Successful Turnaround Staffing & Execution. Chuck Provost Louisiana Division Manager Sentinel Integrity Solutions, Inc.

Transcription

1 Successful Turnaround Staffing & Execution Chuck Provost Louisiana Division Manager Sentinel Integrity Solutions, Inc. Port Allen, LA

2 Turnaround staffing Establishing Manpower needs (Leveraging) Issues affecting successful staffing. Potential mitigation steps/tools. Candidate selection. Obtaining the Commitment Turnaround execution Leadership Communication Tracking Reporting

3 Establishing Manpower Needs One of the first steps in candidate selection should be determining if leadership personnel will be utilized for the turnaround. If so selection of these personnel should initiate prior to assembling the remainder of the team. Once you are familiar with the lead inspector/nde coordinator the determination in regards to the level of inspection personnel can be more accurately established. We all strive to obtain the best of the best; however with the depleted pool of inspection personnel, diversity and leveraging our inspection team is critical.

4 Establishing Manpower Needs (Leveraging your Team) Consideration should be given to allowing a percentage of the inspection personnel to consist of entry level apprentice type personnel. This concept will leverage your inspection team; however placement of personnel then becomes critical. Spread the wealth, but be very careful not to dilute any shift or specific discipline. Specifically for piping QA assignments, consideration should be given to utilizing Sr. level CWI inspectors who have exhibited the capability to perform in a QA role. This will help leverage your inspection team, as in some cases a CWI inspector may be available where an API inspector may not be.

5 Establishing Manpower Needs (Based on Industry Demand) Consider increasing or decreasing manpower numbers based on the status of the inspection labor pool. Examples; A turnaround is scheduled for November 1 st, this is not a prime turnaround month. If the majority of your inspection teams ends up consisting of mostly senior level inspection personnel, can you reduce the manpower that was originally proposed? Your turnaround is scheduled for October 1 st, this is a prime turnaround month. Do you need to increase manpower numbers to minimize the risk of impacting the schedule due to inefficiency/experience? Obviously the first example is a better position to be in. Once manpower has been accurately established, staffing can initiate.

6 Issues Affecting Turnaround Staffing Double booking Depleted labor pool

7 Double Booking One of the trends that has posed the greatest challenge in staffing personnel is what I refer to as Double Booking. This occurs when turnaround inspection personnel feel the need to schedule multiple jobs with conflicting schedules. One or multiple jobs will eventually suffer as a result of Double Booking. As turnarounds continue to Push or reschedule, this will continue to be a problem for the industry in some degree.

8 Management Tools For Double Booking Exercising management tools for the Double Booking personnel, is our only defense against the problem. Some examples of management tools for the problem are; Documenting the occurrence and candidate s details (Resume etc.). Share the information/occurrence with your colleagues if requested, but be completely transparent and honest about any documented details (Excuses etc.) Make sure that the candidate understands how his/her decision has impacted your schedule/project. Establish your own procedure for holding people accountable (three strikes and you re out etc.) Enforce your procedure for holding people accountable. Consider having the candidate communicate verbally (Phone or in person), or text should be considered disrespectful.

9 Depleted Labor Pool In the previous years, the labor pool for qualified inspection personnel has suffered. The demand is much greater than the supply. This poses multiple challenges for successful turnaround execution.

10 Managing the Depleted Labor Pool Get involved with local NDT schools/ community collages. Mentor upcoming inspection professionals. Encourage Senior level technicians to obtain higher level certifications. Vendors and owner users should consider developing plans to help with certification/recertification costs. Invest in training.

11 Candidate Selection The only method for ensuring success in candidate selection is through conventional and specific screening. Just like as with other aspects in life, the more effort you put into something the better the overall result. Same goes for screening, you get what you give. Some examples of basic and specific screening tools are; Resume review-obviously the basics apply (structure, format, content etc.). Take note of the work history section, if you recognize a facility, and have colleagues there, a verbal reference may be available. If the candidates resume does not capture references (references available upon request), request references, and contact at least three. You may be surprised at the feedback. Lean on your colleagues in the industry for feedback.

12 Obtaining the Commitment If a candidate gives you the pencil me in, and we will play it by ear routine. Make it clear that you are asking for a commitment, not a maybe. Follow up via , this will initiate some accountability. Consider utilizing employment contracts. Offer multiple projects. Be transparent on all project details.

