7 Keys To Successful Shutdowns Turnarounds Outages 1565888188 PDF

Only through effective Fixed Asset
Management and Risk/Cost Benefit

Analysis can the Workscope and
Budget for a STO Event be
managed and controlled…
Only with a formal process,

supported by technology and best-
practices can a STO Event be
to successful
planned, executed and controlled
efficiently…
A competent STO Manager,

Shutdowns,
supported by a Stakeholder
Steering Committee and a Project
Controls Team is essential in
establishing, and achieving the
STO KPI’s (Key Performance
Turnarounds
& Outages
Indicators) …
How each Stakeholder intends to

add value—to meet the STO
KPI’s—needs to be established,
communicated and practiced as an
integrated strategy…
Detailed Planned Job Packages

(PJP’s) must be created with input
from all Stakeholders, prior to
Dynamic Schedule Management by
the Project Controls—What-if—
Team…
Executing according to the Plan to

meet Safety, Quality and Wrench-
time performance targets, while
providing accurate and timely
status updates from the field to
produce a revised Shift Report…
Continuous Improvement is the

last, but not least, key to successful
Shutdowns, Turnarounds &
Outages by capturing Lessons-
learned…
EJ Lister
201-5262 Oakmount Crescent | Burnaby, BC Canada | V5H 4R7 | +1-604-760-9847 | www.stonavigator.ca
Copyright © 2019 STO Navigator Inc.
Not-for-profit distribution only. Not to be copied, scanned or distributed without the
written consent of the author: EJ (Ted) Lister – ejlister@stonavigator.ca
STO Navigator Inc.
201 – 5262 Oakmount Crescent
Burnaby BC Canada V5H 4R7
Mobile: +1-604-760-9847
All rights reserved.
No part of this manual may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without written prior permission of the creator.
V3 - First printing 2018
www.stonavigator.ca
STO Navigator Inc. provides industry with Shutdown, Turnaround, Outage products,
services and training. Visit our website for more information: www.stonavigator.ca
Be sure to visit www.stonavigator.ca/downloads to check out free downloadable
tools, best-practices, checklists and more.
ISBN: 978-0-9938936-3-6
Author & CNO (Chief Navigating Officer) Author & CNO (Chief Navigating Officer): EJ (Ted)
Lister – STO Navigator Inc., Canada
Dear Reader,
Thank you for supporting my desire to share years

of lessons-learned experience with you and your
team through the purchase of this manual. I am
confident you will benefit greatly, unlocking doors
of opportunity with these 7 keys to enhance your
STO (Shutdown, Turnaround & Outage) events.
I began my career working on construction and maintenance projects as

an Electrician & Instrumentation Technician, eventually accepting the
position of Maintenance Planner for Shell Canada in the upstream gas-
processing industry in Alberta, Canada where I gained invaluable
experience in Turnaround management and computer-assisted
scheduling & planning. In 1995, I established my own consulting
business, specializing in planning & scheduling and project controls.
Now, more than 30 years later, I’m pleased to be passing on my
international lessons-learned knowledge and experience through these 7
keys to those who desire to enhance the outcome of their STO Events.
“Knowledge is acquired by learning lessons, experience is gained

through lessons learned…”
EJ (Ted) Lister
CNO (Chief Navigating Officer)

STO Navigator Inc., Canada
Author of Successful Change Management - ISBN 978-0968841716
To arrange for author in-house training, short-term consulting or speaking

engagements, email: info@stonavigator.ca
JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG
Like the tip of the iceberg, STOworx®
elegant UEI (User-Experience Interface)
sits impressively atop a solid, unseen,
powerful platform where elements of data
are shared on a web-based collaborative
workspace, with real-time dashboards,
configurable for navigating even the most
complex and risky industry shutdown,
turnaround & outage events.
STOworx® Suite – on Elements® Industrial

Digitalization Platform – is the only true
digital solution for automating methodology
workflows and eliminating ad hoc database
tools and spreadsheets, providing industry
with efficient management and effective
control of their STO Events.
For more information on STOworx®, the world’s first

