Swat Built On Safety. Quality. Productivity.

Coast-to-coast turnaround company now tripled in growth

Specialty Welding and Turnarounds (SWAT) built on quality, safety, productivity

When you see the SWAT logo at any jobsite, with its bright yellow and red colors, there’s no mistaking what it stands for: Specialty Welding and Turnarounds. In 2016, SWAT stretched its footprint from coast to coast, working not only on the Gulf Coast but also on the West Coast in states such as Washington and California. There’s no place SWAT won’t go.

“We provide excellent service, elite supervision and manpower; we run high productivity rates; and we do this all while being safe,” said Johnny Holifield, president of SWAT. “We have the best craftsmen in the business, because of our leadership and their commitment to development. It’s our people who make SWAT the company it is today.”

Built on quality, safety and productivity, the SWAT TEAM SIX wants to be your go-to turnaround company.

Built on quality

According to Holifield and SWAT Vice President Jimmy Quick, SWAT’s results are a “cut above” because of quality. In 2016, the company worked more than 1.4 million man-hours coast-to-coast without a recordable incident, performing over 50,000 welds. SWAT knows what it takes to be successful on its projects.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about being the best at what you do,” Quick said. “This is why our growth has tripled. People see the SWAT name and they know what they’re getting. Our guys have years and years of experience working together in the industry.”

In 2016, SWAT had a cumulative weld rejection rate of less than 1 percent, with welds X-rayed less than 2 percent of the time.

“From the minute we show up to the jobsite to the minute we leave, we want pure professionalism, and we want to perform safe, quality services that are above the rest,” Holifield said. “We hire only the top welders in the industry from across the nation. Our quality control managers are proven professionals and have high expectations from the craftsmen that work for us. They build and develop detailed packages to keep up with all the documentation and everything else required for a project. But more importantly, they put their eyes on every detail of every job, ensuring SWAT delivers the results it stands behind.”

Built on safety

SWAT starts every project with a topdown safety approach. According to Holifield and Quick, the company’s leaders also ensure their team is equipped with the best safety equipment for the job and they’re doing absolutely everything to stay safe. This approach worked in 2016, with SWAT working more than 1.4 million man-hours with zero recordable incidents.

“SWAT makes safety the most important part of every task performed,” Quick explained. “Our corporate management is heavily involved, setting the expectations that trickle down to the craftsmen and supervision.”

“We look at how we can perform the job safely, from the planning all the way to the execution,” Holifield said. “In addition to the supervision, we have dedicated safety team members on-site. They are there to ensure our core value is being upheld as well as collaborate with the client to ensure the safe execution of our project.”

Built on productivity

In 2016, SWAT worked on 141 different jobs, which ranged from 100 man-hours to 300,000 man-hours. Throughout the year, SWAT had an average productivity rate of 1. 2 and an average of 1,100 employees on jobs from coast to coast. According to Holifield, SWAT’s productivity is so strong because the company’s management puts “a pencil to the numbers.”

“By taking our rates and calculating SWAT’s productivity versus other companies, we are proven to be more cost efficient and a better option,” Holifield said. “By choosing SWAT, a customer receives qualified craftsmen and supervision, less overhead, and a group that is able to overcome adversity during outages and turnarounds. We pride ourselves on being ‘the go-to team’ in the industry.”

SWAT’s work speaks for itself

SWAT’s dedication to quality, safety and productivity on its projects has been clearly demonstrated during the past year. In 2016, SWAT completed a plant-wide turnaround, performing 72,000 direct man-hours and work scopes in 16 different units. The company’s peak manpower was 348 employees during this turnaround.

“We quickly became the go-to contractor to perform additional work that was tacked onto the turnaround,” Quick stated. “We were issued 493 extra jobs, adding up to a total of 30-percent growth. We completed approximately 10,000 total welds on this turnaround with a 1.2 rejection rate, and our productivity base plus growth was a 1.08. In the end, SWAT completed over 150,000 total man-hours on this turnaround with no recordable incidents and earned ‘Top Contractor’ when behavior-based safety auditing was conducted.”

In south Louisiana, SWAT was invited by a customer to submit a bid to replace an exchanger in a sulfur unit and also replace a large amount of piping. The whole project included 7,000 man-hours, but this project had its challenges. The exchanger was recessed 12 feet in the structure, weighed 50,000 pounds and had never been replaced before. The customer was very concerned about removing the exchanger, so it requested a very detailed plan.

“We submitted our plan, the client signed off on it, and the project began,” Holifield said. “This project also included opening the customer’s waste heat boiler for inspections. Everything went exactly as planned without any safety incidents, and the client had a leakfree start-up.”

As a result of this work, SWAT was awarded a turnaround in the same customer’s reformer unit only days after the sulfur unit project was completed. This work included 20,000 man-hours, consisting of servicing exchangers, drums, towers, piping and pressure safety valves (PSVs).

“We completed our scope of work, and additional work that belonged to other contractors, to assure the schedule was met,” Holifield said. “We were able to keep the client on schedule without any safety incidents, and they also had a leak-free start-up.”

SWAT was then awarded another turnaround in the customer’s coker unit, which included 24,000 man-hours. This work included servicing exchangers, towers, drums, PSVs, and a large amount of chrome piping. The coker turnaround was completed on schedule with no safety incidents and, once again, the customer had a leak-free start-up.

“This work started in September 2016 and was completed in December 2016, which included a total of 51,000 man-hours with no incidents,” Holifield stated. “The customer said SWAT ran a higher productivity rate than any contractor it had seen. We were asked to come back in April to perform another turnaround, and we are now on the customer’s preferred vendor list.”

For more information, visit www.Swatservice.com or call (225) 644-1200

What others in the industry are saying about SWAT…

“SWAT is a very good contractor that can be counted on for quality work and a really good scheduled performance. Its workers, services and employees’ qualifications make it an exceptional choice. SWAT is just a quality contractor with motivated people.” — Placid Refining Refinery Manager Rob Beadle

“SWAT provided us with planners, fitters and welders needed to repair an FCCU on a 24/7 basis. The safety and quality exhibited by SWAT was outstanding. One impressive trait of all the SWAT personnel was the willingness to fall in with other contractor crafts and refinery personnel in order to achieve the goals of the outage.” — Alon USA Krotz Springs Refinery Maintenance Planning Superintendent Wayne Ardoin

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