END USER INTERVIEW
A Look Inside JIP33
Interview with Rachel Manley of Aker Solutions
JIP33 is poised to provide the industry with efficient and minimalistic specifications that will make procurement much more efficient .
By KCI Editorial
Career Overview
Fresh out of university with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Leicester University , Rachel worked as an Applications Engineer before moving into the oil & gas industry in 2001 as a Mechanical Requisitioning Engineer . She joined Aker Solutions in 2012 as a Project Engineer and began her work with JIP33 five years ago . As Project Manager for JIP33 , Rachel manages the integrated Aker Solutions and IOGP team of project engineers and subject matter experts
Rachel Manley : “ We have collaborated with over a thousand representatives from suppliers , EPCs and operators .” responsible for writing specifications . She is also responsible for managing the specification schedules , and technical writing services . Rachel oversees a team which includes project engineers , lead subject matter experts ( SMEs ), and various specialists .
What is JIP33 ?
Joint Industry Programme 33 ( JIP33 ) was initiated in 2016 by the IOGP ( International Association of Oil & Gas Producers ), with support from the World Economic Forum Capital Project Complexity initiative , to standardize the specifications used for procuring equipment to improve cost , lead times and quality . They aim to make specifications that define the essential minimum to purchase equipment . Traditionally , each oil and gas operator had its own specifications , of which each could be hundreds of pages long .
Rachel working together with members of the IJP33 team .
Companies could also provide multiple sets of requirements – sometimes even within the same project . The IOGP concluded that the process was vastly inefficient and set forth to create a portfolio of universal specifications for procuring equipment to streamline and drive efficiency in the supply chain ( Figure 1 ).
The specifications are developed and maintained in collaboration with twelve major operators who are members of IOGP . Aker Solutions provides project management services and SMEs to write the specifications . Every JIP33 specification that IOGP publishes is freely available worldwide ; no membership is required .
Current Status
So far , 54 specifications have been published and the team is currently working on about 20 different specifications , of which two-thirds are previously published specifications undergoing their first maintenance .
“ All JIP33 specifications are intended to be overlays or supplements to an existing industry standard , we are not trying to write our own specifications , but rather support what ’ s already out there ,” stresses Rachel . “ When we develop a specification , it is published by IOGP . When subsequently the parent standard is revised , we consider whether we need to revise our specification further , so it aligns with the new parent standard . We also consider any new learnings that are actually being put into practice .”
It is a careful process for operators to absorb the specifications into their own libraries . “ Operators go through a process of implementation , working out how to include them in their libraries and apply them across projects .”
The scope of the new JIP33 specifications may not always exactly match the operators ’ specifications . “ They may want to further narrow down some of the options in the JIP33 specifications for their company use . Feedback from the operators on these company-specific changes to the JIP33 project team is key for understanding how the JIP33 specifications can be further improved in the future ”.
So far , several specifications for valves and flow control equipment have been published . To date , they have published specifications for ball valves ( API 6D ), gate valves ( API 600 / 603 ) and subsea pipeline valves ( API 6DSS ). They are currently in the process of updating the topside valve specifications .
“ Under the instrumentation umbrella , we have also published specifications for actuators for on-off valves ( ISO 12490 ), pressure relief valves ( API 526 ), pressure regulators and control valves .” This year , the specification for actuators is expected to be updated and the pressure relief valves specification will undergo maintenance as soon as API 526 is re-published .
The Process
JIP33 specifications are based on existing industry standards and provide all requirements necessary to purchase equipment and packages . Figure 2 shows the structure of JIP33 specifications , which consist of the following documents :
• A Supplementary Specification , written to be applied with a defined industry standard . A set of minimum requirements is specified , which are considered sufficient to purchase equipment that meets the functional needs of the users .
• An Information Requirements Specification ( IRS ) specifying a list of pre-defined documents / data required from the supplier .
• A Quality Requirements Specification ( QRS ) specifying the quality management system , and purchaser level of involvement in suppliers ’ inspection and testing activities .
• An Equipment Data Sheet Template specifying the options the purchaser wishes to select and project-specific information .
Since JIP33 ’ s inception , the team has developed a process for developing specifications . “ There has been a huge learning curve : trying to develop the right process and updating it as we go along ,” explains Rachel . “ In 2019 , we also embarked on a digital journey to write the specifications
4 Valve World Americas | October 2024 • www . valve-world-americas . net