and only true digitalization solution for Shutdowns,
Turnarounds & Outages visit: www.stoworx.com
Introduction .......................................................................................................... i
Table of Contents
STOrm Chaser Tips & Trix ................................................................................ii
Links to Tools & Materials on STO Navigator Inc. Website ...............................ii
Best-Practices ...................................................................................................ii
YouTube Channel Videos .................................................................................ii
How to get the Most out of this Manual ............................................................ iii
7 Keys to Successful Shutdowns, Turnarounds & Outages (Definition) ...........iv
Key Terminology & Acronyms .......................................................................... 1
STO Navigator Inc., Canada .......................................................................... 13
Key 1 – Fixed Asset Management for STO ..................................................... 15
Steps (Key Milestones) to Implementing Fixed Asset Management for STO . 16
Key Milestone Events from Operational Readiness to On-spec Production ... 17
Business Needs: 5- 10- 20-year production plan (Process Optimization) ...... 20
Process Safety, Reliability, Profitability & Sustainability ................................. 21
RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) ............................................ 22
FMEA - Fixed Asset for STO Criticality & Classification ................................. 30
RAMP Model .................................................................................................. 34
The Closure Phase Advantage....................................................................... 36
RBSR (Risked-based Scope Review) ............................................................ 37
RBSR (Risked-based Scope Review) Step-by-Step Procedure ..................... 38
Budget Management & Control Process ........................................................ 44
Budget Preparation and Management ............................................................ 47
Workscope/Budget Calculator ........................................................................ 49
LEMS (Labor, Equipment, Materials & Services) ........................................... 54
indirect Cost Adjustment Table (iCAT) ........................................................... 54
Worklist Cut-off & Initial Budget Freeze .......................................................... 55
Legitimate Late Work ..................................................................................... 56
Formal Workscope Change Management Process ........................................ 56
Kick-off Meeting with STO Steering Committee and/or Core Team ............... 56
Team Task Management ............................................................................... 60
Fixed Asset Management for STO Exercise................................................... 64
Fixed Asset Management for STO Quiz ......................................................... 65
Fixed Asset Management for STO Crossword Puzzle Exercise ..................... 67
Key 2 – STO Methodology ............................................................................... 69
The STO Methodology ................................................................................... 70
The STO Methodology Process ..................................................................... 71
Business Processes & Workflows .................................................................. 72
Methodology/Workflow Digitalization .............................................................. 73
SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) .......................................................... 74
Plan2Plan (the Milestone Schedule) .............................................................. 75
STO Event Goals & Objectives ...................................................................... 76
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) ................................................................ 77
GPS (Guaranteed Project Success) & Digital Dashboards ............................ 78
STO Methodology Exercise ............................................................................ 79
STO Methodology Quiz .................................................................................. 80
STO Methodology Crossword Puzzle Exercise .............................................. 82
Key 3 – The STO Organization ......................................................................... 85
The STO Organization .................................................................................... 86
The Steering Committee ................................................................................. 87
The Core Team .............................................................................................. 88
Mission Control ............................................................................................... 89
Meeting & Communication Plan ..................................................................... 90
Team Task Management ................................................................................ 91
HpO *(High-performance Organization) & HrO (High-reliability Organization) 92
Organization Capability Calculations .............................................................. 93
Direct & Indirect Resources ............................................................................ 94
Resource Management .................................................................................. 95
Owner vs. Contractor (Coordinator vs. Supervisor) ........................................ 97
The STO Organization Exercise ................................................................... 100
The STO Organization Quiz ......................................................................... 101
The STO Organization Crossword Puzzle Exercise ..................................... 103
Key 4 – Strategic Planning ............................................................................. 105
Plan2Plan—FEL (Front-end Loading) Milestone Schedule .......................... 106
Understanding Strategic Planning ................................................................ 106
Stakeholder Strategic Plans ......................................................................... 106
Strategic Planning Workshop Sessions ........................................................ 107
Creating Functional Plans............................................................................. 108
Contracting and Execution Strategies........................................................... 109
Field Coordination ........................................................................................ 110
Tactical War Room Planning ........................................................................ 111
Strategic Planning Exercise .......................................................................... 112
Strategic Planning Quiz ................................................................................ 113
Strategic Planning Crossword Puzzle Exercise ............................................ 115
Key 5 – Planning & Scheduling ..................................................................... 117
Planning & Scheduling Defined .................................................................... 118
Creating Step-out-Plans ............................................................................... 119
Estimating & PF (Productivity Factors) ......................................................... 120
Work Package Development ........................................................................ 121
ITPs (Inspection & Test Plans) ..................................................................... 122
MOC (Management of Change) Process...................................................... 123
Step-by-Step Scheduling Methodology......................................................... 124
DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology) .................................................... 125
Primavera™ P6 for STO Event Management & Control ............................... 126
Digitalizing Work Package Planning ............................................................. 127
Overview: Planning, Estimating, Packaging, and Scheduling ....................... 129
Work Packages ............................................................................................ 130
Attributes: Level I to Level V Project Plans ................................................... 134
Planning & Scheduling Exercise ................................................................... 135
Planning & Scheduling Quiz ......................................................................... 136
Planning & Scheduling Crossword Puzzle Exercise ..................................... 138
Key 6 – Execution & Control .......................................................................... 141
Execution Phase Defined ............................................................................. 142
Execution Strategy & Contracting Strategies................................................ 143
Owner and Contractor Roles & Responsibilities ........................................... 144
DEM (Dynamic Execution Management) ..................................................... 145
The Project Controls Team........................................................................... 146
Safe Work Permits ....................................................................................... 147
Isolation, Zero-energy, LOTO (Lock-out/Tag-out) ........................................ 148
Risk Management & Density Modeling ......................................................... 149
Daily Shift Reports........................................................................................ 150
Force Reports............................................................................................... 150
Logistics, Mobilization and Demobilization ................................................... 151
Updating & Progressing (how to real-time accurate field updates) ............... 152
War Room Strategies & Tactics ................................................................... 153
How to Pilot & Navigate your next STO Event.............................................. 154
KPI (Key Performance Indicator) Dashboards.............................................. 155
EvPM (Earned-value Performance Management) ........................................ 156
Adf ................................................................................................................ 156
PSSR (Pre-start-up Safety Review............................................................... 156
Execution & Control Exercise ....................................................................... 158
Execution & Control Quiz ............................................................................. 159
Execution & Control Crossword Puzzle Exercise ......................................... 161
Key 7 - Lessons-learned ................................................................................ 165
Establish a Lessons-learned Program .......................................................... 166
Categorizing and Tracking Lessons-learned ................................................ 167
The Closure Phase....................................................................................... 168
The Close-out Report & Critique Audit ......................................................... 169
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) .......................... 171
Contractor Evaluations ................................................................................. 173
Establish a Continuous Improvement Process ............................................. 174
Open (initiate) a Subsequent STO Event ..................................................... 175
Lessons-learned Exercise ............................................................................ 177
Lessons-learned Quiz .................................................................................. 178
Lessons-learned Crossword Puzzle Exercise .............................................. 180
Acknowledgments .......................................................................................... 182
List of Illustrations
5- 10- 20-Year Plan aka Long-range Production Plan ............................ 21
FMEA/Criticality Analysis Worksheet ..................................................... 34
Front-end RBI Planning for STO Events www.stoworx.com ................... 35
RAMP Model Illustration ......................................................................... 36
STOworx® Work Order Interface ........................................................... 37
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Timeline .......................................... 38
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool in Excel Format....................... 39
RBSR Flowchart ..................................................................................... 40
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review Tool Screenshot a) .......................... 41
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool Screenshot b) ......................... 42
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool Screenshot c) ......................... 42
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool Screenshot c) ......................... 43
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool Screenshot e) ......................... 43
Workscope/Budget Calculator Illustration ............................................... 50
Planner Requirement Calculation ........................................................... 51
iCAT (Indirect Cost Adjustment Table) in Excel format .......................... 55
STOworx® Mission Control for your STO Event Core Team................... 57
Team Task Management........................................................................ 61
Plan2Plan (FEL Milestone Schedule in MS Project® Illustration ............. 62
STOp-event Management Process Checklist ......................................... 70
Workflow Digitalization Illustration .......................................................... 74
SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) Illustration .................................. 75
STO Event Goals & Objectives Illustration ............................................. 77
GPS (Guaranteed Project Success) & Digital Dashboards Illustration ... 78
Plan2Plan (the Milestone Schedule) ...................................................... 78
The Steering Committee Illustration ....................................................... 88
Mission Control in STOworx® Illustration ............................................... 90
HpO (High-performance Organization) Map Illustration ......................... 93
Plan2Plan STOworx® Illustration .......................................................... 106
Tactical War Room Planning Illustration ............................................... 111
Work Package in STOworx® Illustration ............................................... 133
DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology) Step-by-Step Illustration ..... 133
KPI Dashboard Illustration .................................................................... 156
EvPM (Earned-value Performance Management) S-curve .................. 156
PSSR (Pre-start-up Safety Review) ..................................................... 157
Lessons-learned STOworx® Illustration ................................................ 167
Close-out Report Illustration ................................................................. 170
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) Illustration 172
Contractor Evaluation Illustration ......................................................... 174
Visit pitSTOp for Shutdown, Turnaround, Outage & pitSTOp needs in the oil & gas and mining
sectors in Central & South America and Caribbean Regions:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/pitstop-paradas-de-planta
EJ Lister
Introduction
Introduction “The most successful STO Events reduce operating risk,

increase process availability, and generate profits…”
STO Events (Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages), including pitSTOps, are
undoubtably the most risky, complex and challenging projects on Earth—
consider for a moment the massive mobilization of a transient workforce into
hydrocarbon-production units—units designed to be operated and maintained
by small dedicated Owner’s teams. It’s just one of the many challenges faced
in the industry today by those accountable for STO Event performance. Add-
in these conditions (temperature, pressure, flow, hoisting, scaffolding,
contractor competence, mobile equipment, blast zones, height, space,
congestion, unknowns…whew!) And the sheer amount of logistics alone
equals a theatre-of-war. Needless to say, you can quite easily understand
how difficult it can be to navigate a STO Event under these conditions and
still meet the established KPI (Key Performance Indictor) Targets: Safety,
Quality, Wrench-time Efficiency, Schedule Duration and Cost.
Hence the reason I have published this manual: to share with you my years
of lessons-learned experience and acquired best-practices to help you
prepare for an expedition, a journey of sorts, to help you navigate the risks
and complexities of planning, executing and controlling STO Events.
Regardless of which position you are assigned on a STO Event to contribute

to its success, you’ll benefit from knowing more about your specific role and
the role of others on the STO Event Team through the content and tools
associated with this manual. Afterall, STOs are cross-functional events; every
department, every stakeholder, and every vendor/supplier involved needs to
be fully integrated into the event, often from its inception (Kick-off) to Closure
and Lessons-learned.
This manual outlines the importance of effectiveness (what work to execute

based on risk management—Leaders’ accountability) as well as efficiency
(how to execute the work) based on change management—Managers’
responsibility. In addition, effectiveness is related to the Scope of Work and
Strategic Planning while efficiency is related to Scope of Services and
Detailed Work Package Planning.
www.stonavigator.ca 2019 © | i
7 Keys to Successful Shutdowns, Turnarounds & Outages
STOrm Chaser Tips & Trix

Meet, STOrm Chaser, our key resource for Tips & Trix. Throughout this
manual, you’ll find STOrm in the left-hand margin of key pages providing tips
and tricks for enhancing everything from permitting to shifting, methodology to
technology, training to orientation; just to name a few of the hundreds of
opportunities you’ll find in this manual to enhance STO Event performance.
STOrm has many years of international experience in the planning, execution

and control of STO Events. He has worked as a Scaffolder, Safety Coordinator,
Quantity Surveyor, Planner, Execution Coordinator and Dynamic Scheduler on multiple STO
Events across various industries. STOrm practices and promotes IAF (Incident & Accident
Free) policies, procedures and guidelines in the workplace. He has received numerous awards
for contributing to the success of STO Events related to safety, quality and worker wrench-time
efficiency, all of which resulted in the lowest cost/shortest duration events ever!
Links to Tools & Materials on STO Navigator Inc. Website
This symbol appears in the left-hand page margins whenever there is an
appropriate tool or document to download, which support related content. For a
partial list of tools, procedures, presentations, files and much more, visit:
www.stonavigator.ca/downloads
Best-Practices
This symbol indicates that a topic, quote, statement, policy, procedure and/or
guideline is based on proven industry practices, which results in the best
performance. Many of these best-practices are a result of my research and
global assignments; however, not every best-practice will be appropriate for
your facility or business. It’s important to remember that you must focus on establishing your
own best-practices through lessons-learned and continuous improvement.
YouTube Channel Videos
This symbol indicates that a YouTube video is available to support topics and
content. I’ll be adding monthly videos to our YouTube Channel over the next
year covering many topics related to STO Event performance. To visit our
YouTube Channel, follow this link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLOySkmYM0Cwv8PpLeeuHdA?
ii | www.stonavigator.ca 2019 ©
EJ Lister
How to get the Most out of this Manual

