Advanced Shutdown Turnaround and Start-Up

The planning, preparation and execution of a turnaround is a complex undertaking that demands an effective strategy, a high degree of control and great attention to detail. It also requires a profound understanding of the critical elements that go to make up a turnaround and the drivers and constraints that shape the event. This requires involvement of every level of the company from senior management who set the framework for the event through to the craft personnel who perform the actual work.

The shutting down and start-up phases of a turnaround are critical to the success or failure of the event and as such must be planned and prepared in as much detail as the mechanical phase.

There comes a point in each area of the turnaround at which most tasks have been completed and the systems may be handed back to operations for start-up. This is a critical transition phase and if not properly controlled, time, money and effort can be wasted. Although it may seem to the casual observer that the start-up of the plant is simply the reverse of shutdown, there are some significant elements which differentiate the two events:
•    There are many tests – pressure tests, system tests, loop checks and trip and alarm tests – which have to be carried out during the start-up.
•    The start-up comes when most people have been working long hours and are tired, tired people make mistakes.
•    Unlike the shutdown when the plant is being cooled down and de-pressurised and fluids are being extracted during the start-up the plant is being heated and pressurised and fluids are being introduced increasing the hazards.
•    There is a possibility that, on shutdown, critical path time lost may be recovered. On start-up however such time lost cannot be recovered, it simply extends the duration.
•    There may have been thousands of individual activities performed on the plant equipment, any one of them may have been incorrectly performed and cause a fault to emerge during the start-up.
•    An isolation plate inadvertently left in position during the start-up can have consequences ranging from frustrating to catastrophic.
•    Depending upon the type of plant, the start-up process can last anything from a few hours to many days. Whatever the length of time, the handover must be done effectively. The operations team must control the start-up in the same way as the shutdown and engineering work.
    
This Course is the product of over 30 years of practice by turnaround professionals working in different industries in many countries around the globe and its principles are embodied in the “Model of Excellence for Turnarounds” that forms the central pillar of the workshop.

The basic principles of the methodology are: There are only two types of work on a turnaround, routine and unexpected. If the routine is under control there is time to deal with the unexpected but if the routine becomes unexpected the unexpected may become catastrophic”. Each module offers a practical approach with exercises and examples that draw out and develop participants learning and experience in addition to that offered by the workshop.

Key Learning Objectives
•    Improve your company’s approach to planning and scheduling
•    Provide a framework for effective turnaround execution
•    Highlight the unique safety requirements of turnarounds
•    Foster the “one team” approach to turnarounds
•    Provide a comprehensive knowledge base for turnarounds
•    Demonstrate the latest planning techniques for turnarounds
•    Highlighting the operational check out and start-up requirements
•    Learn the conditions for acceptance of the plant by plant operations personnel