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Effective management of turnaround interventions in the Oil & Gas sector

In a sector where every hour of idle time translates into significant losses, how an organization manages its turnaround and shutdown interventions can determine its operational success. Each day of halted operations can result in losses exceeding millions of dollars per industrial unit.

These scheduled shutdowns—mandated for technical, legal, or strategic reasons—represent both a necessity and an opportunity. When poorly managed, they can lead to cost overruns, delays, and disruptions across the value chain. But when properly structured, they can serve as a powerful lever for technical improvements, asset reliability, and competitive advantage.

The challenge lies in balancing the complexity of execution with the pressure to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible. This requires adopting robust project management models, applying continuous improvement practices, and leveraging data and technology effectively.

This article explores an integrated approach to transforming turnaround management, drawing on proven methodologies and a strategic perspective tailored to the Oil & Gas industry.

The importance of turnaround and shutdown interventions

Turnaround and shutdown interventions are critical moments for the Oil & Gas industry. Although planned and recurring, these operations carry high risk, significant logistical complexity, and substantial costs. When properly managed, they provide opportunities to restore asset reliability, implement technical improvements, and strengthen safety standards. However, when mismanaged, they can lead to delays, cost overruns, and even serious accidents.

What are turnaround and shutdown in the industrial context

In the industrial sector, particularly in intensive environments like refineries, petrochemical plants, and power generation facilities, turnaround and shutdown interventions refer to scheduled shutdowns of equipment or entire installations to carry out:

Preventive or corrective maintenance.
Mandatory inspections by regulatory bodies.
Replacement of critical components.
Technological updates and operational improvements.

A shutdown typically refers to the temporary cessation of a unit’s operation, while a turnaround encompasses the complete set of activities carried out during this period, from planning to resumption of production.

Impact on operations, safety, and profitability

These interventions have a direct impact on an organization’s profitability and operational continuity. Ineffective planning can result in:

Prolonged downtime and production losses.
Increased costs for internal and external labor, equipment, and rentals.
Safety risks due to the presence of multiple external teams and non-routine working conditions.
Compromised delivery timelines and contractual commitments with clients.

On the other hand, a well-executed turnaround helps minimize downtime, ensures legal and technical compliance, and implements structural improvements that reduce future failures while enhancing energy and operational efficiency.

Why do many interventions fail: Common mistakes and avoidable risks

Despite being planned well in advance, many interventions fail due to recurring and preventable factors, including:

Lack of detailed planning and realistic schedules.
Ineffective management of resources and external suppliers, resulting in waiting times and waste.
Absence of standardization and precise work instructions, compromising the quality of execution.
Poor communication between operations, maintenance, safety, and contractors.
Weak on-site supervision, leading to undetected deviations.
Lack of indicators and visual control to monitor progress and costs in real time.

Avoiding these mistakes requires not only technical expertise but also the strict application of structured methodologies such as Kaizen and Lean, which will be explored in the following sections.

Excellence in capital projects in Oil & Gas

Effective management of turnaround interventions requires a model that ensures quality, adherence to deadlines, and budget compliance. This is where the concept of Capital Project Excellence comes into play, providing a structured approach to managing capital-intensive projects with high risk and operational impact.

What is Capital Project Excellence?

Capital Project Excellence is an integrated approach to managing and implementing large-scale industrial projects, aiming to maximize return on investment (ROI) through excellence in preparation, execution, and project closure. Applied to the Oil & Gas sector, this model focuses on:

Ensuring projects are delivered on time, within budget, and with technical quality.
Minimizing waste during preparation, execution, and closure.
Fostering a culture of continuous improvement, where progress is made based on lessons learned and standards are continuously improved for future interventions.

Unlike isolated approaches, this model is based on proven Kaizen Lean methodologies and a progressive maturity logic, where each intervention serves as an opportunity to consolidate skills and strengthen processes.

Improvement principles for capital-intensive projects

Capital-intensive projects require an approach that includes optimized project management and the practical application of continuous improvement methodologies, ensuring excellence at every stage of the project lifecycle.

Project management should rely on structured tools such as:

Phase Gate Design – to define the project’s framework and ensure necessary maturity before moving to the next phase.
Project Charter – to clarify objectives, scope, team, resources, and align all stakeholders.
Critical Chain Planning – to identify and mitigate critical constraints, optimizing timelines and reducing risks.
Phase Scheduling – to plan activities and interdependencies in detail.
Obeya Control – to promote visual, collaborative governance focused on results.

