The CCJ Best Practices Awards program, now in its 11th year, has as its primary objective recognition of the valuable contributions made by plant staffs, and headquarters engineering and asset-management personnel, to improve the safety and performance of generating facilities powered by gas turbines. There are two levels of awards to recognize the achievements at individual plants: Best Practices and The Best of the Best (BOB).
This year, five plants were recognized with BOB awards, as voted by judges selected from the Leadership Committee of the Combustion Turbine Operations Technical Forum™. Two of the top awards were presented for plant safety procedures, two for performance improvements, and one for fast-start methodology. Note that Best of the Best recipients are selected on the basis of points across all entries, not most points in a given category. The scorecard used by the judges considers business value, degree of complexity, staff involvement, external coordination, and duration of value.
Plants earning 2015 BOB awards are listed below; plaque inscriptions are presented in italics.
Gateway Generating Station (Plant Safety Procedures)
Understanding the importance of gas-line safety, the collaborative efforts of the PG&E team led to a comprehensive inspection and preventive maintenance program that ensures gas-system components remain safe and reliable. more
Dogwood Energy Facility (Plant Safety Procedures)
Installation of a continuous monitoring system for the steam-turbine battery banks greatly increases operator safety and efficiency by minimizing the hazards often associated with testing and maintenance. more
Gila River Power Station (Performance Improvements)
Plant staff developed and implemented a series of innovative operating procedures that reduce fuel-gas use on startup, shorten the time taken to meet dispatch requirements, and improve extended turndown operation. more
Waterside Power Holdings LLC (Performance Improvements)
Challenged by dependence on a staff of three and stiff penalties for not meeting dispatch requirements in emergency situations, the facility upgraded the HMI to enable automatic start of its three units. Since the HMI automation, the plant has responded to 29 fast-start emergency dispatches without a failure. more
Amman East Power Plant (Fast Starts)
Plant staff collaborated to develop and implement a series of operational procedures to decrease startup time, conserve both fuel and water, and reduce noise pollution which have resulted in significant savings and increased power output. more
NAES Corp and Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS) were the most successful operating companies this year. Nine NAES plants were recognized for their best practices in 2015, including one Best of the Best; six CAMS plants were saluted, one with a BOB.
George Wackerhagen, SVP for plant operations at NAES, told the editors, "One of our core values is continuous improvement. Establishing and refining best practices is a critical part of this ongoing effort; so is sharing them across the industry."
