BEST PRACTICES IN EXECUTION OF THERMAL POWER

PROJECT

Presentation by A.K.Mehra
06.06.08

BEST PRACTICES IN EXECUTION OF THERMAL POWER

PROJECT
1) PREAMBLE

KSK Energy ventures pvt.ltd is a young & upcoming Power

company with a grand & ambitious vision to enter into
select few in high power league owning Mega Power Project .
From building a small power plant of 43 MW ,company has
taken giant steps in constructing 135 MW & then 540 MW
Power plant and now 1800 MW and later 3600 MW in near
future.
For building such high capacity plants the company shall
need to use advanced techniques ,best practices and
experienced as well as young & energetic staff
In order to effectively fulfill these objectives whole lot of
efforts have to be put up by us in the right direction.

1)Preamble (contd)
We all try our best ,but some times we are perplexed as to
what is the right direction?
This question has no cent percent correct answer, as the
answer may differ in certain situations and for different
projects, but over the years & through experience one can at
least point out the right direction and the Best practices to
follow that direction.
In order to understand what could be the right direction and
best practices in execution we have to first understand our
objective .In simple words the objective of any company shall
be ?

2) Objective

To Complete the project

Capable of delivering the required output consistently over its
entire lifespan at optimum operating cost.
In schedule time
At optimum cost
Maintaining highest quality standards
With zero accident
With the pleasing aesthetics
Complying with environmental aspects
Fulfilling social obligations
With pride & attachment ,job satisfaction for every employee
working on the project
How to achieve this objective ?Let us discuss.

3) Life

Cycle Of The Project(contd)

The execution of Project involves 5 main processes i.e.

Planning, Designing, Financing, Constructing and operating
However Unless the perspectives of all 5 specialists are
integrated and coordinated effectively, excessive cost and
delays on the project can occur

in order to effectively integrate and coordinate different

perspectives, role of Project Management is vital

Every Management desires timely completion of project in

cost effective fashion and subsequent operation at optimum
efficiency over entire life cycle of the project
However as per the survey in USA as well as in India about
90 % of Projects finish over budget and behind schedule.

How to avoid this ?and what are the aspects we generally

neglect.

3) LIFE CYCLE OF THE PROJECT (contd) MAJOR ISSUES

a) We neglect our O & M colleague on the pretext that we are saving

some capital cost
The operation phase of the project is not considered by us seriously
while formulating the Project Plan.
Keep in mind that your operation colleague has to deliver output
consistently over 30 years. It may also could be you. Please keep his
operational comfort in your mind while finalising layout,
Designing & sizing of equipment. Your saving of little cost today
may result in higher operational costs.
b) Optimising costs at one stage may not be beneficial if cost
escalation or delays occur at other stage for example saving money
in design may not be wise if construction cost exceed,or operation
and maintaince costs increase
for ex. Purchase of low efficiency motor shall be cheaper but the
operating costs shall be higher

3) LIFE CYCLE OF THE PROJECT (contd) MAJOR ISSUES

c) Communication and co-ordination among various constituents

essential for success of any project
Our communication methods are still outdated,relying mainly on
telephonic/courier communication. Advanced methods of Satellite
communication/Video conferencing are not followed
d)Introducing new material and innovative methods /automated
construction are always desirable as these speed up the
construction process
e) Quality and safety are the important issues
Adequate attention is not given by us for safety concept.resulting in
injuries/loss of life and increase in stoppage time of Project
Similarly though we are quality conscious we expect it to happen it on
its own .We also pay small attention to aesthetics

4) Feasibility Studies
Location/Criteria For Selection Of Sites
The following criteria is normally adopted for selection of
site for new projects.
i. Water Availability of water within a radius of 25 Km.
As per the present practices @ 12 MCM water per annum is
adequate for 1x500 MW unit. This includes contingencies for
failed monsoons
Construction of Barrage may be necessary at some of the
locations to take care of summer requirement

