Emerson Exchange 365

On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy struck New York City, battering skyscrapers with high winds, flooding streets and subways, and leaving thousands stranded without power. By the time it was done wrecking the east coast, Sandy would become the biggest Atlantic hurricane on record and the second-costliest weather disaster in U.S. history.

The storm didn’t spare the Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Plant (BNYCP), whose 120-MW gas turbines, two heat recovery steam generators, and two 40-MW steam turbines provide power to the Consolidated Edison grid. Thirteen feet of seawater flooded the plant’s lower levels, destroying equipment and interrupting electricity and steam to parts of lower Manhattan.

Today at the 2014 Emerson Global Users Exchange, Alex Gomez of BNY Power Operations, Paul Bogdan of Control Associates, and Greg Walker of Emerson told the story of how their team executed a successful recovery plan that allowed the facility to meet its re-start deadline and help the City begin to heal.

“We went into action several days before Sandy hit,” Gomez said. “With the storm still hundreds of miles offshore, we started mapping out a short-term strategy and stocking up on supplies. As it closed in, we stacked 700 sand bags around critical entrances around plant. Due to the unique risk posed to the Manhattan power system, we shut down the entire site and evacuated all personnel 24 hours before the storm was expected to make landfall.”

Sandy’s wrath exceeded forecasts.   The storm surge overwhelmed the sand bag barriers at BNYCP’s main building and spilled into the basement, which is eight feet above sea level. Salt water flooded the steam turbine area and contaminated electrical systems, leaving behind a layer of toxic debris. Sandy also laid waste to auxiliary equipment such as air compressors, lighting, spare parts, and radios. It was immediately obvious that the cost of repairs would be substantial.

“We got to work as soon as the site was deemed safe and we were able to get in to assess the damage,” Gomez continued. “We contacted Emerson, who put together a team of specialists that included a dedicated sales engineer, a project manager, four instrument and valve service technicians, and an expert in developing and executing disaster recovery plans.”

The team devised a plan that called for crews to perform “walk-downs” in which they identified, labeled, and documented all valves and instrumentation affected by the flood, ranking them in terms of the damage they sustained. “We identified all critical-path assemblies based on parts availability, engineering work required, and criticality to plant start-up,” Gomez said. “We used a ‘divide and conquer’ approach, acquiring valves from a variety of sources.”

Anticipating that there would be supply chain problems up and down the east coast, Emerson tapped its global network of local business partners and rush-shipped soft goods and instruments for the initial wave of replacements that needed to be made.   Most of the basic repair items for BNYCP’s control system were on-site within a week after the storm.

A total of seven contractors and approximately 120 personnel were working on the project at its height.  To track their progress, all parties communicated daily on conference calls and used the SharePoint website as a central information hub for status reports, document management, and data tracking. Coordination between contractors and consultants was essential in dealing with debris clean up, scaffolding, lagging, electrical support, welding, and a variety of logistical issues.

One of the main challenges was restoring the facility’s many air-operated valves. This involved uncoupling the valves without air supply and removing all the valve actuators, which were taken back to the service center and overhauled. The recovery team rebuilt about 40 valves on-site once temporary air was available, and fitted about 12 automated block valves with new instrumentation.

Another huge task was the commissioning process. Emerson specialists worked closely with BNYCP operators to re-calibrate all the control valves and check all the control loops in flood-damaged areas, replacing switches, relays and wiring as necessary. “When it was time to begin the start-up process, Emerson provided us around-the-clock support,” Gomez said. “They diagnosed problems, answered our questions, and helped us manage all aspects of the upgraded instrumentation, including operating procedures and documentation.”

Despite the odds against them, the team completed the re-start without any major problems or accidents. “Together we developed an effective recovery plan and we stuck to it,” Gomez concluded. “Thanks to hard work and the strong relationships we have with our business partners and our customers, we were able to turn the lights back on for millions of people.”