The traditional view of operational shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages (STOs) is that they are simply maintenance and engineering events. However, well-executed STOs can represent a source of competitive advantage for a company.
Contrary to popular opinion, the impact and scope of shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages (STOs) can extend far beyond basic maintenance and engineering functions. In fact, STOs require significant capital and operating budgets. They attract the attention of shareholders, and can even impact customer relationships.
Considering their importance, well-executed shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages can have many benefits for an organization, because they can:
What does this mean in today’s highly competitive business environment? Shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages represent not only an increasingly significant challenge but also an increasingly significant business opportunity.
At Matrix, we are passionate about helping businesses succeed in today’s highly competitive market. From helping you recruit and retain top talent, to enhancing the safety on your worksites, we work to keep you growing and competitive within your industry.
Want to know how we can help you?
Planning and managing plant shutdowns and turnarounds are no easy task. Hiring the right contractors who can help you achieve the most efficient turnaround possible requires quality checking and planning throughout the process.
In today’s blog, we’ll look at 4 tips that will help make the shutdown process run as smoothly as possible.
When hiring shutdown or turnaround contractors, it can be very tempting to go with the lowest quotation. However, this may not always be the best option.
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Why? Shutdowns are projects where time and quality is of the essence. Employing the most experienced contractors, even if they are more expensive, could make all the difference when finishing the project on time and on budget. |
Having quality assurance and quality checking systems in place will help to ensure that nothing is missed during the shutdown and turnaround. Although it is time-consuming, it will pay off for your project as a whole.
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Tip: All QA and QC elements should be clearly outlined in the contractor induction to avoid any confusion and miscommunication. |
Shutdowns and turnarounds are very intense work periods and the shortened time frame, as well as the myriad of safety hazards, demand contractors who are well educated, as well as well-documented safety procedures for them to follow.
If you want maximum efficiency from day one, then you should make sure that before any contractor sets foot on site, you have planned the following:
Companies can enjoy significant gains if they go through the majority of induction materials in advance of turnaround day.
Inevitably, the tasks involved in a shutdown and turnaround will be shared between employees and the contractor, so cultivating a joint sense of purpose between the two parties can make all the difference between success and failure.
In addition: Good communication of expected standards can help ease friction on the project and prevent any miscommunication that can slow things down.
To find out how Matrix can help you attract, hire and retain the right contractor for your STOs, contact us at 1-866-666-9520 or fill in our online contact form.
In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that we work on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut'ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.
