Assessment of quality and safety management model in the maintenance of energy facilities in Vietnam

Figure 1: Site Check, photographed by the author in 2017, painted by GrokXAI in 2025.

Rationale

Energy industrial plants are facilities for electricity generation, transmission, and oil & gas infrastructure (Circular 06/2021/TT-BXD), classified from Class 1 to Class 4 and Special Class. Unlike other industrial facilities, energy plants utilize complex equipment systems and advanced technology to convert or distribute primary energy sources into usable forms such as fuel, electricity, and gas.

Due to the complexity of equipment systems, the quality of operation and maintenance directly impacts productivity, revenue, profit, and management efficiency. Maintenance refers to activities aimed at ensuring a facility's safe and normal operation by its design specifications throughout its operational lifecycle (Decree 06/2021/ND-CP). However, in practice, the term "maintenance" now encompasses a broad range of services in the energy industry. Maintenance in the energy industry includes: monitoring & inspection, cleaning & lubrication (oil/grease application), repair, refurbishment, or replacement of damaged, worn, or degraded components. These activities are performed routinely or periodically to maintain normal operating conditions, prevent potential failures, restore operational capacity, and extend equipment service life.

Maintenance in energy industrial plants was traditionally conducted using an in-house model. These plants established workshops, maintenance departments, or later created dedicated centers to monitor, plan, and implement maintenance activities. However, such in-house maintenance was typically limited to auxiliary systems. Maintenance work was contracted out to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or specialized international service providers for critical process systems. These contracts were usually structured as long-term maintenance agreements, commonly referred to as either Long-Term Maintenance Agreements (LTMAs) or Long-Term Service Agreements (LTSAs).

In these contracts, all parties commit to implementing systematic quality and safety management (QSM) systems in full compliance with regulatory requirements. The quality of maintenance services is demonstrated through: expertise of personnel/specialists; preparation and planning processes; scheduled inspections and evaluation reports; operational recommendations; material/component certifications; warranty terms based on system reliability; maintenance, repair, and replacement guarantees. The health, safety, and environment (HSE) management system is evidenced by: comprehensive planning and risk assessments, maintenance method statements (MMS), safety and environmental protection measures, on-site monitoring and supervision, and emergency response preparedness.

In recent years, the industry has seen a growing trend toward outsourcing maintenance operations. Service providers have significantly invested in enhancing their management systems to deliver greater operational efficiency. This evolution has led to the development of more diverse contract types that better align with plant owners' specific requirements. Common maintenance contract types include:

(*) LTMA or LTSA is in the form type 5 and/or 6, having a time frame of around 10 years.

Based on a decade-long survey of maintenance operations in Vietnam's energy industrial plants, along with an examination of documentation and reports from multiple energy facilities and maintenance service providers, the following key findings have been identified:

• Fundamental requirements for workplace safety, environmental protection, and fire/explosion prevention have been systematically implemented and maintained. Energy plants have established comprehensive safety management systems that meet international standards, including: Safety planning and risk assessment procedures, maintenance method statements (MMS), Permit-to-Work (PTW) systems, Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) protocols, on-site monitoring and supervision programs.

• Quality management processes are implemented in parallel with maintenance services, including: equipment documentation (technical records, calibration reports, testing certificates, operating permits, and registration documents); maintenance method statements (MMS) developed and executed in accordance with: inspection and test plans (ITP) and quality control procedures.

A nation’s economic development drives the expansion of its energy industry, leading to: more industrial plants with larger capacities, more advanced and complex technologies, and higher demands for quality maintenance services. In this competitive landscape, service quality and safety compliance become fundamental to sustainable growth.

When QSM system requirements are clearly defined and mutually agreed upon between plant owners and service providers, it enables optimal resource allocation, time efficiency, and cost control. This alignment helps eliminate: duplicative documentation requirements; redundant report contents; unnecessary procedural hurdles; and ambiguous information standards. Without such alignment, operations face increased manpower demands, workflow bottlenecks, schedule delays, frequent ad-hoc troubleshooting, and uncontrolled safety violations (endangering both personnel and equipment). Furthermore, energy plant maintenance inherently involves international partners who provide: specialized technical expertise, advanced maintenance services, system upgrades and modernization. Therefore, implementing quality and safety management frameworks that comply with international standards is essential to minimize operational disruptions, ensure seamless coordination, maintain compliance, and enhance overall efficiency.

The article evaluates the integrated quality and safety management (QSM) model, proposing measures to streamline procedures, clarify roles, responsibilities, and coordination to ensure optimal efficiency and legal compliance in maintenance work for Vietnam’s energy industrial facilities. The proposed solutions also help standardize workflows, enabling the application of software tools and data processing for step-by-step digital transformation in the production chain, enhancing both service quality and business efficiency.

