System Support Engineering Framework: A Tool to Achieve Strategy Transformation

Modern oil refineries are complex, and very high in value of production. They are expected to function for years to come, with the ability to handle the changes in technology and feed quality. The aging of a refinery and the continuous increases of vendors and contractors force the refinery's operation management to design a strategic approach which can capture these changes. Therefore, this paper explores and outlines the nature of a support system design for a refinery in order to comply with strategic transformation. The research work explores the operation support system from a range of perspectives, by interviewing managers from across the refinery organization. The factors contributing to the complexity of a support system are described in the context presented, which clusters them into several key areas. It is proposed that a support system engineering framework may then be used as analytical tool for managing and designing support system(s).