4) Feasibility Studies
Location/Criteria For Selection Of Sites
ii. Land
Availability of non fertile /barren land (at least 90 % shall be
non fertile
Minimum use of forest land
It is desirable to estimate the total area required for project and
acquire entire land in one stroke,
Failure likely to result in delay & increased cost
Tentative layout necessary to verify adequacy of land
iii. Rail/road infrastructure
Availability of rail line for transport of material & coal within
25 km.
Nearness to all weather road

4) Feasibility Studies
Location/Criteria For Selection Of Sites
iv. Minimum resettlement/rehabilitation
The site shall be free from resettlement/rehabilitation issues
to the minimum extent possible.
v. Minimum impact on archeological sites/wild life
Site shall not be near to archeological site or near to the wild
life protected forests.
Vi Vicinity to Airport
The site shall not be in the vicinity of Air Port

4) Feasibility Studies
Location/Criteria For Selection Of Sites
V) Fuel Linkage
Regular coal linkage is necessary .@ 4.8 MMT of coal is
required per annum for 1000 MW Power Plant.
Locating plant near colliery saves transport costs of coal.
Presently Mega power project coal plants are being located
near sea face to take advantage of Sea transport of imported
coal shipped through sea.
However in view of achieving Load Balance & Local aspirations
and in view of sound Rail network it is possible to locate plant
anywhere ,where all other inputs such as water, Land are
available.

4) Feasibility Studies
Location/Criteria For Selection Of Sites
vi)Load patterns
Since Demand is much more than the supply this aspect has
become irrelevant in present circumstances.
vii) Environmental aspects
A Detail study is required to be carried out for environmental
impact
The Electrostatic precipitators should be capable of limiting
emission levels to 50 mg/nm3.
The concrete measures are required to be taken up for
effectively limiting Coal,Ash and water pollution within
statutory limits

4) Feasibility Studies
Location/Criteria For Selection Of Sites
viii) Social aspects
Generation of jobs,local employment,job to Local contractors are
some of the issues which are required to be taken into consideration
Improving the life standard of the local community shall be one of
the aspect taken into consideration
This
can
be
in
the
form
of
improvement
of
infrastructure,improvements of markets ,constructing hospital,
Temples etc
It is necessary to involve co-operation of Local responsible
leadership

5) DETAIL PROJECT REPORT

The Detail Project Report (DPR) forms basis for preliminary

design of the project. It contains following aspects.
i. Objective and scope of the Project
ii. Location of the Plant
iii. Availability of Land for Main Plant and Ash Disposal
iv. Availability of Water
v. Availability of Coal
vi. Layout of Plant
vii.Brief Technical description of Main equipment
viii.Infrastructure
ix. Environmental Aspects
x. Cost Estimates

5) DETAIL PROJECT REPORT (contd)

xi. Financing Plan

xii.Staff Pattern
xiii.Office Accommodation
xiv.Residential Accommodation
xv.Statutory clearances
xvi.Rehabilitation/Resettlement Plan
xvii.Commissioning Schedule
We shall discuss only some of the major aspects

6) SIZING OF UNITS/SELECTION OF TECHNOLOGY

The sizing of unit depends on

Power Requirement
Space constraints
Higher size unit requires less space
Delivery schedule
Proven performance
Capital availability
Cost considerations
Higher the size of unit, less the cost /MW
Single unit of double capacity costs less than 2 units of half
capacity.

6) Sizing Of Units/Selection Of Technology

Comparative costs of various unit sizes

500 MW unit cost/kw is @ 85 % of 300 MW unit
800 MW unit cost/kw is @ 90 % of 500 MW unit

Comparison of 2x50 % vis--vis 1x100 % capacity units

Cost /kw for 1x100 % is less by 14 % than 2x50 % units

6) Sizing Of Units/Selection Of Technology

Selection of technology at the initial stage plays vital part in
determining the cost and time schedule
Design engineer shall be faced in deciding upon some of the
choices
Type of Boiler
Drum type or Tower Type
Tower type Boiler requires less space but difficult to maintain
due to more height
Sub critical or Super critical
So far plant with super critical technology is not
commissioned in India though these are under construction
at NTPC s plant of 660 MW capacity

6) SELECTION OF TECHNOLOGY (contd)

The advantages of super critical boilers are that these are

highly efficient ,consume les fuel,and have less emission.