Your time is valuable, so how you invest it, spend it, trade it or enjoy it is important. When it
comes to trading your time for money—aka working (time you might or might not enjoy; might
or might not benefit from other than from wages)—you should know that there is another, more
valuable option: invest your time learning to allow you to make a more significant, enjoyable
contribution to a company or client, to profit in any number of ways: satisfaction, recognition,
status, bonuses, advancements, autonomy, benefits, cashflow and much, much more.
Therefore, I suggest you invest as much time as possible in this manual. I suggest you begin
by skimming through the contents to get a feel for how its content flows—navigating this
manual is similar to navigating a STO Event from Kick-off to Closure—then pick out the most
relevant section(s) which pertain to your interest and role/responsibilities (or desired role) and
read through them thoroughly. Then, when you feel you have a relatively good understanding
of its contents, tools and materials, begin to put what you’ve learned into practice using the
many tools, checklists, templates, procedures and instructions as you can.
You’ll be amazed at how much you can improve your current level of understanding and
contribution to STO Events, regardless of how much knowledge or experience you have by
simply reading, studying and practicing the contents of this manual.
Group Learning
One of the most effective methods of learning is through group sessions, or workshops, where
a facilitator (this could be you) will take a key section or topic from this manual and study it in a
roundtable format. This could lead to a change improvement initiative where the
implementation of lessons-learned and best-practices can further lead to improved
performance in multiple areas of a STO Event, e.g., strategies, resource optimization,
planning, scheduling, Fixed Asset management, etc.
Similar group learning sessions will be scheduled during the Strategic Planning Phase of your
STO Events (see Strategic Planning Workshops in Key 4: Strategic Planning for more
information).
Best-Practice: Companies who possess their own reference manuals for STO Event
management, including workflows, procedures, policies, guidelines and tools, are the
most successful. Consider taking the contents of this manual and expanding on them,
or customizing them, to create your own reference manual in eBook format,
accessible to everyone in the organization.
www.stonavigator.ca 2019 © | iii

Manual Owner (for customized company manuals with corporate logo, email: info@stonavigator.ca )
Name: __________________________________________________
Company: ________________________________________________
Mobile: __________________________________________________
Email: ___________________________________________________
TIP: Print multiple copies of this manual and distribute to each member of your STO
team. Ask contractors to purchase a copy and work together to enhance your STO
Events: https://stonavigator.ca/download/7-keys-to-sto/
Download: Navigate the Perfect STOrm presentation:

https://stonavigator.ca/download/navigate-perfect-storm/
7 Keys to Successful Shutdowns, Turnarounds & Outages (Definition)

Fixed Asset Management: Only through effective Asset Management and Risk/Cost
Benefit Analysis can the Workscope and Budget for a STO Event be managed and
controlled.
Methodology Process: Only with a formal process, supported by technology and best-
practices can a STO Event be planned, executed and controlled efficiently.
The STO Organization: A competent STO Manager, supported by a Stakeholder
Steering Committee, Core Team (Mission Control) and a Project Controls Team is
essential in establishing, and achieving the STO KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators).
Strategic Planning: How each Stakeholder intends to add value—to meet the STO
KPI’s—needs to be established, communicated and practiced as an integrated strategy.
Planning & Scheduling: Detailed Planning Job Packages (PJP’s) must be created with
input from all Stakeholders, prior to DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology) by the
Project Controls—What-if—Team.
Execution & Control: Executing according to the Plan, to meet Safety, Quality and
Wrench-time performance targets, while providing accurate and timely status updates
from the field to produce a revised Shift Report.
Lessons-learned: Continuous Improvement is the last, but not the least, key to
successful Shutdowns, Turnarounds & Outages by capturing Lessons-learned.
iv | www.stonavigator.ca 2019 ©
EJ Lister
Key Terminology & Acronyms
Terminology & Acronyms “Nothing is more important than terminology when it

comes to communicating, analyzing, and decision-
making, whether verbally or through data…”
The planning, management and control of STO Events is not unique to one
specific industry or region. STOs are international events which account for
billions of dollars in execution and lost production; and they need to be
executed—Turnarounds, in their true sense of compliance, must be
scheduled to ensure Fixed Asset integrity.
Surprisingly, given their global status, much of the terminology in STO

management either differs, or is misunderstood, making it difficult to
benchmark and continually improve. For that reason, I have included what I
consider to be key terms and acronyms for STOs, with the hope that the
language of STO will become standardized across the various industries
(Oil & Gas—upstream/midstream/downstream, Petro-Chemical, Mining,
Power Generation & Distribution and Product Manufacturing).
NOTE: if you have Terminology & Acronyms you’d like to add, please email
me (include definitions) and I’ll add them to the next revision of this manual:
ejlister@stonavigator.ca
Pay special attention to definitions related to:
Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages and pitSTOps

