Course Introduction
Shutdowns and turnarounds are highly complex, time-critical project environments where large volumes of maintenance, inspection, modification, repair, testing, and improvement work must be completed within a controlled operating window. Effective turnaround management requires extensive preparation, disciplined execution, strong contractor coordination, rigorous safety controls, and precise schedule management because every hour of delay can have significant operational and financial consequences.
This course provides a comprehensive framework for planning, managing, controlling, executing, and closing shutdown and turnaround projects. It covers turnaround strategy, scope development, work-packaging, planning, scheduling, resource management, procurement, contractor mobilisation, materials management, cost control, risk management, safety, quality, execution, commissioning, start-up, and post-turnaround evaluation.
Participants will develop practical capabilities for building an integrated turnaround plan from early scope identification through final restart. The course examines how inspection findings, maintenance requirements, statutory obligations, reliability improvements, modifications, debottlenecking activities, capital works, and operational priorities can be screened, prioritised, estimated, scheduled, and converted into executable work packages.
Particular emphasis is placed on turnaround scheduling and execution readiness. Participants will learn how to develop detailed work sequences, identify critical-path activities, establish milestones, coordinate contractors, optimise workfronts, plan simultaneous activities, manage constraints, and develop contingency and recovery strategies. The course also examines how procurement and materials readiness can determine whether critical work can be completed within the shutdown window.
Shutdown and turnaround projects involve elevated risks because multiple contractors, work teams, energy sources, hazardous materials, confined spaces, lifting activities, temporary systems, and operational interfaces may exist simultaneously. Participants will examine permit-to-work systems, isolation and lockout/tagout, simultaneous operations, process safety, emergency preparedness, quality assurance, environmental controls, and contractor safety management.
The course also addresses start-up, performance verification, closeout, and continuous improvement. Participants will learn how to manage system reinstatement, testing, punch-list closure, operational readiness, controlled start-up, post-start-up monitoring, cost reconciliation, contractor closeout, lessons learned, and future turnaround optimisation. Emerging technologies such as digital twins, mobile work management, drones, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and integrated turnaround platforms are also examined.
Duration
5 days
Who Should Attend
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Shutdown and turnaround managers
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Project managers and project directors
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Maintenance managers and maintenance planners
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Turnaround planning managers and planners
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Operations managers and production managers
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Project controls managers and specialists
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Reliability engineers and asset management professionals
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Mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, and process engineers
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Construction managers and site managers
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Contract and commercial managers
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Procurement and supply chain professionals
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Health, safety, and environmental professionals
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Quality assurance and quality control professionals
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Contractor and subcontractor managers
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Commissioning and start-up professionals
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Asset owners, plant managers, and operations representatives
Course Objectives
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Develop a comprehensive understanding of shutdown and turnaround project management principles and their application to complex, time-critical industrial and infrastructure environments.
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Equip participants with practical methods for developing turnaround strategies, defining objectives, establishing governance, prioritising work, setting execution windows, and aligning turnaround activities with operational requirements.
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Strengthen participants’ ability to identify, screen, estimate, prioritise, package, and prepare turnaround work scopes covering maintenance, inspection, repair, modification, reliability, and capital activities.
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Develop practical capabilities for creating integrated turnaround schedules that coordinate work packages, contractors, resources, materials, permits, isolations, inspections, testing, commissioning, and start-up requirements.
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Improve participants’ ability to manage turnaround resources including labour, specialist contractors, equipment, tools, materials, temporary facilities, access systems, and technical support within constrained execution windows.
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Equip participants with techniques for managing turnaround costs through scope control, estimating, commitments, expenditure tracking, forecasting, contingency management, productivity analysis, and final cost reconciliation.
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Strengthen participants’ ability to manage shutdown-specific safety, process safety, environmental, quality, operational, and contractor risks while maintaining safe execution under intense time pressure.
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Develop practical skills for monitoring turnaround progress, identifying critical-path threats, managing constraints, implementing recovery actions, and making rapid evidence-based decisions during execution.
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Improve participants’ ability to manage reinstatement, commissioning, start-up, operational handover, post-turnaround monitoring, defects, documentation, contractor closeout, and lessons learned.
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Prepare participants to apply digital turnaround technologies including mobile work management, digital twins, AI-assisted planning, predictive analytics, drones, integrated databases, and real-time performance dashboards.
Comprehensive Course Outline
Module 1: Foundations of Shutdown and Turnaround Project Management
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Understanding the purpose, characteristics, lifecycle, objectives, and strategic importance of shutdowns and turnarounds within asset-intensive operating environments.
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Examining the relationship between maintenance, reliability, inspection, operations, capital projects, modifications, statutory requirements, production planning, and turnaround strategy.
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Defining turnaround governance structures, decision rights, leadership responsibilities, stakeholder interfaces, execution philosophies, and management controls.
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Identifying common turnaround failures including scope growth, inadequate preparation, material shortages, contractor underperformance, safety incidents, schedule slippage, and poor start-up readiness.
Module 2: Turnaround Strategy, Scope Development, and Work Selection
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Developing turnaround strategies that establish business objectives, production requirements, execution windows, scope boundaries, performance targets, resources, and decision-making frameworks.
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Identifying and screening work from maintenance systems, inspection findings, reliability programmes, regulatory requirements, defect registers, capital projects, and operational improvement initiatives.
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Applying structured scope prioritisation methods based on safety, statutory compliance, reliability, production impact, asset condition, risk, cost, and strategic value.
