Practical insight

What clients should prepare before a turnaround or shutdown

Turnarounds concentrate people, trades, schedule pressure and change. Effective HSE preparation starts well before mobilisation.

Starting point

During a shutdown, tasks and interfaces multiply in a short period. Many workers are new to the site, plans change dynamically and decisions must remain fast and traceable.

Before mobilisation

Define HSE roles and deputies, contractor requirements, site rules, permits, induction, logistics, emergency arrangements, inspections, escalation and consistent reporting.

  • roles, authority and reporting lines
  • qualification and contractor checks
  • site rules and induction concept
  • logistics, traffic and emergency facilities
  • inspection and escalation process
  • common indicators and templates

Common mistakes

Building HSE structures in parallel with execution leaves too little time for qualification checks, clear documentation and alignment between client, project management and contractors.

Practical example

A high-intensity shutdown introduces a shared roles matrix, daily rhythm, safety-walk method and action tracker before mobilisation, keeping information comparable despite schedule pressure.

Start checklist

Before mobilisation, align the organisation chart, HSE plan, emergency response, induction, permit processes, logistics, qualification review, reporting and open high-risk work.

Frequently asked questions

When should external HSE support join?

Ideally during preparation so that roles, documents, selection criteria and processes are effective before mobilisation.

Which indicators are useful?

Use indicators that support decisions, such as overdue actions, recurring deviations, inspection status and response quality – not incident counts alone.

Technical foundations

The specific operational and project situation must always be assessed.

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