Planning a turnaround (TA) is never easy, but it’s much more difficult when you have to hunt for or cannot find previous TA information. How many man-hours were expended for the E-101 or where are the drawings for the V-102? And pity the personnel new to the site when asked for a budget and schedule and the data from prior TAs are nowhere to be found (it may never have even been captured). How can you possibly even be in the ballpark with your estimates?
Contractors will tell you they get an incredible number of calls from clients asking for previous TA information. In an act of utter frustration, clients often hire the previous contractor, the one who has some necessary stats, without making him go through the bidding process. That’s “bully” for the contractor but not good for the owner/operator because they wouldn’t know if they were going to realize a cost savings or not. Reusing a previously underperforming contractor just repeats a prior mistake. This isn’t good for the industry as a whole because it allows poor performing companies to continue their poor performance.
Look to the clouds
Our company is comprised of former turnaround craftsmen — those “been there done that” guys. Our company president, Billy Dobbins, began as a boilermaker, and I began as an electrician. Just as we learned multiple crafts and worked our way up to planning, scheduling and project management, we learned to use the latest computer hardware and software to help us gage where we were, where we needed to be and to fore-cast possible outcomes. This was how we also learned to use the “cloud” as a database solution so you, as a client, don’t have to rely on previous supplier information — you’ve got your own data on your own job.
Made to order and easy to use
Here’s how our customized cloud-based data works. First, a client tells us what information they would like to retain during a project or TA. We then determine how to present information through reports, charts, graphs, etc. We send subject matter experts to your site to help you compile your initial project scope, schedule and budget. That information is stored in the database then updated during project execution, according to your needs before, during and after the TA.
The system also allows your contractors to enter their updates in the system during each shift and automatically send summaries and detailed reports to managers. Additionally, this gives you a dashboard for the safety, quality and performance of your TA. Your corporate office can simply log in at anytime to review project information and have a fully detailed account to help gage future projects. So, now you use our Google™-like search capabilities for V-102 and have results within seconds from any device with a Web browser. Now, when critical members of your TA team retire or move on, the existing team and the new team members are not left in the dark because everything they need is in the “cloud.”
For more information, call Clayton Richards at (888) 790-9398, email info@calculatedcontrols.com or visit www.calculatedcontrols.com.
