ResearchSpace
ResearchSpace is the institutional repository of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, unlocking knowledge, empowering impact, and preserving UKZN's research legacy.
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The impact of scope changes on turnaround schedule and cost in the Oil Refinery Industry.
(2023) Mkhwanazi, S'phamandla Gordon.; Chikandiwa, Christopher Tarisayi.
The number of deviations submitted to the turnaround team after the scope freeze dates and during turnaround caused a great concern to Engen Refinery, as it has a potential to put stress to the already committed resources, delays schedule and increase in turnaround overall cost. This study examined the turnaround processes on the change in the scope of work and their contributing factors on turnaround schedule and cost in the oil refinery industry. Furthermore, the research investigated the possible factors that could be considered to address the change in scope during turnaround, thus limiting the number of deviations during turnaround. To achieve these factors, the qualitative and exploratory research approach was employed to the Engen Refinery case study. The targeted population of the study included seventeen participants from Engen Refinery who were purposively selected to take part in the interview session. The sample included nine participants which included the professionals from different sub-departments in the Maintenance and Turnaround Department. The sample had two managers and seven Senior Personnel’s, mostly Engineers and one Lead Supervisor. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were done telephonically, where each participant consent first for being recorded and the recordings were transcribed into word document. The transcribed data was analysed using the Thematic Analysis which utilises the six-phase process of data analysis. There were twelve themes which were created and were utilised to analyse the data received from the interview. The theory underpinning this study is the “Theory of Triple Constrains” which relates to the project success or failure. The theory defines the need to satisfy the customer requirements at an agreed schedule and estimated cost. However, this theory does not give guidance on project success or failure when the customer initiated the change in scope which is the main weakness in theory. Therefore, this study assumes the customer requirements are fixed irrespective who request the change. The research study results are tested against the theory of constrains. The research study results indicated that the change in scope after the freeze dates and during turnaround delayed the schedule and increased the overall cost of the turnaround. The contributing factors included the mismanagement of the deviations process, the “known unknowns” and the diversified work culture displayed during turnaround. The “known unknown” were found to be the leading cause of schedule delays and increase in turnaround cost and are contributed by not doing required inspections, and lack of skills and experience of personnel conducting the scope. Not able to clearly define the scope was the cause of change in scope which could be as a result of competency in scope definition. The behaviours, attitude and mindset displayed towards turnaround and during turnaround have a potential to increase cost and delays schedule if not managed properly. The study was limited to Maintenance and Turnaround Department at Engen Refinery which only included the most experienced individuals in the department, focused on changes in turnaround work scope on schedule and cost, and therefore does not represent the overall view of people working in the Oil Refinery and those researching the Turnaround strategies in Oil and Gas sector, therefore the results cannot be generalised. The research outcome may assist turnaround project teams on the impact of changing the turnaround scope of work on the schedule and cost. Those who develop turnaround strategies, scholars, future researchers will find great value of this study on the impact of changing the turnaround scope during or towards the start of the turnaround.
Is the Transnet National Ports Authority due for corporate restructuring?: a study of the imperatives for the authority’s corporate structure and functions.
(2025) Hlophe, Nomfundo Gugulethu.; Donnelly, Dusty-Lee.
This mini dissertation critically analyses the corporate structure and functioning of the Port Authority, which is responsible for the South African port system, which is key to trade, and the country’s economy. The current Port Authority is known as the Transnet National Ports Authority (“TNPA”), because it is a division within Transnet SOC Limited. This study considers how this state of affairs came about, looks at the performance of the TNPA, examines the founding legislation for the Port Authority followed by a critical analysis focused on literature and best practices.
The findings point to the legislation, the National Ports Authority Act 12 of 2005 not being aligned with the Commercial Ports Policy in terms of which it was drafted. They also point to the non-implementation of the legislation, specifically in terms of the corporate structure that the Ports Authority should have. Thirdly, the findings are that the TNPA, in its current form, results in a conflict of interest in its relationship with Transnet Ltd and the sister divisions. Thus, the incorrect corporate structure is a contributing factor to the sub-par performance of the TNPA.
This study concludes with recommendations on what the appropriate corporate structure is for the Port Authority, and the corrective measures that government must take, which may not necessarily include introducing new legislation before the policy issues are resolved.
Re-imagining a decolonial university? exploring the voices of Black academics in the struggle for transformation in a South African higher education institution.
(2024) Magubane , Zamokuhle Wiseman.; Zondi, Thabile Aretha.
The study reported in this dissertation was about re-imagining a decolonial university by exploring the voices of Black academics in the struggle for transformation in a South African higher education institution. This qualitative study, located in the critical paradigm, employed a single case study research methodology. 16 Black academics were purposively recruited to share their voices around their struggles for transformation in the university. To generate data, the study made use of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The analysis of the data that emerged from this study occurred through inductive thematic analysis. The theoretical analysis of the data was informed by Nancy Frasers tripartite social justice framework which involved the economic, cultural, political and the later added on dimension, the epistemic dimension. The focus of the study was on Black academics who are seen as strange intruders, outsiders and pariahs of the academy due to a number of factors such as their race, identity, values, norms and cultural beliefs. The three Key Performance Areas (KPA’s) of an academic; teaching and learning, research and community engagement were the decolonial analytical frameworks that informed the study. The study was guided by two objectives: to explore the voices of Black academics in the struggles for transformation in a South African higher education institution and to understand the voices of Black academics’ in the struggles for transformation in a South African higher education institution. Major struggles for transformation raised by Black academics were the challenges of colonising languages of instruction, a highly Eurocentric curriculum, persistent colonial cultures of community engagement, research trajectories, publishing standards and criteria that draw from a European educational system. Similar to much of the literature, the Black academics raised that much African scholarship such as African indigenous epistemic traditions remained largely marginal, underused and undervalued in the South African higher education system. The findings of this study had broader implications for a future impactful university on the KPA’s of an academic. Informed by these findings; conclusions and recommendations on teaching, research and community engagement for re-imagining a decolonial university were made through a prosed social justice framework model.
