A turnaround or a “TAR” is a very expensive process in which an industrial plant or refinery goes through a scheduled shutdown in order to perform maintenance on the facility. During this time, production must come to a complete stop. Other terms for a turnaround include Inspection and testing (I&T’s,) debottlenecking projects, revamps, shutdowns, outages, and catalyst regeneration projects. In the oil and gas and refining industries, many companies plan turnarounds every 1 or 2 or 3 years. Turnarounds can take weeks to even a few months to complete depending solely on the extent of the project and any problems that come up throughout the process. 

Smart and extensive planning is the key to a successful turnaround and shutdown. Equipment in need of maintenance, repair, or replacement should all be acknowledged in advance. A base analysis of a oil and gas production facility will give an overview of the scope and duration of any shutdowns and turnarounds needed. Last-minute modifications may still occur, but with detailed planning, most changes can be made safely.

A turnaround typically includes the following phases:

Strategic Planning is the most comprehensive phase of planning, it is simply an overview of what is planned and how it will be accomplished. 

During the Detailed Planning phase, the specifics are put into place and the plan becomes more concrete. In the Organizing phase, work and tasks are distributed to those who are involved in the turnaround- there can be hundreds or even thousands of people involved. The Execution phase is the actual turnaround itself, during this phase safety and attention to detail are crucial. The Closeout phase consists of reporting the results collected from the entire turnaround process. The best way to plan ahead for a shutdown or turnaround is to evaluate immediately after the activities are completed. This allows the company to learn from any mistakes and set out a detailed plan moving forward.

As mentioned, turnarounds and shutdowns require a large team. And most turnarounds need to contract out a number of third-party contractors that help execute the turnaround plan. Teams can be made up of hundreds or even thousands of site workers and contractors depending on how complex the project is. ITR Services can source and mobilize any of these third-party contractors that may include (but not limited to):

ITR Services is the clear choice for facility maintenance and turnaround services. We provide field and plant maintenance for oil and gas production facilities.

Some of our turnaround services include:

Completing a Turnaround or a Major Maintenance event on cost, schedule and quality takes significant involvement from owner-organization and 3rd party contractors.

ITR Services brings seasoned professionals and work processes to help our clients manage, plan, review and supervise these major events.

We bring practical best-practices and horsepower that will drive successful event execution.