Post Turnaround Presentation - Shutdowns Superconference 2011

The 10th Annual Shutdown Superconference in Calgary, Alberta Canada was a true success in every way.
I would estimate there were more than 300 attendees. I was fortunate to talk a little bit about Establishing the Foundation for Turnaround Success during the Development Phase and close the Conference with a talk about the value of a proper Closure. There was very good discussion after the presentations and much support. I thank everyone who attended.


Below are my "Speaker Notes" from the Turnaround Closure Session...

Good Afternoon every-one and thanks for coming and thanks again Mr. Chairman for the introduction.

Again my name is Mike and for those who were not able to hear my presentation on developing a robust Turnaround Framework during the Initiation or Definition Stage of the Turnaround Lifecycle… I currently work with the Capital Project and Conventional side of the Canadian Natural’s Business here in Calgary.

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about the Post Turnaround Phase and provide some insight to some of my findings and experiences as well as inviting some interactive discussion.

The answer to this question is related to how much time and resources are budgeted to allow a proper Turnaround Closure to be completed.

If we answer “YES” we are stating that sufficient budget, resources and time are approved to complete the Post Turnaround Phase effectively.



Analogy: If you are are Runner, we can time how fast you ran your last race. Unfortunately this does little when determining overal health.


By assessing the ability to establish sustainability more like a diagnostic health check aimed at understanding and detemining how healthy the runner is. Therefore being sustainable goes beyond the outcomes of any individual race and is more targeted at being healthy, agile, flexible and responsive.

To discuss some of the key components we often overlook when thinking about elements that we choose to ignore during the Post Turnaround Process

The Post Turnaround Phase covers the completion of the final walk down and punch list deliverable with contractor along with de-mobilization, documentation, closing out the schedule, reconciling schedule updates with CMMS wok package completion as well as preparing final cost, safety, inspection and Performance Reports.

Along with the documentation or administrative closure this is the best time to gather valuable information from key resources and contractors for lessons learned that can be carried forward to the next Outage.

Just as vital is that the Core Team is maintained and allowed time to complete this aspect of their responsibilities.

Many turnarounds do not emphasize the need a proper control and monitoring of post turnaround activities. As a consequence, the completion of turnaround activities may stretch out for a longer period of time which may result in cost overrun and increasing safety risks.

There is a need for administrative details.

The lessons learned during each Turnaround have to be documented in the specific unit's history record for future mitigation plans.

Also, the turnaround manager, with the assistance of all key stakeholder, is charged with compiling a comprehensive turnaround performance evaluation report which identifies strengths and weaknesses of the current turnaround.

Included is the completion of the final turnaround report which evaluates the overall performance of the TAR which is essential for the development of future initiatives.

Because, successful completion of this Phase can have major impact on the next Turnaround.

I think most of us can relate to the fellow walking on the sand, the effects the Turnaround environment and how demanding it is on people.

The biggest challenge during the Post Turnaround Phase is keeping momentum and focus.

With this said I would like to ask every one to stand up for a couple of seconds

Now I am going to make an assumption that every one is comfortable this is Day Two of the event and we know what to expect and are comfortable with our environment.

Please keep standing…understand a key part of my role is to introduce change and build relationship and create communication pipelines.

With this said everyone standing…can every one in alternating rows please turn 180 degrees and introduce yourself to the person facing you…then have a seat.

I am hoping that this was somewhat uncomfortable but I am confident everyone is engaged

Demobilization of Contractors

Post Turnaround Clean-up of Units and Lay-down Areas

Collection and Disposal of excess materials

Gathering Tools

Removal of Temporary Facilities

It is vital for core teams to be maintained during this pahse and allowed time and resources to complete the more tangible deliverables

During the demobilization Phase there is a sense of urgency to ensure all temporary trailers, wash facilities, tool cribs, safety equipment, tools and equipment and spare parts are remove from site.

However often there is still a significant amount of physical work to be completed outside demobilization and clean up.

Insulation repairs

Scaffold removal

Spare asset – Lay Up

To mention a few things that can take up to three or more months to complete. As these activities are still burning principle it is very important that we do not lose track of productivity and status reporting.

