DEVELOPMENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM FOR CONSTRUCTION IN OIL AND GAS COMPANY BY USING STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL AND SIX SIGMA

Abstract

Stripe Oil Indonesia operated in Sumatera with a production capacity of 200,000 barrels of oil per day and operated over 530 km of pipelines. Many pipelines have already exceeded their design life with some segments more than 50 years with high potential for leaks that have caused production loss. To extend the operating lifetime of existing pipelines, a pipeline repair project was started in 2019 with sleeve installation. Based on factual data, the project team has experienced a delay in the first 2 months of the project. One of the main contributions to the delay was the welding failure that occurred in January 2019. The welding failure has caused a fire incident due to burn-through in the existing pipeline. The root cause analysis of burn-through incidents has been done with the finding of poor welder performance to meet project requirements. The recommendation is to measure the welder’s performance from heat input data records and analyze the rejection rate and capability index. This research demonstrates how Six Sigma methodology using the DMAIC process and Statistical Quality Control can be applied successfully in pipeline repair projects to address issues of reducing defective welds, improving quality performance, and achieving project milestones. The analysis result showed an improvement in quality performance where the defect rate continued to decline as well as the capability index of the welder continued to improve and completed sleeve installation above the target. The project team also managed to achieve the six sigma level. Improvements also occurred in safety performance which achieved zero incidents due to welding failure (burn-through) from February 2019 to December 2020. In terms of business, actual cost savings achieved 28% from the approved budget.