When Bob Harnish joined the Air Liquide Scotford team in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, in 2001, the turnarounds completed at that site weren’t what he considered “world class.” Harnish said the team accomplished its timelines but they struggled to do so, and there were many things the team needed to work on. But everything changed in 2011 when the Air Liquide Scotford team started completing its turnarounds with great success. The team focused on the issues that had plagued them in the past during all aspects of the turnaround phases: pre-turnaround strategy, turnaround execution and post-turnaround.
“To us, world class means you go from one turnaround to the next and you don’t have any kind of production interruption,” said Harnish, who presented at the recent Shutdowns Turnarounds Superconference in Calgary. “Sites deal with their own problems and their own situations differently. These are some practices we started performing in 2011, and continue to do so, that took us from good to world-class results on our turnarounds.”
Pre-turnaround strategy
When beginning a turnaround, Harnish said it is essential to state your goals and objectives clearly for all stakeholders. In 2011, the site decided to change its objectives to focus more on problem areas and the goal of going one year without production interruption. The site has far surpassed this goal and has currently gone over three years without any interruptions. According to Harnish, if you define the challenges and obstacles early, that will make all the difference.
“During the start of a turnaround, it’s easy to lose focus when you have hundreds of tasks in front of you and hundreds of people on-site you’ve never met,” he said. “Our managers do a great job of keeping everyone focused so we don’t lose sight. We communicate with every single person and emphasize it takes every individual to complete a successful, world-class turnaround.”
According to Harnish, lack of skilled labor in Alberta due to the high demands in the industry is also a contributing factor that makes the goal of completing world-class turnarounds more difficult.
“We begin discussions with contractors much earlier than previous turnarounds to ensure they clearly understand the gaps and how they can help us,” he said. “This gives contractors more time to focus on finding the right skills in time for our next turnaround and a sense of ownership for the outcome.”
Turnaround execution
At the turnaround stage, the Air Liquide Scotford team ensures everyone on-site is well informed of past issues and what contributions are needed by each individual to ensure success.
“During the turnaround execution, you need to stay focused on your objectives,” Harnish said. “When you hit the ground running at the beginning of a turnaround, there will always be surprises or what I like to call ‘the expectation of finding problems.’ We face a lot of things as you go through the process where you just want to get through it, but you can’t give up.”
Harnish said as the turnaround progresses, the work in the areas of past concerns should be closely monitored with worker feedback strongly encouraged and acknowledged.
“Providing support to all stakeholders is essential, resulting in giving our 2011 and future turnarounds a whole new feeling of ‘turnaround teamwork,’” he said. “Solicit feedback to help create that sense of ‘all in.’”
Post turnaround
Lastly, and equally important, is the post-turnaround phase, Harnish said. The post-turnaround phase is a time to reflect on the positives and continued improvements on future turnarounds.
“Get back to ‘normal’ as quickly as possible following a turnaround,” Harnish said. “You might have items like construction trailers or rental equipment everywhere. What we found most effective is cleaning these items up right away, and don’t procrastinate or make excuses. You must return everyone to the frame of mind of running the business.”
For more information, contact Harnish at bob.harnish@airliquide.com or (780) 992-5838, or visit www.airliquide.ca.
