MechChem Africa July-August 2024

EPC(M) solutions for efficient project execution Engineering company, thyssenkrupp Uhde South Africa, with the addition of procurement, construction and management capabilities to its portfolio in the 1970s, has become a full EPC(M) solutions provider with competence to manage a diverse and extensive range of project types. T he ability of the local subsidiary of thyssenkrupp Uhde to tap into the specialisation available through its parent company in Germany, while ap expediting are some of the capabilities that fall within the company’s procurement scope. “Procurement/commercial contracts provide a full service in acquiring the technical require ments and delivering these within budget,” notes Kirk.

thyssenkrupp Uhde's EPC(M) capabilities can essentially enhance any project, irrespec tive of the nature or technology involved. The organisation’s ability to offer the complete EPC(M) portfolio proffers several advantages that, according to Kirk and Lokhande, deliver cost-effectiveness and efficiencies to customers. Kirk explains, “By keeping the same team throughout the project means that there is no team change between engineering and con struction. The same team can develop along with the project, avoiding the time and costs involved in having to develop a new team. From an efficiencies point of view, for example, there is no need to ‘on-board’ a procurement lead and team halfway through the project because they have been engaged from the project get-go. This helps to avoid restraints and mitigations throughout the project, reducing the overall risks and ensuring timely delivery.” Lokhande also highlights the benefits of single point responsibility as well as savings due to fixed costs associated with the agreed schedule. “Our EPC(M) services add value to all our technology offerings, including scanning, green technolo gies – hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, etc – as well as to our modularisation and refurbishment capabilities,” affirms Kirk. “Having all these core competencies elimi nates, or greatly reduces, the need for mul tiple partners and sub-contractors, allowing for greater productivity in completing a project.” He adds that this approach also has the ‘soft’ benefit of maintaining consistency across projects and teams, leading to a better understanding of the technologies, more insightful engineering and more competent project completion. Recent EPC(M) projects successfully com pleted by thyssenkrupp Uhde South Africa during its 2021/2022 financial year include Liquid Sulphur Degassing, DU10, a Crude Flex solution in Saldanha bay in the Western Cape, and an Ammonia Tank Refurbishment project in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. “A Seal Gas Upgrade for a leading refinery in the Free State is currently in progress,” affirms Kirk. The combination of core competencies and specialised local expertise and agility, along with access to global support, has positioned thyssenkrupp Uhde South African as a leader in the engineering and project contracting industry. Furthermore, the local office has been able to maintain a competitive edge in the market by providing a superior quality services chain. www.uhde.co.za

plying agility and local expertise to successfully deliver to very specific customer requirements, uniquely positions the South African office in the market. “We work seamlessly with global tech nology providers – both thyssenkrupp and 3rd party – and we are competent and familiar with leveraging a global supply chain,” says Richard Kirk, Head of Project Management and Services at thyssenkrupp Uhde South Africa. “We apply our learnings from diverse project contracting environments to our entire value chain of cutting edge technologies and EPC(M) solutions. This makes our local office efficient and effective.” thyssenkrupp Uhde’s engineering services include concept, front end engineering and design (FEED) as well as basic and detailed en gineering across all disciplines – within a single integrated team. The competent local EPC(M) team of specialist individuals can work within a wide range of both thyssenkrupp Uhde and 3 rd party technologies with global collaboration. Tendering, bid evaluations, purchase orders, contract awards and management, logistics, quality control, technical compliance and

thyssenkrupp Uhde’s extensive construc tion service portfolio comprises construction, contract, work package and customer interface management; quantity surveying; planning; material and cost control; modularisation; health, safety, security and environment (HSSE) compliance and management; quality control; testing and handover; deviation and concession management; and more. Kirk points out that stakeholder management is a vital and yet often overlooked component of successful construc tion management and, here too, thyssenkrupp Uhde has the necessary know-how. The management portion of EPC(M) encom passes the full spectrum of project management, planning, material and cost control, modularisa tion and HSSE. “Effective project initiation, moni toring and control, reporting, risk management, change management and project close-out also form an integral part of our management solutions,” says senior piping engineer at thys senkrupp Uhde, Sundip Lokhande.

thyssenkrupp Uhde offers end-to-end EPC(M) solutions for efficient and effective project execution.

18 ¦ MechChem Africa • July-August 2024