Planning, Estimating, Scheduling, Coordination
Project Controls, EvPM (Earned-value Performance Management)
Budget Control vs. Cost Management
Indirect Cost vs. Direct Cost
Direct Resources vs. Indirect Resources
Contracting and Execution Strategies Integration
Lessons-learned and Closure Phase
Methodology and Digitalization
Process Availability Optimization (5- 10 – 20-year production plan)
www.stonavigator.ca 2019 © | 1
5- 10- 20-Year Plan: A corporate long-range production plan established to optimize Process
Availability (production throughput) by strategically scheduling STOp-events over a 5- 10- 20-
year plan without compromising safety, reliability or licence-to-operate. Also know as: Long-
range Production Plan.
Accountable vs. Responsible: The main difference between responsibility and accountability
is that responsibility can be shared while accountability cannot. Being accountable not only
means being responsible for something but also ultimately being answerable for your actions
or the actions of those responsible.
Activities: These are the steps on the Step-out-Plan in a Work Package (Job Plan) and in the
scheduling software that logically complete a Work Package/Work Order Task by Direct
Resources.
AFE: Approved for Expenditure
AMT (Asset Management Team): The Asset Management Team (Operations, Engineering,
Inspection, Reliability, Maintenance) is accountable for equipment reliability at the lowest
risk/cost to enhance overall throughput of a unit or a plant (Process Availability). The AMT
creates the OMR (Operation/Maintenance/Reliability) strategies and plans and is a vital part of
Continuous Improvement/Defect Elimination.
Asset Integrity: Refers to the condition of physical equipment (Fixed Assets) related to its
material’s exposure to wear and tear, environment, rust, cracking, fatigue and its ability to
continue to function as designed (safety) before requiring inspection, repair, or replacement.
Especially important in piping and pressure equipment where insurance companies and
government regulators impose strict rules on operating/inspection parameters. Most Asset
Integrity work is scheduling during a Turnaround. Summary: The condition of an Fixed Asset
compared to its original design; measured by material degradation.
Asset Management: Refers to fixed and mobile equipment and their OMR strategies and
plans, e.g., SOP’s, PM’s, PdM (Condition Monitoring), CR (Corrective Repair). Asset
Management is automated by a CMMS with Work Request/Work Order expenditure approvals
by the AMT.
Availability vs. Reliability: Availability is the of a system, unit or facility to support the
designed throughput/conversion of raw materials (Feed-stock)
Baseline: A snapshot of an approved Project Plan, saved in the background of the scheduling
software for SPI comparison (Earned % vs. Burned $ or Earned vs. Planned vs. Actual or
Variance).
Benchmark Estimates: Used in conjunction with PF (Productivity Factors) to plan the amount
of Direct Work required to perform an Activity on a Step-out-Plan and is calculated in
Manhours (Duration x Crew Size).
Best-practices: SOP’s which deliver the best results when practiced repeatedly (safety,
quality, effectiveness, efficiency, RoI).
BOMs (Bill of Materials): The estimated parts, components, consumables and, sometimes,
services required to execute a Work Package.
Budget Control: Using LEMS and Detailed Work Package Planning to calculate the estimated
expenditure (Burn $) for STO Event Scope of Work plus Contingency.
2 | www.stonavigator.ca 2019 ©
EJ Lister
CAPEX: Capital expenditure (costs associated with project work related to Fixed Assets or
Mobile Equipment for replacement, upgrades, modifications or additions. Might be investment
or loss, which affects a company’s tax and depreciation calculations).
Change Management: Related to variance in Scope of Work or Daily Shift Schedule where
Managers and Execution Coordinators need to incorporate change into the War Room
Strategy Sessions.
Change Order: A formal document generated by a Change Order Process (approved for
expenditure from existing budget, contingency or revised budget). Used to ensure the change
has been vetted through the MOC process and to avoid Claims disputes by vendors or
contractors.
Closure Phase: The Closure Phase is the forth phase of the STO Management Process and
the phase which concludes the event with completion data, KPI target +/- variance, lessons-
learned, critiques, reviews, demobilization, celebrations and most importantly, a list of work for
subsequent STO Event.
CMMS: Computerized Maintenance Management System (aka Work Order System or
EAM/ERP)
Contingency: A 15- 20% allowance added to the Control Budget for Indirect Cost overruns.
Not to be used for Found/Discovery Work, which requires a Change Order.
Continuous Improvement: Using benchmark data and best-practice potential to establish a
gap between current-practice and best-practice, resulting in a strategy to close the gap for
fixed production Fixed Asset and/or mobile equipment performance, procedure performance,
human resource performance, or business performance. Part of the Performance Management
element of the RAMP Model.
Contract Type: Refers to the type of contract awarded for products or services based on the
type of work, service or product required. Examples: T&M, Fixed-price, Lump-sum, Unit-rate,
Target-reimbursable, or Service. Terms & Conditions might be common across all contract
types.
Contracting Strategy: A method of matching the type of work with a type of contract best
suited to execute the work; e.g., Fixed-price for capital projects, T&M (Time & Materials) for
Turnaround, Unit-rate for vac trucks, etc. with Terms & Conditions to establish who is
responsible for what (PPE, consumables, supervision, etc.) and expectations regarding
timekeeping, quality, efficiency, safety, paperwork, etc. The Contracting Strategy is tied to the
Execution Strategy as the two most important strategies to be created during the Strategic
Planning Phase.
Control Budget: The Approved Budget for the STO Event plus contingency, to be baselined
for measuring Indirect & Direct Cost burn and variance.
Coordination: Preparing work-fronts and mobile equipment as per the Execution Strategy and
Daily Shift Report following the Night-shift War Room Session. Coordination is the
responsibility of the Owner (Execution Coordinators; whereas, supervision is the responsibility
of the Contractor).
Core Team: Stakeholder and Functional Department Leads who sit on the Mission Control
Team of a STOp-event, reporting to the Event Manager (Navigator). Accountable for Strategic
Planning, driven by the Plan2Plan FEL (Front-end Loaded) Milestone Schedule.
CPI: Cost Performance Index. Direct and indirect burn $ compared to budget and contingency
by cost center, contract, work type, WBS (Work Breakdown Structure), etc.
Critical-path: Refers to critical activities with zero float (or pre-determined float calculation set
by the Scheduler; e.g., 24 hours of total float will flag activities as critical (red). Not to be
confused with Longest-path, which also uses total float, but whose activities are not critical in
terms of complex, risky, unknown; e.g., catalyst change-out is long, but not complicated.
Cut-off Date: The date when all Approved Budgeted work is frozen, and the Initial Budget is
created. Suggest T-minus 9 Months, depending on complexity of STO Event and budgeting
process.
Daily Shift Report: From the War Room, following the Backshift DEM (Dynamic Execution
Management) session, a Daily Shift Report is generated in time for the Day Shift Direct
Workers to arrive on site, and for Safe Work Permits to be prepared. The Daily Shift Report
includes all Activities to be executed for a 24-hour period to match current conditions, priority
and resource availability.
Defect Elimination: Actions taken as part of the Performance Management element of the
RAMP Model where data has suggested that fixed production assets and/or mobile equipment
requires redesign, replacement, component replacement, maintenance strategy
implementation, SOP’s or changes in feedstock.
Deferred Work: Any Worklist Item (Wish-list Item or Job-list Item) approved for a STO Event,
but not for the current Event; e.g., moved to a future STO Event or pitSTOp but still considered
as Opportunity Work in the event of an unscheduled production stoppage (Plant, Unit, System,
Fixed Asset).
DEM (Dynamic Execution Management): An integrated strategy to support DSM (Dynamic
Execution Management).
Density Modelling: Simulating the amount of work and resources scheduled each shift in
various units based on a Grid System.
Digitalization (Digitalisation): Ones & Zeros (big data) captured from apps, probes, sensors,
cameras, drones, GPS, etc. in real-time (on dashboards) to produce an action based on smart
technology, AI (Artificial Intelligence), machine learning, human decision-making; e.g., autopilot
on planes and a pilot’s ability to fly the plane and know the health of the plane (Fixed Asset) in
real-time.
Digitization: Computer-based documents and/or spreadsheets, databases. Taking a manual
method of writing, drawing, communicating, etc. and digitizing it; e.g., scanning documents,
CAD (Computer Assisted Drafting). The process of converting information into a digital format,
in which the information is organized into bits.
Direct Workers: Those who turn valves and turn wrenches to execute work; who earn %
complete value on planned work. Their time is measure as Actual-value $ from timesheets
against Tasks and Activities on the Daily Shift Report.
EJ Lister
Discovery Work: Work identified during the execution of a Work Package which was not part
of the original plan; e.g., refractory repairs, cleaning, welding repairs, etc. These activities
should be flagged as Discovery Work on the Schedule after completion.
DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology): A method of scheduling based on a Scheduler’s
programming logic and the software’s (Primavera™ P6 for example) algorithms and ability to
level resources automatically. Also applicable to War Room Sessions and Execution Strategy
for driving your STO Event. See DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology) section for more
information, or read this blog post: https://stonavigator.ca/dynamic-scheduling-methodology/
EAM/ERP: Enterprise Asset Management/Enterprise Resource Planning—both refer to
software programs deployed across the Organization and its various business units and
departments. Typical systems include: SAP, IBM, JDE.
EBSR (Evidence-based Scope Review): Using historical data to quantitatively decide when
Fixed Assets require inspection or maintenance, as opposed to RBSR (Risk-based Scope
Review). EBSR is often used in conjunction with RBSR.
Effective vs. Efficient: Effective is the ‘What?’ while Efficient is ‘How’. Scope of Work is
Effective (what to work on) while Execution Strategy is Efficient (how to work on).
Estimating: The method of establishing how much time, money, resources, equipment,
materials, support and information is required to execute a given Work Order Task or Activity.
Estimating is a left-brain-right-brain function that relies on historical and calculated data and
experience. Estimating is a function of Planning, with an applied PF (Productivity Factor) for
Non-productive Time (waiting for permits, JSA, Meetings, Walking/Windshield Time, Breaks,
Lunch and Washup) with an element of Pf (Performance factor) calculated during Scheduling.
EvPM (Earned-value Performance Management): Activity direct percent complete and/or
indirect dollars burned against planned. Not related to Actual-value which is a measure of
physical time/dollars spent to achieve Earned-value. Earned-value can never be more than
Planned-value; however, Actual-value can be more than Earned-value or Planned-value. This
is where the calculation for Pf (Performance factor) comes in, and the resulting wrench-time
calculation.
Execution Phase: Between Feed-out and Feed-in, from Shutdown to Start-up; the Execution
Phase is further phased into: Shutdown, Open, Inspect/Repair, Close, Start-up. Sometimes
referred to as Mechanical Phase. During the Execution Phase, production is less than
nameplate design—from 0 - 99% depending on whether it’s a pitSTOp, Shutdown, Turnaround
or Outage.
Execution Strategy: Related to the Execution Phase and how the planned work will be
carried out in relation to priority, resource availability, equipment availability, work type,
contract terms & conditions, etc. Tied to Contracting Strategy and used to support DSM
(Dynamic Scheduling Methodology) and the Night Shift War Room Sessions.
Extra Work: Any addition to the approved Scope of Work between Feed-out and Feed-in
which requires a Work Order and Planned Job Package is called ‘Extra’ Work; e.g., valves
passing during the Shutdown Phase.
Feed-out/Feed-in: When feedstock is cut to the operating process and the Shutdown Phase
of the STO Event begins until the Start-up Phase when feed is reintroduced. Feed-in to Feed-
out dates determine the duration of the Execution Phase (reduced or zero production) and is
typically represented by the Longest-path or Critical-path or both.
Feedstock: Raw materials (crude oil, ore, watershed, gas, salt, sugar cane, etc.) fed into a
physical manufacturing process to produce a marketable product; e.g., electrical energy,
steam, gasoline, kerosene, silver, goal, copper, etc.
Fixed Asset Register: The hieratical (systemization, WBS or FLOC) list of process, ancillary
and utility equipment stored in the CMMS (ERP) from which historical data is stored from Work
Order and/or Service Order planning, estimating, scheduling, execution and follow-up.
Fixed Asset: Physical process, ancillary or utility equipment; e.g., pumps, pipes, vessels,
tanks, analyzers, towers, compressors, etc.
Flange Management: A process for ensuring each flange cracked open on process piping or
Fixed Assets for isolation or scheduled work execution have been bolted up with the correct
gaskets, studs & nuts (and lubricated with anti-seize), torque and thread settings, and most
importantly, alignment—to prevent leaks (might be down twice; once when cold and again
when hot).
Float: the amount of time an activity or task can slip before it becomes a critical job (before it
exceeds Process Availability).
FLOC: Functional Location – Physical location of Fixed Assets within a hierarchy in the CMMS
(ERP).
FMEA: Failure Modes & Effect Analysis, used to establish equipment and spares criticality and
maintenance strategies for all fixed and mobile equipment; e.g., run to failure, spared
equipment, rotatable spares, redundancy, inspection, overhauls, etc.
Front-end RBI: RBI is a decision-making methodology for optimizing inspection plans. RBI
analysis can be qualitative, quantitative or semi-quantitative in nature.
Goals & Objectives: Each STO Event will have Goals (established and written Targets) and
supporting Objectives (KPI statements) based on Premise & Parameters, Scope of Work,
Complexity, and so on.
Grid System: A map of an operating facility broken into grids, or squares, with X and Y axis
(A, B, C, etc. and 1, 2, 3, etc. to make a combination of letters and numbers for locating
equipment in a Unit or Plant; e.g., H-17). Might also contain Z for height. Useful for Density
Modeling.
HpO: High-performance Organization (visit www.leadmanagedig.com for more information).
iCAT: Indirect Cost Adjustment Table
Indirect Costs: There are two types of Indirect Costs—Fixed and Variable—both of which
support the STO Event and Direct Workers. Calculating Indirect Cost is best done with iCAT
(Indirect Cost Adjustment Table). Note: Indirect costs can account for more than 40% of your
STO Budget, so focus on reducing Indirect Costs is a significant opportunity.
Indirect vs. Direct: Indirect refers to the resources, products, services and associated costs
required to support Direct Workers. Direct refers to effort and cost related to doing work, as in
pulling wrenches, driving trucks, turning valves and is planned using Benchmark Estimates
with applied PF (Productivity Factors) to account for Indirect (non-productive time) and cost.
EJ Lister
Industrial Digitalization: refers to the implementation of web- and cloud-based platforms

