PLANNING. . . TO COMPLETION.

It has been normal practice to plan a project through the engineering procurement and construction phases to a designated 'mechanical completion' on a fundamentally geographic basis. Then, during the 3-12 months before 'mechanical completion' (longer periods are required for larger plants) a commissioning team is set up at the site to carry out precommissioning, followed by commissioning and start-up. During these three last activities the team involvement increases from a monitoring role to 100% control including the whole of the start-up phase. These final stages normally occur simultaneously in several areas of the plant. Progress, however, is limited by the state of completion of the many areas of construction in which site contractors are still engaged and the safety aspects encountered in allowing commissioning activities to be carried out in the proximity of construction activities.