13. Procedure Automation Lifecycle - Retirement

This chapter explains retirement of automated procedures and provides informative annexes on metrics, drawing conventions, and project front-end loading. By the end, you’ll understand:

Think of this chapter as the end of the lifecycle plus valuable reference materials for implementation.

13.1 Retirement Triggers

Automated procedures are retired when:

13.1.1 Trigger 1: Plant Retirement

Plant is retired:

  • Facility closure
  • End of plant life
  • Permanent shutdown

Automated procedures retired with plant:

  • No longer needed
  • Equipment gone
  • Process ended

Example:

Refinery closes after 40 years → all automated procedures for that refinery retired.

13.1.2 Trigger 2: Process Changes

Process changes made:

  • Different raw materials
  • New product line
  • Modified process
  • Equipment changes

AND procedures no longer apply:

  • Logic based on old process
  • Equipment doesn’t exist
  • Process parameters different
  • Procedure obsolete

Example:

Chemical plant switches from batch to continuous process → all batch startup procedures no longer apply → retire batch procedures.

13.1.3 Trigger 3: Control System Upgrade/Replacement

When BPCS upgraded or replaced:

Automated procedures may need to be:

Upgraded:

  • Migrated to new platform
  • Reconfigured for new system
  • Updated for new capabilities
  • Modernized

OR retired and replaced:

  • Too old to migrate
  • Platform incompatible
  • Opportunity for redesign
  • Complete replacement better

Example:

Plant upgrades from old DCS to modern DCS:

Option 1 - Upgrade:

Convert existing procedures to new platform, test, deploy.

Option 2 - Retire and replace:

Retire old procedures, design new procedures leveraging modern capabilities, implement fresh.

Decision based on:

  • Migration cost vs. replacement cost
  • Opportunity for improvement
  • Compatibility
  • Strategic direction

13.2 The Decision Process

The decision to retire automated procedure:

Will be defined through:

Appropriate Management of Change (MOC) work processes.

Why MOC required?

Retirement is significant change:

  • Affects operations
  • May impact safety
  • Requires review
  • Needs approval
  • Documentation required

MOC ensures:

  • Proper evaluation
  • Risk assessment
  • Stakeholder review
  • Formal approval
  • Documented decision
  • Alternative plans
  • Training updated

Cannot just delete procedures - formal process required!

13.3 Maintaining Retired Procedures

If automated procedure is retired:

A copy should be maintained:

To facilitate future reuse.

Why keep retired procedures?

13.3.1 Reason 1: Historical Reference

Understanding past operation:

  • How did we do it?
  • Why was it designed this way?
  • What worked?
  • What didn’t work?

13.3.2 Reason 2: Knowledge Preservation

Expertise captured:

  • Engineering knowledge
  • Operational experience
  • Design decisions
  • Lessons learned

Don’t lose institutional knowledge!

13.3.3 Reason 3: Future Reuse

Potential reuse scenarios:

Similar project:

  • New similar unit
  • Expansion
  • Duplicate facility
  • Starting point for new design

System upgrade:

  • Migrate to new platform
  • Reference for redesign
  • Understand original intent

Troubleshooting:

  • Compare old vs. new
  • Understand changes
  • Historical context

Knowledge mining:

  • Extract design patterns
  • Reuse logic modules
  • Best practices
  • Proven approaches

Example reuse:

Plant A retires distillation startup procedure when switching to continuous operation. Five years later, Plant B building new batch distillation → uses Plant A’s retired procedure as starting point → saves months of development!

Retired doesn’t mean deleted - archived for value!

13.4 Requirement

The Procedure Owner shall ensure:

That appropriate Management of Change work processes SHALL BE:

  • Defined - MOC process exists
  • Used - MOC process followed

To retire an automated procedure.

What this means:

Must have:

  • Formal MOC process for retirement
  • Process documented
  • Process followed
  • Approval obtained
  • Documentation complete

Cannot:

  • Informally retire procedures
  • “Just turn it off”
  • No review or approval
  • Undocumented decision

Procedure Owner accountable.

Why mandatory?

Without MOC:

  • Uncontrolled changes
  • Safety risks
  • No documentation
  • Lost knowledge
  • Poor decisions

With MOC:

  • Controlled process
  • Risk assessed
  • Documented
  • Approved
  • Knowledge preserved

Retirement = significant change requiring formal management!