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Establishing scope freeze, scope challenge, late-scope approval, contingency planning, and change-control mechanisms to prevent uncontrolled growth before execution.
Module 3: Turnaround Planning, Work Packaging, and Readiness
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Developing detailed turnaround work packages containing job instructions, drawings, materials, tools, labour requirements, permits, safety requirements, quality controls, and completion criteria.
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Applying work breakdown structures, planning standards, productivity assumptions, resource estimates, job durations, sequencing requirements, and construction methodologies.
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Establishing readiness criteria for engineering, materials, contractors, permits, isolations, scaffolding, access, temporary facilities, tools, equipment, and technical support.
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Conducting structured readiness reviews and stage gates to confirm that critical work packages are sufficiently prepared before the shutdown begins.
Module 4: Turnaround Scheduling, Critical Path, and Resource Management
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Developing integrated turnaround schedules covering shutdown, isolation, maintenance, inspection, repair, modification, testing, commissioning, reinstatement, and start-up activities.
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Applying critical-path analysis, activity sequencing, workfront planning, resource loading, constraints management, shift planning, and schedule optimisation techniques.
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Managing simultaneous work activities while preventing workfront congestion, resource conflicts, permit bottlenecks, access restrictions, and unsafe interactions.
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Developing contingency and recovery strategies for critical-path delays, productivity shortfalls, late materials, unexpected equipment conditions, and contractor performance problems.
Module 5: Procurement, Materials, and Contractor Management
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Developing procurement and materials-readiness strategies for critical spare parts, specialist equipment, consumables, fabricated components, temporary facilities, and long-lead turnaround requirements.
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Establishing material tracking systems covering specifications, purchasing, manufacturing, inspection, transportation, receipt, storage, preservation, kitting, and work-package allocation.
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Managing turnaround contractors through tendering, mobilisation, competency verification, resource planning, work allocation, performance monitoring, commercial controls, and demobilisation.
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Establishing contractor performance indicators covering productivity, schedule compliance, safety, quality, manpower, work completion, documentation, and commercial performance.
Module 6: Turnaround Cost, Risk, and Project Controls
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Developing turnaround budgets and cost structures covering labour, contractors, materials, equipment, temporary facilities, engineering, logistics, overtime, contingency, and operational support.
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Monitoring commitments, actual expenditure, accruals, forecasts, variations, scope growth, contingency usage, and final cost exposure throughout turnaround execution.
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Establishing turnaround risk registers covering safety, technical, schedule, production, procurement, contractor, quality, environmental, regulatory, and operational risks.
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Developing integrated turnaround dashboards that combine scope, schedule, cost, resources, risk, materials, contractor performance, safety, quality, and readiness information.
Module 7: Shutdown Safety, Process Safety, Quality, and Execution Control
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Managing shutdown-specific hazards involving energy isolation, hazardous substances, confined spaces, hot work, lifting, working at height, temporary systems, simultaneous operations, and complex contractor interfaces.
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Applying permit-to-work, lockout/tagout, isolation management, gas testing, line breaking, confined-space controls, and emergency-response arrangements during turnaround execution.
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Integrating quality requirements through inspection and test plans, hold points, non-conformance management, welding controls, equipment inspections, documentation, and acceptance procedures.
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Establishing execution-control systems that coordinate daily planning, work permits, field progress, constraint removal, toolbox meetings, safety observations, quality checks, and management escalation.
Module 8: Turnaround Execution, Progress Monitoring, and Recovery
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Establishing daily and shift-based execution management processes for tracking work completion, productivity, resources, constraints, safety, quality, and critical-path performance.
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Measuring progress using work packages, quantities, milestones, earned progress, completed permits, inspection status, testing results, and verified field information.
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Identifying execution deviations through real-time reporting, productivity analysis, schedule updates, constraint registers, contractor performance data, and critical-path monitoring.
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Implementing recovery actions such as resequencing, additional crews, extended shifts, specialist support, workfront changes, improved logistics, and targeted management intervention.
Module 9: Reinstatement, Start-Up, Closeout, and Turnaround Learning
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Planning system reinstatement, equipment restoration, testing, inspection closure, punch-list completion, documentation, operational readiness, and controlled return to service.
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Coordinating commissioning and start-up activities with operations, maintenance, engineering, contractors, vendors, safety teams, and control-room personnel.
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Managing final cost reconciliation, contractor closeout, outstanding claims, warranties, documentation, defects, spare parts, asset records, and post-turnaround obligations.
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Conducting structured post-turnaround reviews to evaluate performance, identify root causes, capture lessons learned, improve planning standards, and strengthen future turnaround strategies.
Module 10: Emerging Issues and the Future of Shutdown and Turnaround Management
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Applying digital twins, integrated turnaround-management platforms, mobile work management, connected field devices, drones, and real-time dashboards to improve planning and execution visibility.
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Exploring artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, machine learning, automated work-package generation, productivity forecasting, and intelligent constraint management for turnaround optimisation.
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Addressing emerging challenges involving ageing assets, workforce shortages, supply-chain volatility, climate conditions, energy transition, decarbonisation, advanced maintenance technologies, and increasingly complex asset systems.
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Developing future-ready turnaround strategies that integrate predictive maintenance, digital planning, operational analytics, reliability engineering, sustainability, safety leadership, and continuous improvement.
Training Approach
This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.
Tailor-Made Course
This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808
Training Venue
The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.
Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant
Certification
Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.
Airport Pickup and Accommodation
Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808
Terms of Payment:
Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.
