AP-Networks bench strength of "been there, done that" professionals is second to none. The experience of our seasoned team is wide and deep - their background includes refinery managers; corporate reliability improvement leaders; project managers; enterprise wide construction and turnaround directors; turnaround managers; maintenance managers; operations managers; and others. Our independent outside perspective on how to effectively implement strategic decisions, tactical activities, proven practices, as well as influencing the organization to overcome existing inertia is invaluable.

Our Experience Augmentation Staff are senior consultants who are not only seasoned and experienced in projects, operations, maintenance, and turnaround management but are also effective communicators with outstanding leadership capabilities allowing them to professionally influence and drive behavioral change in the organization. A number of our clients use them as coaches or mentors to demonstrate in actions how to turn concepts into results.

Experience Augmentation is not Staff Augmentation - We aim to complement the experience of your team with the Experience of our team on an "on-call" basis - e.g. few days per week, or a finite short assignment of a few weeks, etc. This gives you the flexibility of having the experience complement on your team, without continuously putting our staff on your payroll. You pay for the specific discrete service that you request. As you pay for a surgeon for the event of the surgery and not on a continuous basis, or pay the accountant for the task of preparing your tax return, similarly - you pay for specific specialized turnaround assistance.

• On-site turnaround process development/implementation support and assistance*
• Guidance in building an effective turnaround team and gaining organizational buy-in and support
• Provide leadership to the Facility to drive the turnaround strategy
• Developing and optimizing site turnaround portfolio to meet business and facility objectives
• Advise and shadow the owner's turnaround manager on Turnaround Best Practices*
• Assistance with development of appropriate contract strategies
• Resource planning to effectively utilize local plant knowledge and talent in key coordination roles pre-turnaround planning, and execution
• Facilities and logistics planning assistance tailored to the specific site capabilities
• Development and implementation of material management and control process
• Development and implementation of a project controls process and work break down structure
• Gap closure assistance by on site development and or implementation of specific segments of the turnaround process, e.g.
• how to facilitate and drive effective scope development;
• how to build an effective and empower core team;
• best planning tools and methods;
• how to build an effective user friendly and accurate schedule that drives turnaround performance goals;
• how to build a scope change process that combines both timeliness and appropriate approval authority;
• effective contractor control and management.
• Professional Leadership for both Large and/or small business critical high-risk turnarounds*
  
  

Selecting the Correct Scope for your Turnaround

Deciding turnaround scope is a planning activity often marked by difficult and ineffective discussions around work to be included in the turnaround. Yet, selecting the "right" scope is a significant driver to turnaround performance in the areas of duration, cost and unit reliability. AP-Networks Risk Based Scope Review Process (RBSR) provides a structured approach to help obtain optimal turnaround scope. The RBSR and its fact-based, logical approach to decision making allows your team to:

• Determine the right turnaround scope using fact-based methods.
• Improve start up and run time reliability.
• Gain buy-in to the final turnaround scope by all departments.

Companies that are not yet using risk based decision making techniques are making scope decisions based on legal requirements, criticality, plant or company practices, or management directive. These methods tend to be very conservative because the decisions are based solely on consequences. A facilitated RBSR coupled with AP-Networks Risk Based Selection Tool (RBST) is a powerful combination. It brings together the elements of failure likelihood and event consequences to quantify a plant's exposure to the risks associated with a specific piece of equipment. With risks quantified, management can make informed decisions on turnaround scope. Reductions of 15 percent or more in overall turnaround costs are typical when a structured RBSR process is used.

AP-Networks knowledgeable consultants can train your employees and facilitate workshops on how to use the RBST and quickly bring your turnaround teams to an advanced level of risk-based decision-making. This advanced level of decision-making provides the precision necessary to defer work historically included in the turnaround scope and reduces the overall cost of your turnaround.

The Benefits

• It combines consequences and likelihood to assess risk.
• The decision to include or exclude scope is based on the level of acceptable risk and mitigation costs.
• Using advanced RBSR provides the level of precision necessary to defer inspections not otherwise deferrable.
• Achieving cost savings of 15 percent or more is typical
  
  

Achieving the goal of competitive and predictable turnarounds across the enterprise is a journey that requires both a phased, gated work process and effective and consistent implementation of Best Practices. AP-Networks experience and analysis of hundreds of turnarounds, and dozens of shutdown systems, indicate that a process must be phased and gated.

The AP-Networks Turnaround Work Process is based on our experience with the best-of-the-best. It has been enhanced with our continued work with top-tier performers. According to World Refining Magazine, it is the world standard of turnaround processes. The AP-Networks Turnaround process is comprehensive and scaleable to three levels of Turnaround complexity - i.e. a Medium or Low complexity shutdown (e.g. total plant shutdown vs. partial shutdown) does not have to meet the same level of rigor in definition and planning that would be required of a high complexity shutdown. Furthermore, the AP-Networks Turnaround Work Process comes with a vast library of job-aids, examples, and forms. These can be adapted, customized, and tailored to meet a company's needs, terms, definitions, and organization. Among other advantages, a gated process ensures the following:

• Appropriate framing of the premises for each turnaround
• Timely formation of turnaround teams with roles and responsibilities
• Clear timeline for planning milestones and deliverables
• Alignment of all key functions around objectives and planning deliverables
• Selection of the "right" scope to meet the turnaround premises
• Cost estimates that are commensurate with scope and level of definition
• A framework to enable timely decision-making and prevent re-cycling
• Consistency in planning and execution to provide systemic learning
• Assurance that Best Practices are being employed on each shutdown
• A common basis for knowledge sharing and corporate memory
  
  

Benchmarking is a critical component in measuring the effectiveness of a company's processes and procedures for executing turnarounds. Our staff has assisted in the design and implementation of benchmarking programs for dozens of petroleum and chemical companies. Our focus is on more than measurement for measurement's sake. We help companies and teams leverage benchmarking data to identify changes that result in superior performance.

Our Experience Includes:

• Establishment of site benchmarking programs.
• Establishing baselines for turnaround performance at both the site and corporate level
• Benchmarking individual turnarounds prior to the shutdown and at closeout