It is difficult to underestimate the importance of early input from capital projects teams when plants execute turnarounds.
Without it, it is unlikely that alignment, events and schedules will be achieved.
Ken Kallaher, senior director of Global Project Execution at LyondellBasell, said he believes that most turnaround organizations have very disciplined processes.
"Most capital projects organizations also have very disciplined processes and, on the surface, people sometimes think that those processes are imposed to each other," Kallaher said. "In fact, when we did some benchmarking as we tried to drive our cost effectiveness index on the capital side toward best in class performance, we found that capital projects associated with turnarounds consistently were less cost effective. What we found after people got done throwing rocks at each other was, if the teams talk to each other early, the processes were not in conflict at all. If they talk to each other early, you find that you can, in fact, get best in class results."
Dave Mason, turnaround director with NOVA Chemicals, said he agrees with this assessment that both turnaround and capital projects are highly disciplined processes that mutually benefit from early communication with each other. But he went even further, calling that lack of communication "the biggest problem."
"Be very clear on what your milestones are and why they are in place," he said at Downstream USA 2022, held recently in Houston, Texas. "It helps to understand, essentially, what the impacts are of failing to meet those milestones."
Be very clear on what your milestones are and why they are in place. -Dave Mason, turnaround director with NOVA Chemicals
Achieving alignment and having those milestones is one thing Mason noted, "but having the discipline to meet them is quite another.
"Every organization that I have ever worked for has always struggled in that regard. We have good, well-defined processes, but sometimes we lack the discipline to follow through," he said. "I think that has had the biggest impact in terms of leading to some of these issues, in terms of the high cost of executing projects and turna-rounds."
Mason said it is also critically important to make sure both capital and turnaround teams are working off of one milestone list, an integrated list from both sides that meets both processes' requirements.
"There are obviously differences in how we plan turnaround work and maintenance work versus how we plan capital work, so we need to make sure that both sides get their needs met," Mason said. "If we were to plan it just the way we do turnarounds, we will fail to meet some of the close-up requirements that are needed for those capital projects. Have that clearly integrated and articulated, and then communicate it to the organization."
Mason discouraged leaders from imposing too many "key" KPIs.
"How many of us in our organizations talk about 100 key KPIs? Well, if there are 100 of them, they are not very 'key,'" he said. "Make sure we keep looking at what those critical milestones are and focus on those particular ones. Those are the ones that we need to communicate over and over and over again."
Regarding which team most effectively drives a project, Mason observed that capital projects, project organization or the turnaround team may be the leading force, "depending on the size of the event."
"I would say that actually extends into each area. If the bulk of the work in an area is capital project work, the capital project team should lead everything in that area. In fact, their contractor should do the maintenance work in that area.
"Now you've got one team pulling together all for a common goal, and it's not capital versus turnaround," Mason concluded. "It's one team."