(PaaS) and SaaS to establish an enterprise, collaborative and secure workspace for teams to
manage business processes, projects and alike.
Initial Budget: Established by calculating LEMS (Labor, Equipment, Materials, Services)
against the Approved Scope of Work at Scope Freeze and STO Event Kick-off.
ITP: Inspection & Test Plan.
Job List: see Worklist.
JSA: Job Safety Analysis - used to assess the risks associated with performing Direct Work
after a Safe Work Permit is issues and prior to executing the work. Using ‘What-if’ analysis for
surrounding area/environment related to weather, potential LEL, vapors, hoisting, adjoining
work, etc.
Kick-off Meeting: A first ‘Mission Control’ (Steering Committee or Core Team Leads) meeting
to begin Plan2Plan for a STO Event.
KPIs (Key Performance Indices): Industry standard indicators used to measure compliance
to set targets or deliverables for: Safety, Quality, Wrench-time Efficiency, Cost and Schedule.
Late Work: Work Orders or Job List Items approved after Cut-off Date and before Feed-out.
Leaders: Those who are accountable for being effective—deciding what to do (vision) and
setting targets for each deliverable (goals & objectives). The STO Event Manager is actually a
Leader (Managers report to the Leader. Managers are responsible for how the goals &
objectives will be achieved in the safest and most efficient manner).
LEL: Lower Explosive Limit—the lowest concentration (by percentage) of a gas or vapor in air
that can produce a flash of fire in presence of an ignition source (arc, flame, heat).
LEMS: Labor, Equipment, Materials, Services—used to create the Planning Budget.
Lessons-learned: A method of tracking weaknesses, opportunities or threats to take
corrective action and/or benefit from them the next time a specific procedure or soft- hard-task
is executed. This is part of the Continuous Improvement Process (see Key 7: Lessons-learned)
Longest-path: An activity or series of activities on the Project Plan that stretches from Feed-
out to Feed-in with zero Total Float.
LOTO: Lock-out/Tag-out – related to zero energy/hydrocarbon isolation to protect people,
community, environment and assets from potential danger when working on production
equipment (Fixed Assets) and systems.
Managers: Stakeholder Leads responsible for supporting Direct Resources (Workers).
Responsible for Change Management and Efficiency.
Manhours: The total number of planned and estimated (Benchmark Estimates) calculated by
using Crew Size x Activity Duration x PF (Productivity Factor) to determine how much effort is
required to perform an Activity on a Step-out-Plan.
Mission Control: The location of a meeting room or war room where the STO Event team
meet and work to prepare and execute a STO Event. Typically located near the event itself, in
a separate building or trailer, with a monitoring & communication-style atmosphere (NASA).
MOC: Management of Change – a document/form attached to all non-Replacement-in-Kind

Work Orders and or Change Orders. Typically completed by Operations, Engineering and
Reliability prior to materials and services being procured and the planned work being
executed.
Non-productive Time: Time that Direct Workers cannot be pulling wrenches during their shift
due to walking, meetings, waiting, lunch, breaks, wash-up (legitimate time that is not available
for them to Earn value on a Planned job (see PF for more information).
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer.
Operational Readiness: During construction and commissioning of a new (greenfield)
plant/unit or brownfield expansion, preparing to operate requires all departments, including the
STOp-event Management Team, to establish its resources, training, SOPs, strategies, tools,
etc. Operational Readiness ensures seamless handover from Construction to Operations.
OPEX: Operating expenditure (overhead or investment related to operating and maintaining a
facility, both direct and indirect costs).
Outages: Scheduled or unscheduled events with minimum production loss required to
maintain equipment (Fixed Assets) or to preform project work that cannot otherwise be done
onstream (when the equipment or unit is operating). Outage work is tied to the OPEX or
CAPEX budgets, even when scheduled in a Shutdown, Turnaround or pitSTOp.
Owner: The Operator or Partners of a production facility (operation), responsible for the safe
and reliable operation based on Corporate Business Needs.
PaaS: Platform as a Service (refers to web- and cloud-based servers and software platforms)
Perfect Storm (the): a weather phenomenon when three systems (elements) converge to
create devastating environmental consequences. In the case of a STO Event, the three
elements that come together to create havoc are: Scope Growth, Discovery Work and Rework.
Pf (Performance Factor): A measure of Earned-value vs. Planned-value against Actual-value
with PF assigned.
PF (Productivity Factor): A factor applied to a benchmark estimate on an Activity (Step in the
Step-out-Plan) during scheduling to account for Non-productive Time for Direct Workers.
Phases: The stages of planning and executing a STO Event; e.g., Strategic Planning Phase,
Scheduling Phase, Pre-work Phase, Shutdown Phase, Open Phase, Inspection Phase, etc.
pitSTOps: pitSTOps are short, intense stoppages scheduled on fixed production assets,
systems, units or plants to execute STO—Fixed Asset integrity Turnaround, process integrity
Shutdown and/or maintenance/project Outage—activities to help reduce the Scope of Work for
future Shutdowns and/or Turnarounds (part of the 5- 10- 20-year plan—Long Range
Production Plan).
Plan2Plan: The plan (also known as the Milestone Schedule) to prepare for the Execution
Phase of a STO Event (including Pre- and Post-work)
Planner: A title given to the person responsible for Planning, who might also do Estimating,
but not Scheduling. There is no such thing as a Planner/Scheduler in that you cannot be
certified or licenced like you can an Engineer; and it’s very difficult for a left-brained logical
person to perform a right-brained creative function like Scheduling.
EJ Lister
Planning Budget: After the Initial Budget is approved, the Planning Budget takes over until
the Control Budget is established and frozen, just prior to Feed-out. The Planning Budget
considers any Late Work or Cancelled Work and is refined as the Work Packages are
developed in detail, using more accurate LEMS and estimates.
Planning: A left-brain logical function required to create a Work Package and the associated
logical Activities (Step-out-Plan) necessary for work execution deliverables. Not to be confused
with Estimating.
Potential Work: Any Activity planned and estimated on a Work Package Step-out-Plan related
to potential Discovery Work; e.g., refractory repairs, plug tubes, additional cleaning, etc.
PPE: Personal Protective Equipment
Process Availability: The capacity to produce on-spec finished product from feedstock raw
materials over a pre-defined period. Also refers to the availability of a unit, system or fixed
Fixed Asset during a STO Event to execute work while the process is not producing; e.g., Flare
System is available from Day 5 to Day 14 of a Turnaround—making Process Availability 9
days before Process Operations requires the system back for Commissioning/Start-up.
Process Integrity: The condition inside Fixed Assets due to corrosion or fatigue and/or the
quality of feed or mediums required to produce on-spec product. Typically related to cleaning
and catalyst change during STO Events. Shutdowns are for Process Integrity and might be
scheduled or unscheduled on assets, systems, trains, units or plants on the WBS (Work
Breakdown Structure) or FLOC (Functional Location) related to Systemization.
Production Stoppage: A scheduled or unscheduled Shutdown or Outage or an ESD
(Emergency Shutdown), each resulting in lost production (reduced Process Availability).
PSSR: Pre-safety Start-up Review—related to QA/QC and Operational Readiness, ensuring
Fixed Assets and Systems are Fit-for-Service and mechanically complete as per the Work
Package details, SOP’s and Start-up Plans.
Premise & Parameters: These are the STO Event’s Goals & Objectives in objective, factual
format; e.g., Schedule Shutdown for cleaning fouled Amine System—4 days at 17% production
reduction.
QA/QC: Quality Assurance/Quality Control (Owner is responsible for QA. Contractor is
responsible for QC).
Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Quantitative data is information about quantities; that is,
information that can be measured and written down with numbers (objective view). Qualitative
is more subjective (subject to a person’s point of view). EBSR requires Quantitative (objective)
data for the best results when establishing the approved Scope of Work.
RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program): A formal program for establishing and
maintaining Fixed Production Asset condition to ensure availability at the lowest risk/cost—
using various strategies and methods summarized on the RAMP Model (criticality, planning,
scheduling, defect elimination, and so on).
RAMP Model: An illustration of the RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) showing
the four elements of Reliability Management for Fixed Assets and/or Mobile Equipment with
support for direct and indirect resources to contribute to reliability and protection related to
Safety/Environment, Fixed Assets and Mobile Equipment, Infrastructure, Community,