Efficiency of these Boilers is @ 41-42 % against 37-38 % of

conventional Boilers.These are in extensive use in USA &
Japan.The poor record of usage in India is on account of
non availability of Local Manufacturers

ii. Type of cooling Towers

Natural Draft or conventional forced draft
Natural Draft cooling towers involve higher capital cost but
involve less O& M costs

5) SELECTION OF A TECHNOLOGY (contd)

iii. Ash Handling Plant

High Concentrate or conventional
iv. Reverse osmosis plant in place of conventional plants
This technology is in use in 400 MW Gregory plant in Texas
USA. Suitable for converting even industrial waste water to
DM water suitable for Boiler
iv. Single stream coal conveyors

These are only few examples and purpose is not to detail

the various available technologies.
Designer has to decide on technology based on cost and
advantages

6) LAYOUT OF PLANT

While Planning layout of Plant following aspects are of

immense importance and need special consideration.
i. Wind Direction- This is specifically necessary to decide
location of Coal Handling Plant and cooling tower
ii. The location of coal plant w.r.t.main plant and wind
direction shall be such that coal dust shall always flow away
from Main Plant as well as cooling tower
iii. The location of switchyard w.r.t.cooling tower shall be such
that water particles do not flow towards switchyard
equipment
iv. The front face of Main Plant shall not be obstructed by any
Building /structure (except functional requirement)and shall
be aesthetically built
v. The main entrance road of the plant shall be lined with trees
on either side of the road.

6) LAYOUT OF PLANT (contd)

v. In order to have day light in TG Hall semi transparent

moulded fiber panels shall be provided along with
steel/aluminum paneling.This shall save Unnecessary
switching on of illumination lamps in TG Hall during day
time.
vi. The location of Mills can be on either side of Boiler or after
Boiler depending on availability of space on width/length
wise
vii.There shall be no equipment mounted at sub zero level
viii.Even cable trench bottom in any of the ancillary building
shall be at least 0.5 m above the developed outside level
,surrounding that building.These measures are necessary to
avoid Flooding.

6) LAYOUT OF PLANT (contd)

x. All fire fighting line shall be laid over ground.This facilitates

repairs .
xi. cables outside main plant shall be laid over ground on
structures
xii.In case of 2 units the control room shall be common.This
reduces operation Staff strength besides close inter unit coordination
xiii.Service building ,workshop building,stores shall
provided with Semi transparent sheets for day light.

be

xiv.No oil filled transformer shall be provided inside main plant

,reduces leakages, maintaince ,and fire hazards
Water cooled transformers shall be avoided as far as possible
to prevent likely failures on account of water leakages from
cooler tubes.

7) COST ESTIMATION

Before taking up any project it is necessary to estimate the

capital cost of the project as accurately as possible
Inaccurate estimates (too High) cause Over commitment
Inaccurate (too Low) estimates cause bad decisionsThe return of investment calculation shows that project is
worth,when it is not .
Capital costs of the Project include
a) Land Acquisition,development
b) Planning & feasibility studies
c) Architectural & engineering design
d) Construction including material equipment and labor

7) COST ESTIMATION

Capital costs (contd)

f) Taxes
g) Special T & P
h) Overheads
i) Operation & maintaince costs
Basis of cost estimates shall be
Historical cost data

Vendor catalogues

Price indices
Cost estimation software available
Operating cost to be evaluated and should form integral part

8) PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROJECT MANAGER

The role of Project Manager & Project Management is very vital

for successful completion of the project.

Project Management is the art of directing and

coordinating human & material resources by using modern
management techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of
scope, cost, time and participation satisfaction.