13 Turnaround Execution Leadership Encourage inspection vendors to provide a lead inspector, or inspection supervisor to each turnaround. Multiple Lead inspectors should be considered for sizable turnarounds. Selection of the Lead Inspector is very important; acquiring a qualified Lead Inspector is even more challenging than acquiring general turnaround inspection personnel. It is critical to the successful execution of a turnaround for the Lead inspector to foster a cooperative teamwork spirit, and a Lead by Example approach in regards to managing the inspection team. The team will show an elevated level of respect and willingness to please when they feel that leadership is actively engaged and part of the actual work execution.

14 Turnaround Execution Leadership Demand and encourage you dream team to foster a safety oriented work environment. If any aspect of safety is sacrificed, neither staffing or execution matter. Ensure that the team is comfortable performing any required stop work. Encourage sharing during toolbox meetings. Reward safety intervention, and leadership.

15 Leadership It is incumbent on every single lead inspector or inspection supervisor to actually lead. Employees read body language and care about leadership. Simply put, you don t stand a chance if you don t have the will to win. As my friend and colleague says; Teamwork makes the Dream work.

16 Communication The message is simple: we have to communicate and collaborate as one if we are going to succeed. Encourage your leaders and inspection personnel to lean on the side of over communicating. Don t assume your teams or inspection personnel know what s going on. The lead inspector should ensure that he/she is up to date all critical path jobs. If a job is not ready or is delayed due to inspection needs, this must be communicated to the appropriate personnel. In the turnaround world communication is the fuel that keeps the turnaround train rolling. Put tools in place to ensure that sufficient communication is occurring. Some examples are; Log books,-encourage your inspection team to document the day s events throughout the shift. At shift change the log book can get bogged down, as lots of entries and data need to be entered. Consider mandatory verbal turnovers at each shift change. The lead inspector should observe and intervene if any lack in communication or personality conflicts are noticed.

17 Communication Make sure all personnel have access to any updates, or look a heads. Consider performing an inspection update meeting at the beginning of each shift after the safety meeting. This would be a good time to Issue any hot rocks for the day. This would be any items that require follow up or completion to progress and maintain the schedule. Make sure the team understands that the floor is open to discuss any road blocks associated with any of the days scheduled tasks. Prior to the turnaround evaluate and get involved with any decisions around housing the inspection team. The more the inspection team is spread out logistically, the more the breakdown in communication will be. The lead inspector shall set the expectation that missed radio calls will not be tolerated.

18 Progress Tracking Understanding the status of each inspection activity has become a key factor in keeping turnaround schedules in an evergreen status. Since turnarounds are so dynamic, information needs to be updated every shift to maintain visibility and control. it is recommended that complete schedule updates be submitted before the end of every shift so that updated schedules may be disseminated to the field at the start of the next shift. Without complete schedule updates every shift, the schedule will quickly become meaningless as a tool to manage and drive the turnaround scope and execution.

19 Progress Tracking There are several tools that aid in the actual status updates. Turnarounds sometimes require specialized metrics for inspection status, and updates. Some examples of specialized metrics for turnarounds are: Log Books-Log books should be utilized to capture the status of all inspection activities (complete, or incomplete). Wall charts-these are large scale excel spreadsheets customized to capture each and every inspection activity. Typically posted in the inspection personnel s office. These charts should be updated upon completion of each activity. o Consider using highlighters to color code completed inspection activities. This makes status verification much easier. o The inspection supervisor or lead inspector should review the wall charts at least once daily to ensure that all activities are captured correctly.

20 Progress Tracking Electronic update documents- A conventional word document, or excel spreadsheet can be utilized to update inspection activity statuses. Large scale drawings- The utilization of large scale color coded drawings should be considered. These documents can be posted in turnaround team conference rooms, and will aid in quick reference during meetings.

21 Progress Tracking Example Overview Tracking Drawing

22 Progress Tracking Often time s inspection team supervisors get burdened with multiple clerical type duties (cost tracking, timekeeping, etc.). Consideration should be given to the assignment of a clerical candidate to fill the needs of the inspection team. This strategy will allow the turnaround inspection lead/supervisor to focus all attention on managing the team.

23 Reporting Consult with the owner/user to establish any facility specific reporting requirements. Set reporting expectations at the beginning of the turnaround/project. Provide example reports to each discipline. Encourage the team to submit reports for review early in the turnaround/event. The inspection supervisor/lead inspector/ NDE Coordinator should review each report prior to submittal. Capture a column on the wall chart for NDE/inspection report completion. The inspection supervisor/lead inspector should verify that all reports are complete prior to releasing personnel.

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