Beyond improving overall project management, it is essential to hold specific improvement workshops focused on critical phases or activities. These workshops aim to:

Improve the quality and robustness of deliverables.
Reduce execution lead time by eliminating inefficiencies.
Mitigate technical, operational, or safety risks associated with each stage.

This combined approach ensures all stakeholders are aligned in a more efficient, predictable, and replicable process, raising organizational maturity in managing and executing capital projects.

How to apply the Capital Project Excellence logic to planned maintenance interventions

Capital-intensive projects, such as building new industrial units, expanding capacity, installing critical equipment, or upgrading technology, involve significant investments, operational risks, and numerous technical and contractual interfaces.

In the Oil & Gas sector, these characteristics are also inherent in planned maintenance interventions, such as turnarounds, which—although temporary and recurring—share comparable levels of complexity and criticality. These interventions:

Mobilize large-scale internal and external resources under intense time pressure.
Require complete or partial shutdowns of operational units, directly impacting the business.
Involve simultaneous interventions on multiple pieces of equipment, often in ATEX (Explosive Atmosphere) environments or with high safety requirements.
Must comply with technical, regulatory, and environmental standards.

For these reasons, turnarounds should be treated as capital projects themselves, not merely as maintenance activities. Applying the Capital Project Excellence logic to these interventions means:

Structuring the intervention as a formal project with clear scope, sponsor, cost, timeline, and performance objectives.
Adopting advanced project management practices such as phase gate design, critical chain planning, and Obeya control.
Applying continuous improvement methodologies aimed at the efficiency of each phase—preparation, execution, commissioning, and closure.
Rigorously measuring results, promoting organizational learning, and replicating standards in similar units.

This approach ensures that maintenance interventions not only effectively resolve immediate issues but also contribute to the long-term sustainability, reliability, and competitiveness of operational assets.

Elements for an effective turnaround and shutdown project

For a turnaround or shutdown intervention to be successful, it is essential to structure it as a project, using an integrated approach that involves rigorous planning, active stakeholder management, controlled execution, and continuous improvement. Every phase of the project lifecycle should be treated as an opportunity to apply excellence practices and Kaizen methodologies focused on waste elimination, risk reduction, and maximizing the value delivered.

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Preparation and detailed planning

The preparation phase is crucial for the success of a turnaround or shutdown intervention. Effective planning must be based on a structured approach, focusing on eliminating uncertainties and creating conditions for disciplined execution. Essential elements include:

Clear definition of scope, project team, and strategic objectives, all formalized in the Project Charter.
Logical sequencing of activities and criteria for progression to the next phase using methodologies like Phase Gate Design and Critical Chain Planning.
Allocation of internal and external human resources based on specific profiles, skills, and technical requirements for each task.
Detailed mapping of operational and logistical resources required for each phase, including equipment, tools, materials, and auxiliary means.
Standardization of activities through the creation of work instructions, checklists, inspection plans, and acceptance criteria to ensure consistency, safety, and quality in execution.
Simulation of scenarios and analysis of technical and operational risks, identifying preventive measures and contingency plans.
Setup of the Obeya Room as a visual command center, containing all relevant information for project monitoring, including the macro project plan, detailed phase schedules, performance indicators, responsibility and risk matrices, and control dashboards.

Using these methodologies helps anticipate failures, promote alignment between teams and suppliers, and significantly reduce waste and execution risks.

Stakeholder management and multidisciplinary alignment

Turnaround and shutdown interventions require effective coordination between multiple internal teams—operations, maintenance, engineering, safety, procurement—as well as numerous external suppliers. The absence of a robust, collaborative governance structure can jeopardize alignment, increase operational risks, and undermine project objectives.

To ensure functional and operational alignment, it is essential to:

Establish a clear project structure with a formal definition of roles and responsibilities (RACI), escalation mechanisms, and well-defined communication channels.
Implement a collaborative project management dynamic, with regular alignment and problem-solving rituals, promoted in the Obeya Room, where plans, indicators, risks, and critical actions are shared.
Integrate critical suppliers and service providers early through joint planning workshops and interface definition, ensuring a common understanding of objectives, constraints, and execution standards.
Secure active sponsorship from leadership, both operational and executive, to ensure organizational priority, removal of blockers, and reinforcement of commitment to results.

