For Tyler Sines, global turnaround support manager for Eastman Chemical, the question of who is accountable for turnaround success - leadership or the whole team - the answer is clear.
"Obviously, it's the whole team. It doesn't boil down to one individual," he said. "We hope that everybody, every individual in the turnaround takes some sort of accountability for themselves and understands their role in the success of the turnaround."
Perhaps a more difficult question is, what constitutes a successful turnaround?
Offering tips to help change negative workforce mindsets surrounding turnarounds at Downstream USA 2022, presented recently by Reuters Events in Houston, Texas, Sines said there are several different factors.
"The term 'successful turnaround' has three Ss, right? 'Safety', 'schedule' and 'spend.' Did you finish on time and on budget, and was everybody safe?" Sines said. He added that from a safety standpoint, everybody has a responsibility to work safely, and working that into the entire scope of the turnaround is also everybody's responsibility.
Sines said there is a fourth S to the phrase.
"There's kind of an underlying S, and that's the scope," he said. "Did you accomplish everything you were supposed to? Also, was the scope correct for that particular turnaround? Did you do a lot of work inside the turnaround that was unnecessary?"
Sines said Eastman has determined that the average turnaround is about 20 percent more expensive than the work that is executed during routine maintenance.
Kaveh Hooshvar, project controls team lead with Marathon Petroleum, noted that his team spends a lot of time on turnaround planning.
"Sometimes this can be two-to-four years ahead of time, so we want to come with a 'plan for the plan,' and engage different departments from operations, inspection, process, engineering and so on," he said. "We make sure they understand what that expectation is and when they need to have those tasks done in order for the turnaround to be executed. Engage them early, and also manage the expectations as they change."
In addition to constant communication, Hooshvar recommended keeping team members informed of "how much progress is being made against the plan."
Heith Robey, turnaround leader with Celanese, said each of their multiple units assesses site priorities and goals.
"Of course, turnarounds have a big impact on that," he said.
Celanese also ties compensation to turnaround performance, Robey said.
"Everybody gets a piece of the pie or a piece of the hammer - you can kind of take your pick. So for us, engaging is self-initiative. When you tie in compensation, everybody gets involved."
Managing relationships
One ubiquitous challenge to a successful turnaround occurs when a turnaround is not the top priority in a unit for that year.
"You have expansion projects, you have whatever crazy stuff goes on in chemical plants - pretty much 24/7, and turnarounds are not always number one," Robey said. He added that understanding where units fall within that structure, and leveraging relationships at that point is vital.
"It's working with your inspection team, with your operations team and getting the right individuals within your team to support the goal that you're trying to accomplish with that group," he said. "I tell my groups all the time, 'You need to get your information in, and then you can go back to doing whatever you were doing until I'm ready for you again. I don't need you full-time from here to here.'"
"We try to respect what they do," Robey said. "Take inspectors - probably one of the most critical people to scoping, planning and every single aspect. Most of them have a day-to-day job that they are responsible for, and a turnaround is more. Corporate initiatives are coming down and different things are coming out and more and more is pulling on your time."
It is incumbent upon turnaround leaders to work with individuals in each unit to maintain understanding and communication.
"If they need additional help, I'll bring in contract inspectors to write all the repair plans and write all the recommendations, to review them and give them back to us to make sure they're good," Robey concluded. "You may not get everything exactly the way you want it. Prioritize that with your organization (by) saying, 'Look, if I'm 20 days late on the inspection plans, it's OK.' Or, it's not."
