Whitepaper
Turnarounds are highly complex and involve special challenges that make them unlike other large-scale industrial projects. They demand extremely precise coordination
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Turnaround Safety
Safe, successful turnarounds and shutdowns
Safety challenges during shutdowns and turnarounds arise from the fact that personnel are involved in non-routine tasks requiring specialised or unfamiliar equipment and that multiple external contractors are on site who may not be familiar with the organisation’s processes and culture. Add to this the pressure to accomplish an extraordinary amount of work under time and budget constraints, and it is no wonder that shutdown activities involve increased risk. If these risks are not addressed, injuries may occur, there may be budget overruns and delays and the organisation may undergo increased regulatory scrutiny and suffer reputational damage.
Drawing on our long-standing expertise in safety consulting and coordination, we developed the DEKRA Safety Platform to enhance safety under hazardous conditions such as shutdowns and turnarounds while saving precious time and boosting efficiency. This powerful tool helps asset owners, project management companies, maintenance contractors and inspection companies achieve safety-related performance goals while keeping turnarounds on time and on budget.
It provides real-time insights, trends and hotspot analyses to managers and experts, helping them to make informed decisions and focus limited resources on areas of maximum impact. Our expertise, together with this specially designed tool, supports HSE professionals in keeping projects on schedule and helping organisations transition smoothly back to regular operations.
Your Benefits
- A holistic turnaround safety overview that generates insights and analyses trends
- Systematic identification of exposure and potential hazards
- Streamlined Permit-to-Work (PTW) processes and PTW management
- Leaner processes, massive time savings and detailed guidance in daily work
- Enhanced communication and breakdown of information silos for improved efficiency
- IoT connectivity (for detectors and alarm systems, for example)
Our Approach
As seasoned HSE experts, we aim to promote safe, efficient shutdowns and turnarounds by providing HSE management with the necessary tools and support to succeed. In our role as trusted advisors, we share our knowledge in combination with our specially designed tech solution, the DEKRA Safety Platform (DSP).
Expert advice
Since each organisation is unique, our approach varies to meet the safety needs at hand. Some of the topics we consider together with our clients when designing a safety management plan for shutdowns and turnarounds include:
- Assessment of potential risk areas and activities
- Safety training or coaching needs for staff involved in the turnaround
- Safety walks, monitoring and on-site specialist advice
- Safety related equipment checks during the turnaround / revision period
We can also help you assemble a shutdown team with the proper technical and safety expertise to address the increased exposure to risk employees face in a turnaround project. A pre-assessment of those risks is included in our safety consulting service, which culminates in the creation of a comprehensive risk management plan.
Our on-site consultants have the capacity to support any size project and can provide temporary or full-time support during the planning and realisation phases. They have extensive experience working with plant owners and operators, project management companies, general contractors and directly with maintenance contractors and inspection companies.
The DEKRA Safety Platform
The DEKRA Safety Platform supports these efforts by integrating processes, people and data to encourage safe, efficient turnarounds. With experts, project managers and HSE united on a single platform, they can quickly and easily share information.
The cloud-based SaaS platform with desktop and mobile apps is ISO 27001 certified and fully customisable, so that your organisation can access precisely the features it needs. It can be easily used on existing ex-proof smartphones using Android, IOS or a web browser.
A central feature that facilitates communication, increases accuracy and efficiently speeds work processes is the Permit-to-Work module. It replaces reliance on pen-and-paper methods, rough sketches and slow-moving approvals with straightforward reporting via mobile devices.
Users select options from the app’s menus, take pictures of the worksite and send along the information, including automatic GPS tracking, digitally.
The platform gathers and uses real-time data in order to:
- Verify the right activities are being done at the right time to conduct work safel
- Identify unsafe conditions and actions, assign necessary actions, and affirm completion of corrective measures in ways that save time and increase efficiency
- Support response and mitigation activities when incidents occur
Among other things, the DEKRA Safety Platform provides a clear visual overview of site activities and allows users to:
- Plan, conduct, and digitally submit data for safety activities (e.g., safety walks, assessments and audits, toolbox talks, work permits, etc.)
- Provide detailed guidance and templates for safety activities
- Report activities in real-time, including individual responses, photos, videos, geo-location, etc.
- Report safety hazards, near misses and incidents, including detailed information
- Connect recommended actions with safety hazards/exposures
- Create, track and manage action items
- Coordinate emergency responses
- Streamline the Permit-to-Work process and PTW management for time savings and improved accuracy
We offer flexible, modular HSE support to promote turnaround safety. With our DEKRA Safety Platform enabled safety consulting you benefit from our on-site safety advisory, coordination and services as well as a subscription to our cloud-based mobile and web application.
With a third-party perspective, the right support technology and trusted expertise, risks can be effectively managed during a shutdown or turnaround, allowing you to complete the project on time and on budget and safely return to normal operations.
Why DEKRA?
- We are seasoned HSE experts in turnaround safety.
- We have extensive experience ensuring safety during site shutdowns and turnarounds.
- We specialise in innovative solutions and customised approaches to safety that save time and support efficient turnarounds.
