When To Conduct A Refinery Turnaround
It is hard to achieve perfect timing for a refinery turnaround. However, individuals in the refinery turnaround management services business appreciate the importance of timing in the industry. You will need to prepare, and here are five ways to ensure you conduct the process as competently as possible.
Seasonality
One of the biggest goals in the refinery turnaround management world is avoiding work during the peak driving season in the summer. Likewise, most refineries in the U.S. are northerly enough the companies have to be careful about committing to work in the middle of winter. Consequently, the bulk of turnaround projects will land in either the spring or fall.
The downside to this approach is teams will be stretched thin. If you have some room to move the project toward a slightly less popular date, you may be able to avoid the crunch.
Capacity
Operators typically want to have as much of their capacity online at any given time. From a refinery turnaround management viewpoint, this means sequencing projects appropriately. You don't want to take more facilities offline than you can bear. Plan accordingly, and try to use the seasonal gap to provide breathing room between jobs in case one demands more attention than expected.
Necessity
Most firms don't want to move ahead with turnarounds any sooner than necessary. However, it's wise to stick to what your safety data says about the facility. If you're dealing with aging components or reports of problems, don't put the job off. Even if it means conducting a turnaround outside of the normal season, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Regularity
A good rule is to turn facilities around once every few years. If the refinery is in a coastal area that has high salt content in the air, for example, you should consider moving things around sooner. The same logic applies if a facility processes some less common and more volatile chemicals. Also, you may want to consider if a plant has been operating at or close to capacity for a long period.
Catching Up
If you have fallen behind on turnarounds due to events, weather, or other factors, you'll need to ramp up the number of turnarounds as soon as possible. That's especially true if the schedules for the jobs have been set for quite a while. If necessary, reduce capacity to accommodate turnarounds that should have already started.
For more information, contact a company that offers refinery turnaround management services.