Corporate Image, Overhead and Dollars).
RBI: Risk-based Inspection (see Front-end RBI).
RBSR: Risk-based Scope Review—to create the Approved Scope of Work and Scope-of-
Scope of Work—signaling the Initial Budget creation and STO Event Kick-off.
Readiness Assessment Program: A compressive checklist and review process carried out at
pre-defined stages to ensure compliance to the Plan2Plan. Conducted through a series of
interviews with Core Team Leads and reviews of documents, strategies, functional plans;
creating action items for non-compliance issues.
Replacement in Kind: Anytime Fixed Assets, components, materials or parts are replaced
with identical items and no MOC (Management of Change) is required.
Revenue vs. Profit: Revenue is generated by the sale of finished products. Profit is what’s left
after business overhead is paid. STOp-events (Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages, pitSTOps)
and a company’s 5- 10- 20-year plan (Long Range Production Plan) are high overhead events,
but with high potential for increasing profits if executed with the right Scope of Work and Scope
of Services, and by following the contents of this manual.
Rework: Work resulting from failed installations, lack of QA/QC which has a negative impact
on safety, reliability, budget and production stoppage duration.
RoI: Return on Investment.
Rotatable Fixed Assets: Fixed assets which have identical spares (2—with only the serial
number being difference) for the purpose of rotating through service, shop repair and in-stores
item, allowing for quick replacement in kind.
SaaS: Software as a Service (refers to software applications leased from web- and cloud-
based PaaS providers.
Safe Work Permit: A safe work permit is document that identifies the work to be done, the
hazard(s) involved, and the precautions to be taken. It ensures that all hazards and
precautions have been considered before work begins. Safe work permits should always be
used when work is performed by an outside agency or employer.
Scheduling: (a right-brain creative function) a method of prioritizing work and assigning
resources (direct and indirect workers, materials, equipment, time, information) to planned
activities to achieve the highest execution efficiency (wrench-time—with least amount of direct
and indirect resources), and effectiveness (longest-path, critical jobs), without compromising
safety or quality. Typically accomplished using scheduling software such as Primavera™ P6
and/or MS Project® by a dedicated person (Scheduler) assigned as a key player on the
Project Controls Team, supported by Execution Coordinators, Operations, Logistics and Safety
personnel.
Scope Freeze: see Cut-off Date.
Scope of Scope of Work: Refers to the details of the Scope of Work items with respect to
details of what needs to be done to refurbish the Fixed Asset; e.g., type of inspection, amount
of cleaning, number of tubes to clean, etc.
EJ Lister
Scope of Services: Refers to the indirect support required by specialty vendors or contractors
where there are no measurable deliverables other than terms & conditions.
Scope of Work: Refers to the direct work to be executed by a vendor or contractor where
measurable deliverables are well defined in the contract and its terms & conditions.
Scope Type Codes: Codes used to control Scope of Work and Budget by phase; e.g.,
Budgeted Work (Approved Work), Late Work, Extra Work, Potential Work, Discovery Work.
Semi-quantitative: Tests are ones that yield a result such as "less than 5", "between 5 and
20" or "greater than 20". Semi-quantitative tests are considered insensitive, and as a result,
they are very specific and not subject to many false negatives or false positives.
Shutdowns: Scheduled or unscheduled events at any WBS level to establish Process
Integrity.
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure (based on Best-practices).
SPI: Schedule Performance Index (used to measure adherence or variance of a Baseline
Project Plan).
Standing Work Orders: Work orders created for annual indirect work or any direct work that
can be performed in under 2 hours without materials or services. Also used for non-productive
time such as meetings, vacation, wash-up, safety/permit waiting time, travel, etc.
Steering Committee: A team of managers who represent various business units and
departments established to provide oversight of each STO Event as required. The STO Event
Manager reports to the Steering Committee. In some cases, the Core Team Leads
(department heads) will assume the roll of the Steering Committee. If this is the case, they
report to the STO Event Manager and the STO Event Manager reports to the GM (General
Manager) or Plant Manager.
Step-out Plan: A list of planned and estimated Activities in a Work Package which breaks
down a Work Order Task into logical and manageable steps, which are then scheduled,
executed and updated to measure SPI and CPI.
STO: Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages
STOp Events: Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages, pitSTOps
Strategic Planning Phase: Following the Asset Management Phase of each event (at Kick-
off) the Strategic Planning Phase begins with the Plan2Plan, assigning tasks to the Core Team
Leads in preparation for the Execution Phase. The primary goal is to establish key strategies
and functional plans to support the event; e.g., Inspection Strategy, Communication Plan,
Execution Strategy, Contracting Strategy, etc.
SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats – a method of mitigating risks,
managing weaknesses and taking advantage of strengths and opportunities to enhance STO
Event performance.
Systemization: Setting limits on utility, ancillary and process systems or sub-systems where
isolation (LOTO) is required to make it safe for scheduled work to be executed. Might be based
on WBS (Work Breakdown Structure) or FLOC (Functional Location) or both.
T&M: Time & Materials—a Contract Type where a Contractor will invoice the Owner for the
Direct Worker time
T-minus: Working back from a future date, in this case, from the Feed-out date of a STO
Event in order to prepare for the Execution Phase.
Total Float: The calculation of available time which activities can be delayed at the start or
finish without turning critical (by hitting a Milestone and creating negative variance). Compared
to Critical-path, Longest-path activities are not typically critical, risky or complex.
Turnarounds: Scheduled regulatory compliance events at Facility, Plant, Train or Unit to
establish Asset Integrity.
War Room: Where the STO Project Controls Team strategies and drives the STO Event with
DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology) using night shift sessions to produce the next Daily
Shift Schedule (see War Room Session topic for more information).
WBS: Work Breakdown Structure.
Wish-list: Prior to each STOp-event (approximately 2 – 4 months pre-Kick-off milestone date)
a list of work is submitted by each department (Process Operations, Maintenance, Reliability,
Inspection, Safety/Environment, Engineering, etc.) for consideration, which is then fed into the
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) process along with work identified and/or deferred from the
Closure Phase of the previous STOp-events.
Work Order: An approved (for expenditure) Work Request, allowing planning, scheduling,
execution and follow-up to occur for services (might be tied to a Purchase Order or Service
order).
Work Package: Contents by various sources (Contributors—Core Team Leads, Vendors,
Planners, Coordinators, etc.) assembled to support Work Order Step-out-Plans (detailed
planning of Activities and Logic imported into the scheduling software). Contents are meant to
enhance Worker Safety, Job Quality and Wrench-time Efficiency; e.g., specification, drawings,
photos, instructions, materials, tools, SOP’s, etc. (see Work Package Development)
Work Request: A formal request (typically through CMMS) for a potential expenditure—to
assign resources or procure services—for potential work to be performed for corrective action
or cost/benefit investment. To be turned into a Work Order, Purchase Order or Service Order.
Worklist: List of jobs compiled by various stakeholders (Work Orders, Work Request, Excel
lists, or other) in preparation for RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) and Scope Freeze.
Workscope Cut-off Date (Scope & Budget Freeze): A date, typically T-minus 9 months to 1
year prior to Feed-out when Budgeted Scope of Work and Initial Budget are established.
Wrench-time: Also know as: Tool-time. The percentage of time that Direct Workers are
earning percent complete on planned and scheduled activities each shift or day. Typically
tracked at the Work Order/Work Package Task level. Earned-value % is recorded each shift on
the Daily Shift Report by Owner’s Execution Coordinators while Actual-value $ is reported by
Contractor’s Supervisors on timesheets. The calculation for Wrench-time can then be
established with this formula: Earned-value hours/Actual-value hours.
EJ Lister
STO Navigator Inc., Canada
Stakeholder Strategic Workshop Facilitation

