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Shutdowns every day

The coming issue of Canada's PEM Magazine includes a column that I do regularly on "Best Practices".  Those who know me will know that there are no "best" practices - only successful ones and changes to them.  Shutdowns are interesting - we put a lot of attention into them, yet the account for only a portion of the downtime experienced in most operations.  Often, up to 50% of the work being done in well run facilities and sites is repair work and much of that is unplanned.  Most is unscheduled.  That puts it in the most expensive category of work you can be doing - unscheduled, unplanned corrective work.  Usually that translates into panic, rush, hot-shot deliveries, over-time and premium prices for parts.  We call them "emergencies" so that our bosses will think we are doing something good for the company - helping them out of a problem.

Yet we created the problem ourselves and we then set out to make ourselves look good by fixing it.  In a sense we are no better than the lax government regulators who contributed to the financial woes we have experienced so far this year and are now getting us out of.it with massive handouts of cash to their buddies in the financial industries.  Does that seem cynical?  Anyway, we are supposed to be professionals acting in the best interests of those who hire us.  By ignoring the very practices we do so well in some circumstances, we are doing a dis-service.

Shutdowns are usually well managed.  They are planned in advance following fairly rigid processes and using all the tools of the planning trade.  They are often executed with few hitches.  Why can't day to day work be done as well?  The tools are the same.  It is our willingness to use them that is missing.

Some who read this probably say that they don't have the resources, can't hire the planners they need, can't get the boss off their back to respond to emergencies, etc.  Those are all just excuses to justify behavior.  You know what's right - what is stopping you from choosing it?  No one controls your choices but you.