There are Projects, and then there are Turnarounds & Shutdowns
Shut-downs, turnarounds, and outages (STO’s) are common to processing facilities such as refining, gas processing, chemical plants, pulp mills, and in many more industries. These facilities run continuously for long periods of time, so it is necessary to shut-down production on a planned (or unplanned) basis to perform required maintenance, inspection, operations, or capital work. As there is generally a loss of production and revenues during this period these are critical events to a company’s cash flow, not to mention the actual costs to perform the work required. Additionally, a company’s contractual commitments and reputation are at stake if the scope and schedule of outages are not managed as expected.
Recently I presented on Effective Communication at the Turnaround and Shutdowns Conference on the topic of “Getting Senior Executive Buy-In for Your Turnaround Strategy”. One of the key learnings that I shared is that many leaders and stakeholders do not actually understand how complex these integrated projects are. An important aspect of managing a successful project is to ensure that key stakeholders and decision makers have a clear understanding of the “big picture” to give context when they are asked to provide support or make critical decisions.
For Leaders and Project Managers attempting to explain the complexities and integration of turnaround projects I have put together this simple Venn Diagram to show the primary activities that take place during a turnaround event, and the overlapping integration that occurs. Admittedly an actual turnaround is even more complex than this diagram, but I am a huge believer that a simple one-page “cartoon” can convey more useful information than pages of detailed descriptions.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Management for a turnaround or shut-down event is an imperative to its success. As these complex projects include many activities from Operations, Maintenance, Inspection and Capital projects, an effective Project Team will be represented by all groups and coordinated at all levels of the organization. Larger projects should include a steering or oversight committee that ensures leadership from the key stakeholders are engaged and provide support for decisions and execution of the planning process.
Some (not all) of the key functions of a STO Project Management Team are:
Provide overall Project Leadership
Create and communicate a project stage-gate plan c/w milestones
Ensure processes are in place and followed for management of the project
Manage project scope and scope control
Ensure job plans are put in place for all work (Maintenance, Inspection, capital projects and operations.)
Create an integrated schedule
Manage or coordinate purchasing and materials management
Contractor management
Project cost control
Project health, safety. security and environment
Coordination with internal and external stakeholder groups
Reporting and dashboards
PRIMARY STO ACTIVITIES
Operations
Before any work can begin, the facility must be shut down in an orderly manner and the equipment safely prepared for work. This includes lock-out and tag-outs (LOTO) and blinding assurance for process equipment and piping before the “maintenance window” can occur. . Once all work activities are completed it is then the responsibility to safely re-commission and start up the facility.
Operations activities are always on the critical path for any shut-down, turnaround and outage. However, often the details of these tasks and scheduling interdependencies are not included in the overall project plan which can lead to significant delays or missed opportunities to begin work when equipment is prepared.
Maintenance
Maintenance work at a turnaround is different than regularly scheduled work during normal operations. The only maintenance that should be planned and scheduled is work that can only be performed during an outage. Work during an outage is expensive and can become even more costly if the outage is extended due to unnecessary work. The only exception is “found work” or “discovery work” that must be addressed prior to recommissioning the facility.
For maintenance work to be most effective all work should have fully planned and prepared job packages prior to the outages This includes identifying all work task steps with required materials, equipment, tools, and resources. The workers or contractors assigned to the tasks should be completely familiar and prepared for the work prior the outage and understand the schedule for completing the work. Integrating purchasing and inventory with the maintenance plans is essential to successful turnaround maintenance work.
Inspection
The primary reason to shut-down a facility may be for required regulatory and compliance inspections. The requirements vary for each facility and jurisdiction, but a best practice is to perform risk-based inspections (RBI’s). By utilizing a methodology for optimizing inspection plans the quantity and intensity of inspections can be reduced, dramatic affecting the duration of a shutdown. Vessel and equipment access can be a complex process that should be minimized unless essential work is required, including inspection.
Typical inspection work for a shut-down starts with preparation of Inspection Test Plans (ITP) based on the inspection history and requirements. ITPs are the bases for preparing a Planning Job Package that integrates all aspects required to perform this work during the outage. A critical aspect in the inspection process is to ensure effective coordination with other groups when inspections are completed, especially if any found work needs to be addressed.