While accomplishing above objective, there are potential

conflicts with regard to scope, cost, time, quality and constraints
due to human, material and financial resources.
These
conflicts are to be resolved by making necessary tradeoffs or
alternatives

8) PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROJECT MANAGER

PROJECT MANAGER & HIS ROLE
WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGER OR WHAT DOES HE DO ?

He is the first to be hired & fired.

He should ask himself following questions
What do I do ?
Why do it ?
Does the management approve?
Does the final user care ?
His role is comparable to that of cricket Captain.
Captain need not be great fielder,but he should be a chief strategist,
likewise Project Manager need not be highly technical but must
have a human approach
He should be visionary and should believe in winning with the team
provided to him.

8) PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROJECT MANAGER

PROJECT MANAGER & HIS ROLE
WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGER OR WHAT DOES HE DO ?

He should know who should stand where,who should bowl/bat when

& where,likewise project manager should know who is capable
of doing particular work & accordingly allot him the work
He should be aware that he has to win in the allotted time & overs
.Project manager has to be sure that he has to implement the project
in time & in allotted Budget
He should be ready for the changes
He should see that the persons sitting in the balcony is the
management who has reposed faith in him and the Spectators in stand
are the persons who have put in their money to watch & win the game in
this case the users who need consistent & reliable supply at affordable
price.
If he understands all this then only he can win .

8) PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROJECT MANAGER

PROJECT MANAGER & HIS ROLE
WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGER OR WHAT DOES HE DO ?

He should provide environment which encourages individuals to grow

& take risk .This mandate must also come from top Management
He must foster an environment in order to grow Skills and foster new
ideas for company
Project Manager must complete his project on time, in budget & with
full integrity.
So to answer the question what does Project Manager do ,
the project manager has to be chief Mentor, Planner,negotiator,
cheerleader,strategist and much more
He should be the one who reports with ethics & Integrity even when
situation is ugly
If Project Manager does not take on these responsibilities then he
shall end up with being most expensive monkey posted due to
misfortune of the management

8) PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROJECT MANAGER

PROJECT MANAGER & HIS ROLE
Quality
Manage
ment

Comm
UnicatIon
Manage
ment

Time
Management

Integration
Manage
ment

Risk
Manage
ment

Cost
Manage
ment

Project
Manger

Procur
Ment
management

Scope
Manage
ment

Human
Resources
management

8) PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROJECT MANAGER

C) KEY FACTORS FOR
SUCCESS/FAILURE

Successful Project

Engineer
Concerned
With total
project

Well defined
scope

Quick
Response
to changes
Extensive
Early
planning
Good leadership
Management &
First line supervision

Positive
Public
relations

Proper
Project
Team
chemistry

8) PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROJECT MANAGER

FAILED PROJECT
Poor
planning
ILL
defined
scope

Communi
Cation
breakdown

Unrealistic
Scope
Schedule
& budget

Poor
management
Many
Changes
Various stages

Lack of project
control

Failed Project

9) SAFETY ASPECTS

i.
ii.

Safety has dual benefits

It improves quality of human life
It reduces time and cost
Safety is however, the most neglected area in construction of our
projects
Occurrence of 2 to 3 fatal & several non fatal recordable
incidences are common in our projects
Besides there are several incidences in which there is no human
injury but the losses to the property and time lost are severe
We consider safety as the stand alone issue for which only
contractor is responsible
There are no serious efforts to Benchmark this parameter unlike
project schedule,quality of work etc.
We do not seriously record/analyse the cause of the accident and
there are incidences of repetitions

9) SAFETY ASPECTS
As per the safety survey the causes of fatal incidences are
Fall from structure
20.8 %
Fall from/with ladder
4.3 %
Electric shock
16.5 %
Crushed run over by construction Eqpt 12.5 %
Collapse of civil works
3.8 %
Falling objects
4.6 %
Lifting operation
4.3 %
Transport operation
26 .0 %
Other causes
7 .2 %

