Phase 3: Execution

Execution in Phase 3 begins immediately upon equipment shutdown. You

prepared diligently in Phase 2 for the known items to be executed. While you
prepared diligently for known items to be executed, address the unknown items
that will become apparent as the TA begins. For example, scope changes or a
request to change the agreed scope and objectives that werent originally
defined to be part of the TA will arise as work begins. When developing a TA
work list, its virtually impossible to predict the things that need to be done. No
matter how good the history, or inspection process, or data analysis that can be
done early, theres no substitute for inspecting the asset base when the
equipment is down. However scope change and addon work can be costly and
affect the TA critical path. Each should be carefully scrutinized before
proceeding, and there must be a process in place to stay on schedule and at
budget.
A good deal of resources also will be dedicated to inspecting the equipment
while its down. Items will be found during these inspections and decisions need
to be made whether to execute corrective actions. As in scope changes, a
process must be in place to stay on schedule and at budget. Its a tremendous
task to manage the internal and external resources associated with a TA. The
detailed schedule prepared in Phase 2 is one of the best ways to manage
resources.
Update the schedule daily so resources assigned to items that finish early can be
shifted to items that are behind. Highlight items that can delay the overall
schedule (critical path items) and give them special attention. The TA schedule
indicates the status of each task to be executed. Its equally important to track
the cumulative affect of the TA tasks. Use the KPIs developed in Phase 1 to do
this. Items such as TA cost (actual vs. budget), planned vs. actual labor hours,
overtime labor hours, overtime percentage are examples of metrics to track TA
progress. These can be represented graphically as well. KPI information is
critical and useful as the TA comes to an end. As the majority of the TA tasks
are completed, the same number of resources is no longer required. The KPIs
are an excellent tool to determine when to downsize the workforce for
maximum cost and efficiency.
After completing each task on the schedule, testing must validate readiness to
return to operation. Testing equipment after it has been touched in some way by
turnaround activities is a critical process before startup can begin. Testing
activities might be performed by maintenance electricians or instrumentation
technicians, process control technicians, vendors or even operations personnel.

Finally, after the tasks are completed, the asset base must be returned to as good
or better state as it was before the TA.