The QSM Model

A Quality and Safety Management (QSM) model was developed with seven steps, based on maintenance records and contracts of domestic and foreign service providers, and reports implemented by international consultants, to facilitate maintenance activities for energy industrial facilities in Vietnam.

Figure 1: QSM Model for Maintenance to Energy Industrial Facilities in Vietnam.

Quality and safety management are indispensable in maintaining energy industrial facilities. As outlined in the FIDIC guidelines, these requirements are comprehensively addressed. Similarly, the maintenance service contract template under the Australian Capital Territory Act reflects this framework, demonstrating that these two key terms are necessary and explicitly regulated within contractual provisions.

Under Vietnam’s Civil Code No. 91/2015/QH13 (dated November 24, 2015), service contracts are governed by Section 9 (Articles 513 to 521), which stipulates that contractual terms must be based on mutual agreement between parties. Legal regulations on quality management, safety, and contracts are articulated in significant detail and frequently referenced in practice. Specifically, the Consolidated Document of Decree 06/2021/ND-CP and Decree 35/2023/ND-CP (No. 05/VBHN-BXD, dated July 12, 2023), Article 10, outlines six mandatory requirements: Quality management, Progress (timeline) management, Volume (quantity) management, Labor safety and environmental protection, Cost control (or cost management), and other contractual conditions.

The consolidated document of Decree 37/2015/ND-CP, Decree 50/2021/ND-CP, and Decree 35/2023/ND-CP, numbered 07/VBHN-BXD dated August 16, 2023, Clause 7 regulates four requirements in contract management, including timeline, quality, quantity and cost, safety, environment, and fire prevention, along with other specific terms. Simultaneously, Decree 06/2021/ND-CP mandates compliance with requirements for quality, planning, and project maintenance.

Drawing from the regulations, maintenance records and contracts with several domestic and foreign service providers, and referencing reports prepared by foreign consultants in Vietnam, the key tasks in the quality and safety management model for the maintenance of industrial energy facilities can be outlined, as shown in Figure 1.

Execution Steps in the QSM Model

For maintenance activities of a large scale (Type 1, 4, 5, and 6 in Table 1), it is necessary to incorporate additional components into the plan, such as proposals for improvement, innovation, and change control; a risk management plan; a plan for managing occupational safety, environmental protection, and fire prevention and fighting (HSE); management of repair materials/equipment documentation; and regimes for inspection, supervision, acceptance, and reporting. This step is primarily developed for the energy industrial plant’s owners due to the specific nature of the facility, which involves managing multiple complex equipment/technology systems and persistent safety risks that could impact personnel and assets.

Step 2 involves risk and hazard assessment and analysis, an indispensable step of industrial maintenance that must be documented through field records and evaluation reports. Typically, these reports form a substantial set of documents, with much of the content being similar or repetitive. Examples include risks and hazards related to confined spaces, high temperatures, pressure, chemicals, and fuel handling. Nevertheless, risk assessment serves as the foundation for selecting safety measures and emergency response strategies. Therefore, organizing coordinated implementation, providing specific guidance, and using standardized templates will enhance the efficiency of management tasks.

Compiling safety, health, and environmental (HSE) documentation is a mandatory requirement under the Occupational Safety and Health Law, particularly for maintenance types 4, 5, and 6 as outlined in Table 1. This documentation must include the following types: records on technical safety management (standards, regulations, and applied safety technical measures); records on managing equipment with strict occupational safety requirements; records on fire prevention and fighting management; environmental management records; records on workforce management and occupational health of workers; emergency response plans (covering scenarios such as oil spills, chemical incidents, fire prevention and fighting, and environmental accidents); work coordination procedures; reports; and safety commitments. Similar to risk management documentation, these records encompass not only the content from service contractors but also significant contributions from the asset management entity. Therefore, specific guidelines are needed to define the components and structure of these records, ensuring consistency, minimizing overlap, and preventing repetitive content that complicates document management

Step 4, which covers maintenance procedures and maintenance method statements, is important because it significantly impacts task management. However, these elements often lack synchronization and are sometimes confused in terms of concepts and content. Table 2 will help clarify the distinctions between the requirements for maintenance procedures, maintenance method statements, and maintenance guidelines. The concepts and requirements for maintenance procedures and maintenance method statements are addressed in regulations on quality management and construction maintenance, and they align with international practices

From the table above, it is clear that relying solely on procedures or guidelines for all maintenance tasks would result in insufficient consideration of appropriate safety measures for critical equipment, complex systems, or high-risk areas. This stems from the fact that standardized maintenance procedures and guidelines are designed for equipment without taking into account the specific location or characteristics of the work area.

