace the refrigerant water. In fact, each process is very important and indispensable. However, public utilities are involved in the entire production line and process, which makes them even more important. However, relatively speaking, as automation increases, the focus in utility work is less on process complexity, so it is often overlooked

At 3 a.m. on November 22, 2013, an oil pipeline belonging to the Weifang branch of Sinopec’s Oil Transportation and Storage Company ruptured at the intersection of Qinhuangdao Road and Zaitangdao Road in Huangdao District, Qingdao City. After the accident was discovered, oil transportation was stopped at around 3:15. Approximately 1,000 square meters of roads on Saito Island were contaminated by crude oil; some of this oil flowed into Jiaozhou Bay through the rainwater drainage systems, covering an area of about 3,000 square meters on the sea surface. Huangdao District immediately organized the deployment of two oil barriers on the sea surface. During the disposal process, at around 10:30 a.m. that day, an explosion occurred at the intersection of Haiyanhe Road and Zaitangdao Road in Huangdao District; simultaneously, an explosion took place on the oil-contaminated sea surface at the estuary

I remember it was in 2006; once the newly built facility was operating stably, work began on its expansion. Due to errors in identifying the underground pipelines (or inaccurate records of the concealed works), drilling operations damaged the underground circulating water pipes, which led to a sudden surge in water pressure that pushed water to the surface. The production area was flooded, and the production equipment had to operate at reduced capacity due to low circulating water pressure, in an effort to minimize losses by keeping it running as much as possible. Although the cause of this incident was very simple and it only affected the circulating water pipes, it indirectly led to a significant reduction in the plant’s operational capacity, with losses estimated at over 5 million yuan. Although people usually say that the circulating water role is not important and that the water treatment plant is considered a secondary facility, once water supply is disrupted, the entire factory is affected, which shows just how vital the field of utility engineering and such plants are!

In fact, utility services are closely related to our daily lives – from drawing water for cooking (using water and gas) to heating and lighting (using heat and electricity). Every aspect of our lives relies on the proper functioning of these utility services at all times. In modern life, especially in cities, even a short interruption in the supply of water, heat, or electricity is unbearable; people cannot adapt to such interruptions. Precisely because these services are so common and everyday, any problem that occurs in a particular system can have regional or even global consequences!

Here’s one example: Without conducting a detailed analysis of the principles involved, the pressure reducing valve located on the main water supply line leading to the pure water preparation tank was removed, which resulted in the UPVC pipes in that line failing due to repeated exposure to high pressures. After reinstalling the pressure relief valve, the overall operation is normal. It caused the entire production facility to operate at reduced capacity for 2 days at that time..

Circulation water pump failure, hydrogenation unit over-temperature interlock

The circulating water was stopped, the polystyrene reactor overheated, and the material was ejected from the manhole to a height of 4 or 5 meters； When the temperature dropped to minus 30 degrees, steam supply was stopped. It was then discovered that all the heat tracing lines in the plant had frozen; efforts were made to stop the circulation of water, but the water circulation pipelines also froze up, and the situation persisted for half a month

Due to the failure of the check valve, process material flowed back into the pressurized air system, causing the reverse blowing system of the boiler dust collector to become completely blocked; all filter bags were damaged, and the entire system operated at reduced capacity for nearly a week.