Using a Simple Methodology to Determine the Best Estimate of the True Productivity Performance Can Lead to Further Improvements Abstract For maintenance outages, job plans are created based on certain labor productivity assumptions. While there are a variety of methods for assessing actual productivity during the course of work, there is a simple methodology for […]
Recently published in the Inspectioneering Journal. Two heads are better than one, as the old saying goes. However, this adage only works if the two heads trust each other and are interested in working together to solve a problem. Elimination of chronic bad actors in hydrocarbon processing facilities is much more important than egos, silos, […]
As production outages become costlier and can result in significant profit loss, the need for these to be planned and prepared for the shortest time possible and with greater certainty is becoming increasingly important. This paper outlines four leadership activities that the author believes are critical to achieving this goal. These include cost-justified preparation steps […]
This paper is an excerpt from the author’s contribution to a panel discussion at the Marcus Evans 9th Annual Chem/Petrochem & Refinery Shutdowns and Turnarounds Conference, August 2017 For continuous manufacturing or process facilities, unplanned production disruptions are extremely costly. One way to avoid these is to make sure that all work done during planned […]
How to Identify a Hidden Productivity Constraint in Your Process Outage Plans and Schedules During inspections and maintenance outages, labor cost is usually a significant expense. In order to meet the required cost and duration goals, worker efficiency is critical. As part of the job plans and schedule creation, a planning team was able to […]
Overview from article written for the May 2021 edition of “The Chemical Engineer” magazine… Maintenance turnaround teams are under ever increasing pressure to improve their cost estimating prowess. A gap in the steps towards improvement is the reluctance of maintenance turnaround teams to take the time to document their cost estimates. By writing a basis […]
Instead of conducting wrench time or time on tool studies, planning and scheduling may be a better place to start when looking to improve field productivity. Wrench time and time on tool studies measure the amount of time that a technician spends on an activity and focus on waste elimination such as extended breaks or […]
