In mid-March, the Refining Committee held a virtual meeting to exchange best practices for the implementation of plant shutdowns in compliance with the Covid-19 protocol.

The meeting included a presentation by two professionals from YPF La Plata Refinery―Federico Ernst, Plant Shutdown Manager, and Federico Martínez, Industrial Safety Manager, and brought together more than 40 technicians from different refineries in the Region from the following companies: Ancap, EP Petroecuador, Ecopetrol, Enap, Pemex, Petroperú, Raizen, Trafigura, YPF, and YPFB.

According to the YPF professionals, the first challenge was to draft a protocol that addressed both biosafety and cost efficiency aspects.

Thus, the Refinery had to completely rethink the work process, such as the implementation of the “bubble” system for the different teams, the reorganization of eating areas, the time schedules for coming into the plant, and the hiring method, among others.

In addition to providing training for the whole staff, the change required the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence―among other technological tools―with an algorithm developed by the company itself.

According to the experts, this algorithm can be used both for the work performed under the Covid-19 protocol and for the future.

As a final result, all the scheduled work could be carried out as planned, and the higher expenses generated by the protocol―especially those related to the mobilization of staff―were absorbed by the improvement in work plans.

Link to the webinar recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA_51uPSTpU&t=3s