Turnaround managers are among the most disciplined, thorough planners in industrial operations.
Scope lists are developed well in advance, contractor qualifications are carefully vetted, permitting is secured and logistics are coordinated, all with ultimate precision. Thanks to the stakes inherent in a plant turnaround, it is no surprise that the planning stage is so important and managed so deliberately.
But even carefully planned turnarounds can sometimes be influenced by assumptions that deserve fresh consideration. It is only natural that current turnaround planning be shaped by the experience of the prior cycle. That said, there is often a large gap between a turnaround that "worked" and a turnaround that was truly "optimized," and it can all begin with temporary facilities.
Small shifts, huge results
Temporary turnaround structures, including offices, break areas, meeting spaces and staging zones, play a vital role in overall execution. Not only do the facilities themselves need to meet or exceed standards, but the organization and placement of the facilities is critical. Even small shifts in a site’s temporary facilities layout can add up to significant changes to the turnaround’s outcome, either for good or for ill.
Consider this: if a 600-person workforce loses even as little as 15 minutes a day in unnecessary travel between temporary facilities and work zones, that adds up to 150 non-productive hours a day. Over a 57-day turnaround, that figure balloons to 8,500 manhours lost. This demonstrates the importance of a simple question turnaround managers can ask during planning: did the previous cycle’s facilities placement support efficient preparation and execution, or is there an opportunity to reduce time and cost losses caused by an inefficient layout?
How to reassess a temporary facilities strategy
The best time to ask that question is early in the milestone schedule, well before scope freeze, when the layout of facilities is flexible and vendor options are open. This ensures that a facility strategy is in place, designed to support the entire turnaround, as opposed to one cobbled together after the broader plan has already been defined.
Fortunately, there are practical steps any turnaround planning authority can take to define that facility strategy. Working with an experienced temporary facilities partner is key. Even one well-structured working session with a temporary facilities expert versed in plant turnarounds should be enough to start uncovering buried assumptions. It is not that there is one superior strategy that all turnarounds should follow. Instead, success depends on developing a plan tailored to the specific site and operational requirements.
Plan the space as thoroughly as the turnaround
WillScot, North America’s premier provider of temporary workspace and storage solutions, works with plant turnaround managers to design effective, efficient temporary facilities layouts. Its in-house experts know turnarounds inside and out and have helped customers plan safe, productive site solutions that maximize time on tools.
For more information, visit willscot.com.