Afro-textured hair and the policing of black girlhood: race, gender, and resistance in a desegregated school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2025) Bhengu, Sithandiwe Marlene.; Ngidi, Ndumiso Daluxolo.
The study presented in this dissertation examined how Black African schoolgirls experience, understand, and resist the policing of Afro-textured hair in a racially desegregated secondary school — Dundee Comprehensive Secondary School (a pseudonym) — in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Despite the legal and political shift toward educational inclusion post-1994, the study reveals that discriminatory school practices rooted in colonial and apartheid ideologies persist. Focusing on 16 purposively selected Black girls who wear their hair in styles such as Afros, braids, dreadlocks, and fade haircuts, the study explored how school-based regulation of hair becomes a mechanism for racialised, gendered, and cultural exclusion. Using African Feminist and Black Feminist theoretical frameworks and employing participatory drawings alongside focus group discussions (FGDs), the research foregrounds the girls’ voices and lived experiences. The findings unveil the covert yet pervasive ways in which hair-based discrimination manifests in desegregated schools. Verbal, undocumented rules disproportionately target Black girls, with teachers, often non-Black, employing language and punitive actions to deem natural African hairstyles as “untidy,” “unacceptable,” or “ugly.” These practices contribute to the policing of Black girlhood, the erasure of cultural and religious identities, and the reinforcement of Eurocentric aesthetic norms. Participants also described how such scrutiny resulted in psychological harm, diminished self-worth, and, at times, exclusion from school spaces. However, the study also reveals powerful forms of resistance. The girls challenged the informal policies through visual storytelling, group solidarity, and affirmations of cultural pride. Their refusal to conform to oppressive beauty standards signals a broader demand for transformation. The study proposes a conceptual framework that maps the intersection of institutional power, cultural identity, resistance, and policy opacity, offering a lens for addressing racialised aesthetic control in South African schools. The dissertation concludes with urgent recommendations for inclusive policy reform, teacher sensitisation, and learner protection aligned with the South African Constitution and the South African Schools Act (84 of 1996).
Phase equilibrium measurements to inform the performance and recovery of methanol/TEG mixtures as additives for natural gas dehydration treatment.
(2024) Raghunanan, Rahul.; Moodley, Kuveneshan.; Naidoo, Paramespri.; Nelson, Wayne Michael.
Dehydration is a crucial step in the processing of raw natural gas. Water, which is naturally found in natural gas deposits, causes a significant problem during transportation, as it forms clathrate hydrates within the gas pipelines. To inhibit this formation, methanol is added to the extracted gas before piping
to dehydration facilities where 2,2′-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(oxy)]di(ethan-1-ol) (triethylene glycol (TEG)) is commonly used to remove water from the natural gas. The presence of the methanol inhibitor in the gas affects the water/gas separation using TEG. This effect is not well understood due to the lack of
description of the phase behaviour of the relevant multicomponent mixtures in the literature, which is required to design and optimise the gas dehydration process. This can result in ill-conditioned and inaccurate simulations for natural gas process plants, as predictions from binary VLE data alone have
been shown to yield inaccurate descriptions of the separation behaviour. This study aims to further the available knowledge in natural gas processing by conducting highpressure phase equilibrium measurements, particularly, Pressure-liquid composition x, on novel systems of interest to the Gas Processing Association. This was performed for multicomponent mixtures commonly found in gas dehydration plants, with the measured data modelled using suitable thermodynamic models. The device employed for the vapour-liquid equilibrium measurements was a variable volume high-pressure sapphire cell apparatus. Measurements were conducted for the systems of CH4 (1) + CH3OH (2) and CO2 (1) + TEG (2) + water (2) to test the experimental equipment and method. Novel data were measured for the quaternary system of CH4 (1) + CH3OH (2) + TEG (3) + water (4) and the senary system of CH4 (1) + C2H6 (2) + C3H8 (3) + CH3OH (4) + TEG (5) + water (6) at 303.15 K, 313.15 K and 323.15 K. The verification test measurements were found to correlate well with literature data at similar conditions within the experimental expanded uncertainties of 0.06 K for temperature, 0.04 MPa for pressure, and
composition uncertainty of 0.03 for the liquid phase composition. The phase behaviour showed a general proportional relationship between the pressure and light hydro-carbon composition except with the quaternary system, indicating higher solubility at higher pressures. The data were modelled using the Cubic Plus Association (CPA) equation of state, the Perturbed Chain Statistical Association Fluid Theory model (PC-SAFT) and the Peng and Robinson equation of state (PR). For the quaternary system, the CPA model performed the best, followed by the PC-SAFT and PR models. The absolute average relative deviation (AARD) and absolute average deviation (AAD) for the simultaneous regression of all three isotherms using the CPA model were 6.56%, 3.47% and 6.02% for the AARD values and 0.405 MPa, 0.325 MPa and 0.341 MPa for the AAD(P) values. For the senary system, the PC-SAFT model performed the best, followed by the CPA and PR models. The AARD and AAD for the simultaneous regression of all three isotherms using the PC-SAFT model were 2.46%, 3.43% and 4.24% for the AARD values and 0.043 MPa, 0.075 MPa and 0.106 MPa for the AAD(P) values. The CPA model exhibited the best performance when considering all measured systems and individual isotherms. The result of this study contributes toward design improvements and optimization of natural gas dehydration plants using TEG and methanol. Its purpose is to fill the gap currently existing in the available phase equilibrium data of fluid mixtures containing the chemicals investigated in this work.