9) SAFETY ASPECTS (contd)

Even though, target has to be Zero incident rate,in practice

it is not achievable.The 1 st target shall be to reduce no. of
incidences from running to future project

The safety culture to be developed by imparting training to

Departmental executive/non executive as well as Contractor
working staff
It is recommended to verify safety record of the Agency before
awarding the contract.This shall form the part of qualifying
requirement

10 QUALITY CONTROL

Establish separate Quality control cell at site reporting directly

to Project in charge
Prepare detail Quality plans as per manufacturers/suppliers
recommendations.
The person responsible for Quality supervision has to report the
deviation beyond permissible limit to Project in charge and
acceptance beyond permissible deviation shall be discussed with
the core group/Manufacturer and recorded if accepted
11 ) INCENTIVE

Most powerful tool for motivation.

Pre declared incentive shall be paid limited to max. 3-4 months
pay linked with commissioning schedule/Major Milestones
For agency also pre declared incentive can be paid for
completion of his scope of work.

12) CONTROL OF PROJECT PROGRESS

Project schedule control has to provide for

Mechanism to report work performance & progress
Action to capture schedule status & analyze trends
Process for modifying/changing and updating schdule
Measures to deal with contingencies and adverse impacts
Microsoft Project software is used for Monitoring & controlling
the project Progress.
Weekly Project progress vis--vis target discussed & reported to
higher management with constraints & possible corrective
measures
For major contracts the progress , & forecast along with the
required resources shall be discussed in presentation form so
that it can be analysed quickly & correctly

13) BUDGET & COST CONTROL

Prepare Budget get it approved from competent authority

before commencement of Financial year
The Budgetary Provisions are made for each & individual item
Project Manager or other authority is not allowed to spend even
small amount on any other item which is not included in
approved Budget
Even for Spending from Contingency fund the Permission is
obtained from next Higher authority
Any supply/work order for The expenditure on individual item is
issued through the cost control software,and the software locks
out the clearance in case the item is not included in Budget or in
case the Budget Provision on that item exceeds the Budgeted
amount
For proper control the fund availability ,expenditure , &
requirement shall be intimated once a week

13) BUDGET & COST CONTROL (contd)

Monthly Budget performance vis--vis Target including

scheduled & actual payments shall be discussed in monthly
meeting
Mechanism such as reserve fund has to be developed to take care
of contingency requirements
Process for approving Budget changes has to be specified and
time bound.but such changes have to be minimum & justifiable

14) MEASURES TO EXPEDITF WORK

a) Employ 2 different civil agencies for SG and TG civil

works so that there is no total stoppage of work in case of
problem with one civil agency
b) For similar reasons one agency is barred from taking 2
different works in the plant.
c) Use of Batching plants is compulsory for civil agencies.with
the above provision naturally there shall be minimum 2
Batching Plants for civil works
d) post staff manufacturing units to monitor & expedite
supply of equipment for their Projects
e) Senior corporate Management level person visits to SEDC/
Manufacturing units for expediting supplies

14) MEASURES TO EXPEDITF WORK (contd)

i) Boiler Drum Lifting

Novel method of Lifting of Boiler Drum lifting is now
employed with Strand Jacking System as described
System is similar to drawing water from well. The bucket full
of water is load ,the rope tied to the bucket handle is the
bottom anchor to the load,the rope itself is strand,your body
standing on top of the well is jack,the left and right hand fist
grips on the rope are the jack bottom and top anchor
For raising the bucket you transfer the grip from left to right
alternately till bucket comes up.

14) MEASURES TO EXPEDITF WORK (contd)

i) Boiler Drum Lifting (contd)

Advantages
a) Impact loads associated with start & stop of conventional
winch operation and horizontal force are non existant.
b) Temp rise worry due to frictional forces is non existant
c) Rigging takes only 3-4 days against 10-12 days
d) Work stoppages on welding & hindrances due to long ropes
are avoided
Elaborate winch arrangement is avided
Power requirment is less.
Requires lesser manpower and tension and lesser stress
@ 8-10 hrs are required for lifting operation
In case of any Power supply failure the Drum can remain
safely for days.

