Turnarounds are a challenging necessity and recurring reality of operations for clients and contractors alike. Turnaround preparedness requires a complex web of planning, scheduling, and hiring to ensure the proper repair, maintenance or replacement of equipment at a client's facility, while also maximizing safety and minimizing downtime. Assets and productivity are on the line, as well as millions of dollars in client revenue.
Tough times require strong solutions. As one of the nation's leading heavy industrial contractors, Turner Industries is no stranger to finding innovative ways to answer tough calls in times of adversity.
Our turnaround teams are designed to be scalable to any project size or complexity. When such projects are not performed by a nested maintenance crew, Turner's Turnaround Services Group -- assisted by Specialized Welding Services (SWS); Turner Specialty Services (TSS); our equipment division; and the Scaffolding, Insulation, Painting and Abatement (SIPA) Group -- can perform complete turnkey events, eliminating the need for multiple contractors. This approach not only lowers the cost of ownership, but also streamlines the process by using a single point of contact and one invoice for all services.
"We not only have the resources, but we also have the expertise," said Vice President of Maintenance and Turnarounds Rodney Landry. "Our managers have undergone extensive specialized training to ensure proper event management and execution, and our turnaround teams perform more turnarounds per year than any other contractor in the business. In 2019 alone, we worked 4.2 million hours and made 40,000 welds with a 99.55-percent acceptance rate."
Working safely in the 'new normal'
The health and safety of our employees, their families and our customers remain, as always, a top priority. Currently, sanitation is a concern for many of our clients. TSS offers safe, cost-effective sanitation and disinfection services for everything from high-traffic to low-ventilation areas.
Clients who are looking to reduce the event's footprint on-site can take advantage of TSS' Rope Access Group. Rope access can be one of the safest, most efficient and cost-effective ways of performing a variety of services at heights. One client who utilized this service during a recent two-week event saw an actual cost savings of $500,000. Another client saved $120,000 in just four days. TSS' Rope Access Group is an experienced industry leader on the Gulf Coast, and its trained and qualified employees can perform hard and soft skills on ropes. These skills include welding as well as inspections and NDE. TSS is equipped with the most advanced NDE equipment at its disposal, including drones.
"I am proud to say that we have one of the best safety records in the industry," said Turnaround Safety Manager Jake Savoy. "Even with the challenges of moving from site to site, we have a strong safety culture that follows our team wherever we go. Management support is vital, and we have it. Its support allows us to implement new tools and technology to make our worksites safer, working toward hands-free methods and elevating our PPE standards."
In addition to the extensive planning needed, executing a turnaround requires finding innovative solutions to meet ever-evolving turnaround challenges.
At Turner Industries, we face these "new normal" challenges head-on and with a proven blend of safety and efficiency.
We do everything we can to make sure Turner's clients are as successful as possible. Our "One Solution for Your Success" motto turns into quantifiable results when we hit the jobsite.
For more information, contact Robert Chandler at rchandler@turnerindustries.com or Rodney Landry at rlandry@turner-industries.com.