This level of alignment transforms a technical plan into a coordinated, disciplined, and executable effort, with multidisciplinary teams working with a shared vision, focus on results, and agile response to unforeseen issues.

Safety and risk management in critical environments

In high-risk industrial environments, such as the Oil & Gas sector, safety is not only a legal requirement—it is a non-negotiable pillar of operational success. During turnaround and shutdown interventions, operational risk increases significantly due to the high concentration of simultaneous activities, external teams, non-routine working conditions, and complete or partial shutdowns of protection systems.

To ensure safe and controlled execution, safety and risk management must be integrated from the preparation phase and maintained with discipline throughout the entire intervention. Key elements include:

Integrated safety (HSE) planning, with detailed analysis of technical and operational risks by phase, and precise definition of preventive and mitigating measures.
Development of specific procedures and standard work for critical tasks, focusing on ATEX zones, working at heights, confined spaces, lifting operations, or process equipment.
Integrated Permit to Work (PTW) management, ensuring traceability, cross-validation, and compliance with legal and internal requirements.
Training of teams and contractors through awareness sessions, specific training, and sharing of lessons learned relevant to the intervention context.
Active safety supervision on-site, with continuous monitoring, behavioral observations, verification of procedure application, and immediate corrective actions in case of deviation.
Use of safety dashboards and indicators in the Obeya Room, promoting visibility, proactivity, and a culture of collective accountability.

Systematically integrating safety into the project management model, from the Project Charter to closure, not only helps prevent incidents and protect lives but also enhances reliability, productivity, and the organization’s reputation among all stakeholders.

Execution with control over costs, deadlines, and quality

The execution phase is where the plans developed in earlier stages are implemented. To ensure the intervention proceeds effectively and predictably, it is crucial to maintain disciplined control over costs, deadlines, and the technical quality of deliverables.

Effective execution requires the rigorous application of operational management practices and continuous improvement, focusing on stability, visibility, and responsiveness. Key elements include:

Breakdown of the work plan by phase, based on the Phase Scheduling methodology, detailing not only activities to be performed but also the required resources—human, technical, and logistical—for each execution stage.
Application of standard work for critical tasks, ensuring consistency, safety, and quality in procedures.
Active supervision on-site, with leaders empowered to validate execution compliance, record deviations, and take corrective actions promptly.
Visual management of progress, supported by control panels in the Obeya Room, allowing tracking of activity progress, key indicators, critical issues, and ongoing actions.
Daily management rituals, with short, structured operational meetings that reinforce alignment between teams, update planning, and promote agile decision-making.
Real-time cost and productivity control, supported by integrated digital tools (e.g., MS Project, CMMS, Power BI), enabling continuous analysis of deviations from the plan and guiding corrective decisions based on objective data.

This approach ensures that execution proceeds in a disciplined, efficient, and resilient manner, even in complex, high-paced contexts typical of turnaround and shutdown interventions in the Oil & Gas sector.

Operational closure and vertical start-up

The technical completion of a turnaround or shutdown project marks the beginning of a critical phase: the controlled and efficient resumption of operations. This phase—often undervalued—requires the same level of rigor and planning as previous stages to ensure a safe start-up without failures or rework.

The vertical start-up refers to the direct transition from the intervention to full operation, ensuring immediate value delivery to the business. To achieve this, it is crucial to:

Plan the start-up during the preparation phase, with validated technical sequences and well-defined acceptance criteria.
Execute the resumption based on standardized instructions, ensuring all tests, checks, and approvals are completed.
Ensure active, multidisciplinary supervision during the start-up, monitoring critical parameters in real time.
Track operational performance during the first few days, focusing on anomalies, alarms, production deviations, and safety events.

When conducted correctly, the vertical start-up reduces stabilization time, prevents post-start-up incidents, and accelerates the recovery of the investment made in the intervention.

Closure, lessons learned, and continuous improvement

Once operational start-up is completed, it is essential to formally close the project and consolidate the knowledge gained. This process should be structured and focused on strengthening organizational maturity:

Evaluate the achievement of project objectives, based on criteria defined in the Project Charter (cost, timeline, scope, and quality).
Analyze team and supplier performance with objective criteria and input from all involved parties.
Collect and systematize lessons learned through a collaborative workshop.
Update planning and execution standards to incorporate improvements validated during the intervention.
Identify additional opportunities for improvement that can be addressed in new workshops focused on efficiency, quality, or safety.