14) MEASURES TO EXPEDITF WORK (contd)

j) Civil Works Time Saving Measures

i. Use of Automatic elevating scaffolding & horizontal rebar
feeding Machine
Reduces Labour and useful for Precision positioning
ii. Use of Assembly Rebar Machine
Allows assembling of rebar into blocks through automated
operations in accordance with the data loaded into memory
from CAD Model
iii. Use of Left in shuttering/Doka Shuttering
Fast Shuttering Erection ,Smooth finish and early release of
areas for E&M erection
iv. Use of Threaded Coupler for reinforcement tying
reduction in reinforcement time
v. Use of Batching Plants/pumps/transit mixers
vi. Use of Automatic welding/cutting Machines

15) MY EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS

A) At MAHAGENCO

I was associated with implementation of Thermal power

projects at 210 MW Parli 4 & 5 units, 500 MW Chandrapur
5,6,7 units ,210 MW Khaperkheda 3 &4 units and 250 MW
New Parli & Paras projects.

210 MW Parli unit 5 was executed in 34 months, 500

MW chandrapur 7 in
44 months. These were records
prevailing then. Khaperkheda unit 3 was executed in 30
months, shortest time ever taken by Mahagenco for any of
the unit so far.

i. Rapport with civil wing

I enjoyed excellent rapport with civil wing. Every

morning I, & the civil head used to meet at pre decided
location and take the site round jointly.

15) MY EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS (contd)

This gave an impression to lower civil and E & M staff that

the decisions are taken jointly, and enthused a sense of
bonding between all the E &M and civil staff .

All the problems related to co-ordination & priority were

decided during this joint round and this gave encouraging
results.

ii.

Monitoring of project schedule

After joint round the meeting was held with civil and
E &M executive engineers and main plant agencies ,where
all the works required to be carried out next day /one week
were discussed with commitments. These were reviewed next
day and so on.

During the commissioning stages the activities were discussed

in detail and reviewed with engineers and main plant
contractors daily.

15) MY EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS (contd)

iii.

iv.

Site decisions
Normally some mistakes occur in design drawings. Some
of these can be rectified at site without any functional
deficiencies. This was done and intimated to design office
saving lot of time in to & fro correspondence.

Dealing with contractors/agencies

The contractor should be considered as your equal
partner in completion of project and his difficulties should be
sorted out immediately .In case any additional work, beyond
scope is carried out this should be evaluated reasonably and
recommended for additional payment if justified.

15) MY EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS (contd)

v.

Dealing with local public/farmers/others

Here every one out This sorts out no. of grievances .No favor
to be shown to any agency/political party .same treatment to
all

vi.

Appreciation
Appreciate any good work done; encourage staff &
contractors to do better.

15) MY EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS (contd)

B) At KSK with Chinese(SEDC)

Chinese people are very patient & Hard working
They have vast experience in design of power generation as
the Chinese installed power plant capacity is almost 6 times
of our capacity.
They however work as per chinese norms and these differ
considerably in some cases
They are very wise & make use of any lacuna/ deficiency or
clarity in our specifications/agreement. We have to be very
careful
in
specifying
our
requirements
in
specifications/agreement
They are very cost conscious and try to reduce their cost
sharing if they find any opportunity. We have to prevent such
situation

15) MY EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS

(Contd)

B) At KSK with Chinese(SEDC)

They are not tired of repeating same statements over days
We have to be very firm in curtailing these discussions after
fixing some time limit
They do not fully understand our working culture and
therefore in order to convince our point, need lot of persuasion
Capable of working for longer duration
They are very observant and keep track of all happenings
Their erection expertise at Warora is however yet to be
proved.
Need to be handled with care