As well this is often the phase where we are most susceptible to risk from a safety perspective

Now that the physical aspects of the plant clean up are underway the next concurrent step is to gather information for archive, reconciliation, performance management and the Turnaround Post Mortem.

Essentially what I am alluding to is the completion of the Turnaround Hand-over package which is neglected and is subject to creating a Turnaround that never seems to end.
Consequently the hand-over and close-out activitesand durations should be identified within the Turnaround initiation Phase when the Turnaround Management Plan is developed and Scheduled

I think some of the reason Administrative Closure is not often discussed in detail is that it is not very interesting and I am not going to go through the motions of telling you guys the details and dependencies.

However I will tell you a story about money…

For those who can recall yesterday I prefer that the authorized Work Orders are housed I the CMMS and the parent Child relationships or hierarchy mirror the WBS and CBS which in turn is replicated in the Schedule.

This was key to resolving a major bust… the communication was good, the metrics, framework, timesheet protocol and expectations were clear but…

During the closure phase when we were reconciling the Plans variances to schedule Variance to Timesheets we found that there were a few groups that updated everything correctly but there were major variances in charges to individual Work Orders…since this was a JV event there was some discrepancy in charges to the JV.

This initiated a detailed claim investigation which took a few months to resolve.

The short term results were positive for both partners because of the relationships and the data that enabled clear negotiations for a positive outcome.

The long term initiative was to add more clarity to the billing process, cost control and tracking process daily.

These are all identified and progressed within the Post Turnaround Execution Schedule

What I really mean here is does you Organization develop KPI’s for each phase of you Turnaround and does this roll up the Final Report?

If not why not?

Gathering information and updating data bases is important but if we are spending time, effort and money doing this there must be a defined process.

Throughout the Turnaround Closure phase we’re constrained be lack of available resources, from the contractor side because the key resources that can provide the best information are off the to the next event, in-house resources often are exhausted and the processes timeline and budget are often not aligned.

You may recall this slide from yesterdays presentation…the point is that we are still burning the Turnaround Budget which requires effort throughout all phases.

If we can I would like to shift gears abit again but sill keep in line with Lessons Learned and the meaning of Success.

It is my opinion that this Conference was formatted quite well in that it essentially follows the Turnaround Lifecycle starting during the Development Phase where we went through the Safety Initiation moving to PreTurnaround carrying over to Execution and now focusing on the Closure Phase.

I would feel that this Conference was a success and more specifically if my involvement provided at least one of the following opportunities.

1.     To challenge at least one component of your current Turnaround Management Plan

2.     To take a different look at the value of being prepared and how it influences risk

3.     Evaluate the traditional constraints of Scope, Schedule and Budget and the relationships with Quality, Expectations and Stakeholder Alignment

However it is important to here from you the key Stakeholders, what is important to you from a Turnaround Perspective….where, in your opinion do we need to focus more attention.

I would like to engage you all in a game called the wedge game

Remembering the lose graphical representation of the past 30 years through the tumultuous roller coaster ride of the Oil booms and busts.

Understand where we are now and what we forecast for the next 5-10 yrs where do we need to get better.

Graph arch – drawing

Where we are now and forecast

What do we need to work on from the lessons we have learned in the past 30 yrs.

Organizational

A Robust Turnaround Philosophy and Vision

Understanding productivity and how do we manage

Training and Mentorship

Continuous Improvement Initiatives that have Traction

Leveraging Experience

Functional

Use of Tools

Planning development

Scheduling and Project Controls Development

Leadership training

Can we build this thing together….

Final Checks and balances come with communication and Stakeholder Alignment

This Slide speaks for itself because if we like it or not we have to evolve with changing expectations and realities.

Duriing the past two days I am hoping we have developed a better understanding and consciousness of where we are and where we strive to be to be sustainable and successful.
I truly wish the presentations and tyransparency of the discussions reasonated with each of you. I also hope that you can take away a few key items that will enable your Turnarounds to become more successful.


In closing...Time is a non-renewable resource.