By standardizing this approach, each planned maintenance intervention becomes not an isolated event but an active element of the operational excellence culture, enhancing competitiveness and asset reliability.

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Leveraging technology and data to achieve greater efficiency

The increasing complexity of turnaround and shutdown interventions in the Oil & Gas sector necessitates the strategic use of technology to drive efficiency, safety, and predictability. Digital tools and data-driven solutions help enhance planning, accelerate decision-making, and provide real-time control over execution.

Use of digital tools in planning and monitoring

Utilizing digital platforms for planning and monitoring interventions has become essential for achieving consistent results. Among the most effective practices are:

Digital planning models that support the creation of detailed schedules, integrating milestones, activities, resources, and critical paths.
CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems) that centralize maintenance plans, work orders, and asset histories.
Real-time operational dashboards that integrate data from various sources to monitor progress, costs, deviations, and productivity.
Collaborative solutions that allow remote, simultaneous access by multiple stakeholders, improving communication and decision traceability.

These tools enable a shift from a reactive to a proactive and transparent model, where all parties involved have visibility into the current state of the intervention and can act quickly on any deviations.

Data-driven decision making and performance predictability

Adopting a data-driven approach significantly improves the quality and speed of decision-making. In the context of turnarounds, this approach translates into:

Analysis of historical trends, enabling more accurate estimates of durations, costs, and resource requirements.
Continuous monitoring of operational and safety indicators, with automatic alarms for critical deviations.
Predictive models that inform decisions on re-planning, resource allocation, and risk management.
Objective evaluation of supplier and internal team performance, based on standardized KPIs and comparable historical data.

This data-driven model strengthens predictability and allows a shift from reactive management to anticipatory management.

Practical cases and best practices from the industry

The structured application of the methodologies and tools described throughout this article has delivered tangible results for various organizations in the Oil & Gas sector. Analyzing real-world cases allows us to highlight the direct impact of continuous improvement, professional capital project management, and the use of technology in complex turnaround and shutdown interventions.

Examples of the impact of turnaround improvement

In high-criticality industrial units—such as refineries, natural gas processing facilities, and petrochemical plants—structured approaches were implemented with integrated planning, targeted improvement workshops, and intensive use of digital tools.

Key results achieved include:

Up to 20% reduction in the total duration of interventions.
Elimination of budget deviations.
Successful vertical start-up, with post-start-up stabilization time reduced by over 30% compared to previous interventions.
Zero accidents during high-complexity interventions.
30% productivity gains from resources, impacting costs.

These results demonstrate that successful turnarounds are not a matter of chance but rather the outcome of a disciplined, multidisciplinary approach focused on continuous improvement.

Success indicators and benchmarking across industrial units

The maturity of turnaround management can (and should) be measured systematically. Implementing standardized performance indicators allows not only tracking the effectiveness of each intervention but also comparing industrial units with one another, promoting both internal and external benchmarking.

Key KPIs include:

Deviations in schedule and cost compared to the approved baseline and similar past interventions
Productivity index (planned hours vs. actual hours)
Percentage of critical activities completed on time
Ramp-up time and post-start-up stability indicators
Safety incident rate per thousand hours worked
Rate of reuse of lessons learned (e.g., percentage of updated standards after project closure).

Consistent use of these indicators allows organizations to identify best practices, areas of low performance, and opportunities for new cycles of continuous improvement. When combined with a culture of knowledge sharing between sites or regions, this process accelerates the overall operational maturity of the organization.

Conclusion: Transforming shutdowns into a strategic advantage

Turnaround and shutdown interventions are no longer mere operational interruptions when treated as capital-intensive projects with a structured, multidisciplinary, and continuous improvement-oriented approach. By adopting robust planning, execution, and closure practices—supported by technology and data analysis—organizations can turn mandatory shutdowns into real opportunities for value creation.

When managed with excellence, turnaround projects not only restore asset reliability but also enhance competitiveness, promote organizational learning, and increase operational resilience. It is this strategic transformation that sets leading organizations in the energy sector apart: they don’t avoid shutdowns—they transform them into key moments of operational and cultural evolution.