How is an Annual Shutdown Like a Family Vacation?

The following article will appear in the Reliability & Maintenance section of Paper360°‘s forthcoming July/August 2026 issue. It is being shared here as a special “sneak peek” exclusive to AOTC readers.

How do you plan your family vacation? In most cases you need to check when you can take off from work, decide where to go, make the arrangements and book the trip, decide what to bring, read up on the activities, etc.

If you don’t do this early enough, it is very likely that you are not going to have the vacation you expected—or it may cost you more. The scenario of vacations going wrong due to bad planning can be found in many movies and TV shows.

Planning and scheduling for a shutdown is similar to planning a family vacation. If you don’t have a process and plan in place, it’s not going to turn out as expected. Some of the most common issues you’ll run into when managing a typical annual shutdown include:

• Budget overruns
• Delayed start-ups
• Planned and scheduled work not completed
• Safety incidents and even lost time

What can you do to improve the execution of your annual shutdown? The best approach is to divide the shutdown preparation into phases (see figure above).

Some of the benefits of reviewing the six phases include improving Overall Operating Efficiency (OOE) and maximizing the quality and quantity of work performed. You also facilitate selection and execution of the “Right Work” by evaluating risk, reliability, and urgency. Shutdown and start-up times occur as planned and scheduled; and communication and visual management become tools to improve effectiveness.

I’ve had many clients who were skipping the strategy phase in planning their shutdowns. However, without developing and reviewing your shutdown strategy, you’re probably running into the common problems listed above. In this article, we take a closer look at the Strategy phase to help your shutdowns get off to a great start.

So, what should be included in a Shutdown Turnaround Optimization Process Strategy review?

1. Develop or review the Vision, Mission, and Goals for shutdowns.
2. Outline the Shutdown drivers and business requirements.
3. Develop the Countdown Schedule (T-minus schedule).
4. Review safety policies and training needs.

Vision, Mission, and Goals for Shutdowns

Defining these will give you a clear picture of what your plant wants to accomplish and be instrumental in critiquing the performance of your shutdown. Below is an example:

      Vision:

• Manage equipment downtime using resources efficiently.

      Mission:

• Operations, maintenance, and engineering will work together as a team to apply Shutdown best practices.

      Goals:

• Drive lost time and safety incidents to ZERO.
• Drive unscheduled downtime to ZERO.
• Put processes in place that will manage resource efficiency, provide teamwork, and use best practices.

Shutdown Drivers

Shutdown drivers are key business inputs that will determine the overall shutdown length, timing, and resources based on the overall corporate/mill’s business goals. Typical shutdown drivers include:

• Market demand, orders, inventories
• Production schedules and seasonal downtime
• Regulatory inspections
• The service life of critical equipment
• Preventive and corrective maintenance
• Budgets
• Vacation, holidays, and weather
• Capital projects and new product lines

During the Strategy phase, the focus of the plant management team is to determine the shutdown frequency, interval and duration, the organization and controls, the use of contractors, future shutdowns, and the strategy for the current shutdown.

The results that the management team will be looking for include increased run time, decreased frequency, optimized duration, and excellent coordination with the overall business and supply chain.

Safety and Training

Shutdowns increase the risk of safety incidents and lost time. The reason is that contractors are not familiar with the plant and the safety policies.

During shutdown, many jobs are being done at the same time and in close proximity. Starting and stopping the process increases the exposure to risk. Shutdown jobs are done less frequently and to a higher degree of complexity. Mill crews can experience fatigue due to work schedules and working longer hours.

Shutdown Countdown Schedule

If you aren’t using a countdown schedule (T-minus schedule) to help you manage your shutdown, you may find that you’ve missed some key tasks in the middle of your shutdown. By working as a team to develop your countdown schedule, you’re ensuring that all key stakeholders know cut-off times and who’s responsible for tasks.

Here are things that you will want to include in your countdown schedule:

• It works like a T-minus schedule, counting down. In the example, it starts at T-104 weeks before the shutdown execution.
• Descriptions of every task, meeting, milestone, to be prepared.
• Responsibility and accountability for each task.
• Functional area/process area responsibilities.
• Status: not started, ongoing, and completed.

Once you have a completed your Shutdown Strategy review, you can expect to see many tangible results. For the current annual shutdown, results should include:

• • Shutdown drivers are identified;
  • Coordination has been made with other plants;
  • Shutdown organization is in place;
  • Steering team participants and roles are selected;
  • Contractor strategy is determined;
  • Countdown schedule (T-minus schedule) is set;
  • Checklists are developed for all major milestones;
  • Agendas have been developed for meetings; and
  • Budget and controls have been determined.

In addition, your Shutdown Strategy review should result in having a three- to five-year shutdown plan and outlook in place for your facility.

Owe Forsberg, CAMA, CMRP, is vice president of consulting services for IDCON Inc., a TRM Company. He is a firm proponent of the firm’s Results-Oriented Reliability and Maintenance (RORM) philosophy. Learn more at idcon.com.