Capital Projects
Most large facilities have capital project programs to accommodate growth or change requirements. For the most part, these projects are segregated and managed independently from normal operations. However, at some point, most will require piping, electrical or instrumentation tie-ins that can only occur during an outage. This capital work requires coordination of two independent project teams: the Capital Project Team and the Turnaround Project Team
Successful coordination of capital work into a turnaround or shut-down requires early interaction that starts with understanding of how the turnarounds phase-gate project plan aligns with the capital project plan. Ideally, the shut-down period can be scheduled to align with the construction schedule, but most often it will not, so it detailed plans for the capital tie-in work must identified as a unique scope and schedule within the capital project plan. As shutdowns are critical path projects that can have a significant impact on production, operations, and safety the Turnaround Project Team is generally in charge of all plans, schedules, and logistics for turnaround tie-in work.
INTEGRATED STO ACTIVITIES
Simultaneous Operations (Sim-Ops)
Simultaneous Operations (Sim-Ops) occurs when “multiple independent operations occur on a location at the same time. Events of any one operation may impact the safety of personnel or equipment of another operation”. Sim-Ops speak to most of the activities that occur during a shut-down event, but is most pronounced when two project teams need to coordinate activities (e.g., Capital Project Teams and Turnaround Project Team)
Coordination of capital projects in an operating facility requires an agreed leadership and project planning protocols to ensure success. The Operations Team is usually responsible to ensure all hazards (i.e., pressure, temperature, fluids, electrical, etc.) are addressed for safe work and the actual job plans and scheduling of the work done is directed by the Turnaround Project Management Team. In order to be successful capital project reps are assigned to coordinate or be embedded in the Turnaround Team to ensure success of Simultaneous Operations.
Equipment Access
Work and inspections on equipment can only be done after operations have shut down and prepared the equipment. After this is completed, coordination between operations and the workers to ensure safe and timely access to the equipment. Poor coordination can be the source of extensive unplanned delays and confusion if this activity is not properly planned and managed.
Some key components of equipment access are:
Verified Lock-Out and Tag-Out (LOTO) to safeguard workers from hazardous energy releases including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, thermal, or other sources hazardous to workers.
Equipment Blinding to ensure a positive mechanical isolation of equipment by the insertion of an appropriately rated blind into the system to physically isolate the potentially hazardous energy source.
Confined Space Entry preparation and coordination to mitigate the hazards from toxic or flammable gas inside, asphyxiating atmosphere, the accidental inflow of chemical or starting of agitator, etc.
Hot Work Area Preparation to ensure a safe work environment when work occurs with potential ignition sources near flammable materials.
Safe Work Permits are a written record authorizing a specific work at a specific location, and for a specific time. Permits ensure that all foreseeable hazards have to been considered and that the appropriate precautions are defined and carried out in the correct sequence.
Logistics
Shutdowns generally require a lot of work to be completed in a short period of time with limited working space. Without proper logistics planning and execution this can lead to significant congestion and delays. Logistics coordination controls the physical interaction of workers, equipment and materials during mobilization, execution, and demobilization of the STO activities.
Large events generally require the logistics coordination of shared critical equipment and services such as lifting equipment, cleaning equipment, safety equipment, fuel supplies, etc. Space availability is at a premium during a shutdown, so material laydown areas and shelter management are vital components of logistics planning.
Found (Discovered) Work
One of the most complex issues during a turnaround event is "found" or "discovered" work. These issues are uncovered when equipment is opened and inspected to reveal broken parts, corrosion or internal damage due to process and wear. Found work can cause significant disruption to the entire project plan and will probably have a negative effect on budgets and schedules. For this reason, a "Found work" process must be put in place to ensure correct and timely decisions can be made during the shutdown event.
Although it seems impossible to plan for the unknown, effort should be put into reducing the probability of finding significant found work and mitigating the impact. Prior to the shutdown, a risk review should be completed of the assets to identify potential found work and then rank the probability and consequence of possible found. Based on risk, pre-shutdown work can be done to understand further the risk, including non-destructive external testing, process testing, etc. Contingency plans should be put into place that may include pre-ordering of replacement parts and services in the event of found work.