Stakeholder Strategic Workshops are vital to the indirect support of direct workers. We
facilitate these workshops using lessons-learned and best-practices to establish the best
method of meeting or exceeding key performance deliverables: Zero Incidence, Zero Re-work,
65% Wrench-time Efficiency for the Shortest Duration Production STOppage at the Lowest
Risk/Cost.
DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology)
Providing Primavera™ P6 and MS Project Schedulers who employ DSM (Dynamic Scheduling
Methodology)—ensuring you drive your STO project to manage changing conditions and
deliver on your KPI Targets.
Pro Bono Work
We’re happy to assist any Organization with no-charge training or services on a short-term
basis; especially interested in assisting with community-related orientation and training.
Contact me: ejlister@stonavigator.ca for more information.
Best-Practice: High-performance Organizations take advantage of Subject Matter

Experts and World-class Training. There is always something to learn through the
transfer of knowledge from SMEs. Consider the investment vs. the return when you’re
looking to establish Operational Excellence.
STO Readiness Assessments & RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review)

We offer T-60 and T-30 Readiness Assessments with performance-based fees (a percentage
of your savings—safety, quality, cost and/or production—if our recommendations are
implemented). If you’d like to perform your own Readiness Assessment, please download our
Readiness Assessment Tool to assist you.
Oracle Primavera™ P6 Training & Support
We specialize in Primavera™ P6 training and support for Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages.
Training
We offer both in-house and public training related to Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages &
pitSTOps: Theory and DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology) with Primavera™ P6.
Advertisement (click here to register or visit www.stonavigator.ca/events-3)
EJ Lister
Key 1 – Fixed Asset Management for STO
1 – Fixed Asset Management “Scope-of-work determines the future reliability and

profitability of a facility’s day-to-day operation.”
Both fixed and mobile assets (direct production equipment and indirect
mobile equipment—vac trucks, cranes, shovels, etc.) in the manufacturing
of minerals and hydrocarbons—including power generation—require
periodic maintenance, inspection, repair/replace and upgrades to ensure
they are available when/as required, and reliable during their in-service-
schedule, from commissioning (cradle) to decommissioning (grave).
To ensure these assets contribute to a safe and reliable operation, and to

maintain the desired process-availability-throughput of raw material
feedstock to finished on-spec product at the lowest risk/cost, it’s necessary
to make prudent decisions about when to maintain, how to maintain, when
to inspect and repair/replace; or when to modify, and to which budget the
expenditure will be costed and which account will receive depreciation.
This #1 Key (Fixed Asset Management) as it pertains to STO Events should

be considered the effective part of the manufacturing and process
business, where the Scope of Work is established from various
requirements: Safety/Environment, Routine Maintenance, Inspection
Compliance, Reliability, Process and Capital Projects. And to be effective, a
method of determining what to work on needs to be implemented based on
a RAMP Model and RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review).
Key Lessons
Business Needs: 5- 10- 20-year plan (Process Optimization)

Fixed Asset Management for STO
RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) & RAMP Model
The Closure Phase Advantage
RBSR (Risked-based Scope Review)
Worklist Cut-off & Initial Budget Freeze
Budget Control (Establish an Initial Budget)
Workscope/Budget Calculator
Kick-off Meeting with STO Event Steering Committee
Steps (Key Milestones) to Implementing Fixed Asset Management for STO

If you consider a STO Event as a journey, one you need to carefully navigate from a defined
starting point, you might think of Fixed Asset Management for STO as the beginning—as in T-
minus 12- 18- or 24-months from Feed-out, for example. Which makes sense given that each
STO Event is a project of sorts and needs to start somewhere, right?
You’re not wrong thinking that each STO Event is a project; it’s just that STO Events are an
integral part of a sustainable operation and therefore do not have a beginning or an end, at
least not as long as the operation is producing—until it’s been decommissioned.
To explain, let’s consider the business needs—something we’ll discuss in more detail along
with the methodology process of a STO Event in the following Key chapter—to better
understand the cyclical nature of scheduled events required to maintain a safe and reliable
operation: they’re continuous, which means the end of one event is the beginning of another,
even if they’re years apart—so the close of one event, is the opening of another; so to speak.
The journey never really ends, as it were; so when we think about a methodology process for a
STO Event, we think in terms of Phases (Opening, or in this case, Fixed Asset Management
for STO; Strategic Planning; Detailed Planning; Execution; and Closure). And contrary to what
some might believe, it’s during the Closure Phase where we begin the next journey with Fixed
Asset Management for STO by identifying much of the next event’s Scope of Work (and Scope
of Scope of Work) and lessons-learned regardless of when the next Shutdown, Turnaround,
Outage, pitSTOp or Opportunity Stoppage (unscheduled production loss) occurs.
TRIX: Use your EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) and CMMS (Computerized
Maintenance Management System) to categorize Fixed Assets by STO (Shutdown,
Turnaround, Outage – Process Integrity, Asset Integrity, Maintenance). This will assist
with Scope of Work definition and Budget control during RBSR.
As previously mentioned, Fixed Asset Management for STO is the effective nature of process
safety and reliability business needs—the ‘what?’, as opposed to the subsequent phases in the
STO Methodology, such as Strategic Planning and the Detailed Planning which establish the
efficient nature of a STO Event—the ‘how?’. It’s from here we begin the journey with sufficient
direction to establish a vision (KPIs – Key Performance Indicators and Goals & Objectives)
within the STO Methodology Process and its Key Milestones.
EJ Lister
Key Milestone Events from Operational Readiness to On-spec Production

Key milestone events (see STO Methodology and Plan2Plan for more details) are what each
STO Event requires in order to prepare for the lowest cost/shortest duration production
stoppage; however, before any initial STO Event can be scheduled (Opened) a RAMP
(Reliability Asset Management Program) for Fixed Asset Management for STO must be
implemented—this is established during the construction and commissioning phase of new
(greenfield) plants/facilities or unit expansions—both through Operational Readiness—with
others scheduled as part of the 5- 10- 20-year long range production plan for STOp-event
optimization. Let’s begin now with the Steps (Key Milestones) to opening your next STO Event,
with consideration to Fixed Asset Management for STO:
Download: STO Readiness Assessment Tool:

https://stonavigator.ca/download/readiness-tool/
Step 1: (Opening a STO Event as part of the 5- 10- 20-year production plan) From the
Closure Phase—more on the Closure Phase and Lessons-leaned are available in Key
7: Lessons-learned—of previous STOp-events (Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages,
pitSTOps) any and all Scope of Work and Scope of Scope of Work identified or
deferred at the end of each event should now be prepared along with the ‘Wish-list’ for
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) for the up-coming event (T-minus 2 to 4 months
pre-Kick-off depending on the complexity of the next STOp-event – see Plan2Plan for
more information on T-minus and complexity).
Step 2: (Preparing to open a STO Event for the first time) Support the Business Needs
with a 5- 10- 20-year production plan (Process Optimization) to establish a realistic
sustainable target for Process Availability; e.g., 98.8% over 20 years. The purpose of
this plan is to identify which Plants, Units, Trains, Systems or Fixed Assets require
Shutdowns (process integrity), Turnarounds (Fixed Asset integrity) or Outages
(mechanical integrity) and, if possible, identify opportunities for pitSTOps to reduce the
amount of work to be executed on scheduled STO Events without compromising
process safety or reliability/throughput.
a. Establish an Asset Management Team and a RAMP (Reliability Asset Management
Program) supported by the RAMP Model as an initiative to determine Fixed Asset
category/criticality and perform FMEA to establish Maintenance/Reliability
Strategies, which in turn will support the 5- 10- 20-year production plan (this will
also support the 52-week Routine Maintenance Plan).
b. Establish a Fixed Asset Management and Production Team initiative to create