So, how are high-risk areas, critical equipment, and complex systems identified? These must be determined based on criteria established in Steps 1 and 2, with decisions made by the quality and safety management leadership. Maintenance Method Statements (MMS) are essential and must be prepared, reviewed, agreed upon, approved, and finalized for systems or equipment posing risks, such as those involving confined spaces, high temperatures, pressure, chemicals, fuel handling, or key technological equipment systems. The preparation of MMS should include task details, personnel allocation, relevant tools and machinery/equipment, execution steps, implementation timeline, HSE (health, safety, and environment) assurance measures, site/equipment reinstatement, and task completion.

MMS and maintenance procedures should be linked to groups of tasks within equipment systems or tied to Work Orders in maintenance management software (if available). Avoid splitting or categorizing task content by discipline, as this complicates inspection and supervision both on-site and in documentation.

The quality control process is an essential requirement in maintenance service contracts. Its key components include task details, applicable standards and regulations, organizational charts and responsibilities of the involved parties, requirements for testing and acceptance, handling of defects and warranty obligations, and the preparation of quality documentation and forms. Under Vietnamese regulations, testing and acceptance requirements must be documented separately. The acceptance process can be aligned with the requirements for preparing Maintenance Method Statements (MMS) and supervision activities. In international practice, these elements are typically consolidated into an Inspection and Test Plan (ITP). The ITP is a mandatory component of the quality management system and corresponds to the MMS for each maintenance task. Consequently, Step 1 plays a critical role in determining whether testing and acceptance requirements for tasks involving complex, high-risk equipment systems are effectively controlled, and how discrepancies, defects, and emerging issues are managed.

Step 6 in the Quality and Safety Management (QSM) model focuses on monitoring and supervision activities. The requirements for monitoring and supervision include organizing on-site oversight to ensure compliance with contract stipulations, such as Maintenance Method Statements (MMS), maintenance procedures, occupational safety, environmental protection, fire prevention and fighting, materials, and tools. Additionally, certain supervision components must fulfill reporting obligations to facilitate inspections by regulatory authorities, as stipulated in the Electricity Law (Articles 69, 70, and 71, along with related decrees and circulars).

During plant-wide maintenance services (such as Major Overhauls or Turnarounds), the number of participating contractors can range from 30 to 40 entities, with the workforce potentially exceeding 2,000 individuals. Recognizing and rewarding individuals or contractors for their performance in quality and safety bolsters the reputation of the energy industrial plant’s owner. This, in turn, promotes a greater sense of responsibility for subsequent tasks. Consequently, Step 7 should be integrated into the comprehensive Quality and Safety Management (QSM) model for maintenance in energy industrial plants

Assessment of QSM model for the Maintenance of energy industrial plants

It can be observed that the comprehensive Quality and Safety Management (QSM) model, as illustrated in Figure 1, addresses challenges in controlling the management process. Step 1 (QSM planning) is essential, as it helps reduce the disconnection between Step 2 and Step 4. Step 3 will be synchronized under a single focal point, avoiding fragmentation and simplifying the preparation and control of documentation. Once Step 4 is linked with Steps 1 and 2, it could reduce the volume of documentation and the operational workload—such as planning, reviewing, adjusting, approving, and finalizing—by up to 50% for both the management entity and maintenance service contractors, particularly foreign contractors who are required to comply with Vietnam’s regulations.

When the requirements within the management system are clear, bottlenecks can be resolved. A detailed workflow diagram will streamline the management process, reducing steps that require extensive expert manpower. This allows for a focus on standardizing and digitizing the process. For instance, in the Flow of Work for a maintenance entity, timelines can be set, and tasks evaluated from the moment service requirements are received: conducting surveys and coordinating technical assessments; preparing tools, equipment, consumables, and replacement materials suitable for the work order (WO); issuing and executing permit to work (PTW) and LOTO in compliance with safety regulations; developing and implementing appropriate maintenance method statement (MMS); testing and accepting the work; addressing defects; and fulfilling warranty obligations as per regulations.

For the energy industrial plants, effective control can be achieved by integrating quality and safety management with a comprehensive implementation plan, prior to tendering maintenance services. The key requirements of this overarching plan must be incorporated into the contract’s technical specifications to ensure all parties understand and comply. If this process is aligned and synchronized with regulations on quality and safety management in O&M, it will enhance the legality, efficiency, quality, and safety of maintenance activities in energy industrial plants.

by Dr. VAN XUAN ANH

Hanoi-Vietnam, April 2025

Reference:

1. Decree Detailing Construction Contracts. Consolidated Document of Decree 37/2015/ND-CP, Decree 50/2021/ND-CP, and Decree 35/2023/ND-CP, No. 07/VBHN-BXD, dated August 16, 2023.

2. Decree Detailing Certain Provisions on Quality Management, Construction Execution, and Maintenance of Construction Works. Consolidated Document of Decree 06/2021/ND-CP and Decree 35/2023/ND-CP, No. 05/VBHN-BXD, dated July 12, 2023.

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