One of the most common questions we’ve been asked in discussions about the Commissioning & Operational Readiness Assessment is:
“How do I improve schedule certainty around Commissioning & Operational Readiness for capital projects where a large portion of the construction is executed during a Shutdown / Turnaround?”
Capital projects with a significant portion of the construction tied to a shutdown / turnaround have a very narrow window for work to be completed, and the construction and startup schedule is measured in days or weeks with the downtime planned well in advance. Because of the compressed schedule, it’s crucial to complete all commissioning and startup preparation in advance, have your commissioning team mobilized, and ensure required spare parts and consumables are on-site ahead of shutdown / turnaround.
Risks for Capital Projects Executed During Shutdown / Turnarounds
Cost per day of downtime is a key business issue to manage in any shutdown / turnaround project. In addition, research by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) shows that the transition from Construction into Operations is where the highest leakage of business value occurs. In a recent CII 10-10 survey, 40% of those surveyed experienced commissioning schedule overruns*. Considering the value of a one-day delay in achieving your startup date, avoiding a schedule delay related to a capital project executed during the shutdown / turnaround is a significant business risk to manage.
Focusing on Transition Readiness for Commissioning & Startup
The Commissioning & Operational Readiness Assessment (“Assessment”) is a methodology used by capital project leaders for early identification of gaps and Hot Spots that should be addressed prior to transitioning through each of the phases of Commissioning. By focusing on achieving Transition Readiness for each phase of Commissioning, projects significantly improve schedule certainty. During an Assessment, the project team reviews Factors relevant to the current and previous phases of Commissioning to identify any activities or deliverables that still need to be completed prior to transitioning to the next phase to sustain progress safely and productively.
The premise of the Assessment is that if an insufficient number of Factors have been completed, schedule delays will follow in the next phase of Commissioning.
Application for Capital Projects Executed During Shutdown / Turnarounds
In a project where most construction and commissioning is executed during a shutdown / turnaround, the Commissioning & Operational Readiness Assessment should be conducted in Detailed Design and revisited regularly throughout Construction Preparation until all missing factors are closed (see Figure 1). Bottom line – all factors should be reviewed and addressed before the start of the shutdown / turnaround.
Figure 1: When to conduct the Commissioning & Operational Readiness Assessment for capital projects executed during a shutdown / turnaround
This differs from a typical industrial capital project, where the first Commissioning & Operational Readiness Assessment is conducted part way through Detailed Design (or early in the Construction phase), with follow-up Assessments planned as the project progresses through each phase of Commissioning (often months between Assessments). For more details, read the white paper: Introduction to the Commissioning & Operational Readiness Assessment.
Summary
There is significant pressure to complete shutdown / turnaround projects on schedule to avoid the financial impact of lost production. The compressed schedule adds to the complexity of commissioning and startup of a capital project executed as part of the shutdown / turnaround. Leveraging the Commissioning & Operational Readiness Assessment is an excellent risk mitigation step to improve schedule certainty and identify hot spots and gaps that must be addressed before the start of the shutdown / turnaround.
At Valency, we help our clients implement Project Assurance solutions across the project lifecycle, aligned with CII best practices that dramatically improve performance. If you would like more information on how you can get started applying this practice to your next project, please contact us.
* “Managing Transitions between Construction Completion, Pre-Commissioning, Commissioning, and Startup,” Special Report 333-1, Construction Industry Institute, 2017
