During turnaround and shutdown events, industrial facilities undergo maintenance or repair work that must be carefully planned in order to promote maximum efficiency while maintaining a safe working environment. One option for managing these events is to outsource the management to a third-party partner. This practice is especially common in the oil and gas industry, where large-scale maintenance is often outsourced to contractors who specialize in these types of projects. Despite some risks that may be involved with outsourcing turnaround management, the benefits of outsourcing this type of work can outweigh the negatives.
In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the benefits of outsourcing turnaround and shutdown management and how they can bring huge value and ROI to your operations.
Benefit #1: Access to Expertise and Experience
One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing turnaround and shutdown management is access to expertise and experience. Third-party providers specialize in managing these events and have extensive experience and knowledge of best practices and industry standards. By outsourcing, you can easily tap into deep wells of expertise and practically guarantee that your project will be planned and executed to the highest of standards.
Benefit #2: Reduced Costs
This is a big one. Third-party partners usually have ample resources and immense expertise in optimization for resource allocation and knowing how to identify potential cost savings opportunities. By outsourcing, you can reduce costs by focusing on your core competencies and then outsourcing the rest. Can you say huge benefit? When it’s time to trim down budgets or if there are limited resources available your organization will be in a much better position to do so.
By reducing waste and maximizing efficiency, you can save money on labor, materials, and equipment, while also ensuring that your project needs are accomplished on time and within your approved budget.
Benefit #3: Improved Safety and Compliance
Third-party partners also have extensive knowledge of safety and regulatory compliance requirements. This can be crucial when you’re working on projects that involve hazardous materials or heavy machinery. By partnering with a third-party provider, you can reduce the risk of accidents and injuries, while also ensuring that all OSHA regulations are met. This is especially important when your organization is tasked with managing large construction projects in remote locations where there may not be immediate access to medical facilities or emergency responders.
By outsourcing part, or most, of the management of your project, you can affirm safety and regulatory requirements are met — and that your project is completed in a safe and compliant manner. This helps reduce the risk of accidents and injuries, as well as potential legal and financial liabilities.
Benefit #4: Refocus on Core Business Activities
With your turnaround managed by trusted experts, you can redirect your attention to delegating to your partners throughout the project while freeing up resources and personnel to focus on other critical business activities.
This can be a huge help by:
- Improving productivity and efficiency
- Reducing costs and expenses
- Enhancing your ability to innovate or pivot and more
Benefit #5: Flexibility and Scalability
The right third-party providers also offer flexibility and scalability. They can provide customized solutions that are tailored to your specific needs and requirements and can scale their services up or down as needed to accommodate changes in the scope of work or other factors. This can help ensure that you have the resources and expertise you need to manage the event effectively, without overburdening your internal resources.
Benefit #6: Improved Communication and Collaboration
Outsourcing turnaround and shutdown management can also improve communication and collaboration. Third-party providers have established processes and systems for communicating with stakeholders and can provide regular updates and progress reports throughout the event. This gets all stakeholders on the same page with the same information — keeping them engaged and helping to prevent misunderstandings or miscommunications.
Outsourcing turnaround and shutdown management to the right third-party partner can provide a wide range of benefits that makes the opportunity worth exploring.
With the right partner, you’ll easily gain the expertise and experience you need to reduce costs, improve safety and compliance, refocus on core business activities, boost flexibility and scalability, and improve communication and collaboration across the board. By outsourcing the management of these critical events, your operations can be planned and executed to the highest standard, while also freeing up internal resources to sharpen other critical business activities.
