IDCON’s Powerful Shutdown Turnaround Optimization Process (S-TOP)

IDCON’s Shutdown Turnaround Optimization Process reviews the best practices to safely reduce shutdown duration and costs.

The process reviews the 6 distinct phases of shutdowns or turnarounds at plants of any type. This process can be applied to both annual shutdown/ turnarounds and outage down days. The six phases of the Shutdown Turnaround Optimization Process are:

  • Strategic Review Phase – this review considers your current business drivers, event frequency, risk minimizing techniques and the organizational structure
  • Work List Review Phase – this utilizes Risk Based Work Selection techniques, Routine vs shutdown work
  • Planning Review – Best practices in Planning work, selecting and managing contractors, safety procedures, pre-shutdown checklists
  • Scheduling Review – Best practices in scheduling work, shutdown procedures, integrated scheduling
  • Execution Review – Operations role, communication strategies, recording delays and scope changes, managing resources, capturing information
  • Closeout/Critique Review – what agenda items to include, preparation, running the meeting effectively, preparing reports to prepare for the next event

Here are some Shutdown Turnaround best practices for you to consider:

  1. All utilities requirements for Shut Down (SD) and Start Up (SU) calculated and defined (flare, blow down, steam boiler, plant air (compressors), water, nitrogen, etc.)
  2. Tag isolation valves that will be exercised at the SD – grease valves
  3. Develop a detailed SD and SU schedule defining when mechanical resources are required (i.e. handover, hand-back, blinding, etc.)
  4. Function tests completed prior to SU – including emergency block valves, emergency SD devices, control valves, heat exchangers.
  5. Prepare flange make-up and torqueing procedures & provide training
  6. Blind and job locations tagged in the field with weatherproof tagging

Bring IDCON’s consulting and training in how to better manage your next Shutdown to your organization.

At IDCON, we understand the pressure you face trying to build a reliable plant.
We provide side-by-side reliability and maintenance consulting and training designed to keep your equipment running.

For over 45 years, we’ve partnered with 100s of manufacturing plants around the world to eliminate the costs and the pressure caused by unreliable equipment. And we’d love to do the same for you.

Contact us today to see how we can help you keep your plant running.

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