Process Availability forecasts based on RAMP, market, term crude contracts,
feedstock availability, commodity prices, shareholder confidence, competition,
expansion/acquisitions, global economy and geopolitical and HpO/HrO vision.
c. Include pitSTOps to reduce the Scope of Work associated with Shutdowns and
Turnarounds—with optional Outage work.
Note: Step 2 need only be done once if it hasn’t already been done as part of a RAMP
initiative during construction and commissioning of the facility, or as part of a RAMP initiative
after start-up. The goal here is to know which Fixed Assets and Systems require STOp-events
over the next twenty years (or whichever long-range plan the Operator decides to establish).
YouTube Video: STO300 Training—defining Shutdowns, Turnarounds & Outages:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef70vLU5XVs&t=154s
Key Milestones: Initiating subsequent STO Events:

a. Assign an Event Manager (most likely appointed by Steering Committee, General
Manager or Asset Management Team) who might also be supported by an Event
Coordinator.
b. Create a STO Event in STOworx® or in any program you use to plan, manage and
control your events (this could be as simple as an Excel spreadsheet or an MS
Project file; however, keep in mind that a web- and cloud-based platform (Industrial
Digitalization) is the future in Enterprise Asset Management and STOp-events.
c. Establish STO Event Premise & Parameters.
d. Establish written STO Event Goals & Objectives with supporting KPIs (Key
Performance Indicators) and KPI Targets.
e. Establish Feed-out Date and work backward from this date as T-minus (?) for the
Kick-off Meeting (aka Cut-off Date or Scope Freeze Date).
f. Set the Kick-off Meeting date based on STO complexity and the Plan2Plan
(Milestone Schedule) dates; e.g., Major Turnaround Event T-minus 18 months;
Significant Shutdown Event T-minus 12 months; System Outage Event T-minus 9
months, and so on.
g. Set the RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Date for Worklist screening to establish
the Scope of Work and Initial Budget (suggest 4 weeks prior to Kick-off).
h. Compile Scope of Work and Scope of Scope of Work from previous STOp-events
identified during the Closure Phase of previous events.
EJ Lister
i. Establish the Wish-list timeframe to accumulate a list of work (Worklist) from all
stakeholders (Process Operations, Engineering, Reliability, Maintenance,
Inspection, HSE, Capital Projects) in a standard format (Work Request/Work Order,
spreadsheet, STOworx®) in preparation for RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review).
TIP: Compile a wish-list of potential work from each stakeholder on a common
application with standard fields of information; e.g., Category, Equipment ID (Fixed
Asset Tag), Location, Task Description (Short Text), Reason/Justification Code, Risk or
Cost Benefit.
Step 3: RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) and EBSR (Evidence-based Scope

Review):
a. Populate your RBSR Tool (if you don’t have one, you can download my version)
with the data and information from each Worklist—assuming there are multiple
Worklists (Wish-lists, Work Request/Work Orders, RBI data)—in order to
performance risk/cost benefit analysis in the RBSR Tool.
b. Schedule RBSR workshops with key stakeholders (Inspection, Reliability,
Maintenance, Process Operations, Safety/Environment, Industrial Hygiene,
Engineering.
c. Choose a facilitator for each workshop, limiting attendance to only those who can
add value, and keep the workshop session less than 4 hours (schedule additional
workshop sessions if required). Note: Ensure attendees are given sufficient time to
prepare for each workshop session; they’ll need to bring historical information,
specification, strategies, etc. to support the decision-making process.
Step 4: Hold the Kick-off Meeting with the Steering Committee and/or Core Team.
a. Review the Approved Worklist.
b. Review STO Event Premise & Parameters
c. Review STO Event KPI (Key Performance Targets)
d. Establish STO Event OBS (Organizational Breakdown Structure)
e. Assign accountability and responsibility to Plan2Plan (Milestone Schedule) Tasks &
Activities.
f. Review Meeting & Communication Plan for STO Mission Control to establish
weekly or bi-weekly Steering Committee and/or Core Team (Mission Control)
Plan2Plan meeting time, attendance, agenda and deliverables.
Note: Each of these steps above will be discuss in further detail throughout this manual.
Business Needs: 5- 10- 20-year production plan (Process Optimization)

As previously mentioned, business needs in the manufacturing of hydrocarbons, minerals or
energy require, over the life of a facility/operation, that its Owners consider (and calculate) the
periodic production stoppages required to re-establish process safety/integrity & Fixed Asset
integrity, including potential debottlenecking or capital expansion projects. This process is
related to the objective, quantitative throughput targets and subjective, qualitative forecasts for
commodity prices and market supply and demand.
The primary goal is to maximize production-throughput while minimizing risk/cost using long-
range strategic planning and production forecasting. The secondary goal is to minimize the
amount of work to be executed during each STO Event using strategies such as pitSTOps,
and deferment of work from a Turnaround, for example, to a Shutdown or Outage, and vice
versa; basically, smoothing out the amount of work to be performed over a 5- or 10-year
period, or production period, rather than having large amounts of work to be executed during a
specific Turnaround. Other options include using EBSR (Evidence-based Scope Review –
Quantitative) and/or the documented Scope of Work and Scope of Scope of Work identified or
deferred from previous STOp-events.
Best-Practice: Establish a culture of high-performance with business needs in mind,

creating your vision, mission and value statements in alignment with safe, reliable and
lean manufacturing. For more information on HpO (High-performance Organization)
visit: http://www.leadmanagedig.com
Customers & Shareholders
Meeting customer demands and shareholder expectations is vital to the sustainability of an

operation. Furthermore, understanding how STO Events impact (positively or negatively) the
ability to satisfy customers and shareholders is critical, while doing everything to mitigate risk
and increase profitability. Since STO Events are necessary, risky, complex and expensive, it’s
important to not lose focus on the important business needs surrounding STO Events. This is
the theme of this manual, and the thread of information and materials woven into it, from
beginning to end. Be sure to consider how everything we do in the processing and
manufacturing of hydrocarbons, minerals and energy relates to customers and shareholders.
TIP: Sharing business needs related to STO Events with customers and
shareholders in forecast format, in conjunction with press-releases, increases
awareness and confidence. The corporate website and newsletters are a good
way communicate this.
EJ Lister
5- 10- 20-Year Plan aka Long-range Production Plan
Process Safety, Reliability, Profitability & Sustainability

In any manufacturing or processing business—in fact, in any business—the focus must be on
protection, using risk/cost benefit analysis for practically every aspect of the business to
ensure process safety, reliability, profitability and sustainability. Process safety includes the
protection of life (Occupational Health & Safety of workers and community), environment and
fixed & mobile assets; reliability includes fixed & mobile assets, feedstock and product
handling; profitability and sustainability refer to the ratio of direct vs. indirect costs, share price
outlook and P/E ratio of the Company. When it comes to reliability of Fixed Assets, the best
option is to implement a RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program).
Companies that compromise on reliability investments to save money have no idea

that they can save more money by focusing on efficiency than they ever will by
cutting back on effectiveness. Contact me to discuss: ejlister@stonavigator.ca
1
RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program)
An HpO (High-performance Organization) understands how reliability in the manufacturing
industry relates to process safety and business profits. In other words, they realize how
important it is to maintain Fixed Assets in order to maximize on-spec production throughput at
the lowest risk/cost.
“Fixed Asset management: “the optimal life cycle management of production assets
to sustainably achieve the stated business objectives.”
The central (primary) element of reliability is the RAMP (Reliability Asset Management
Program) and its supporting model (see RAMP Model for more information). RAMP is the
focus of this key: Fixed Asset Management for STO Events to optimize production
performance through reliability Fixed Asset management processes, practices, people, and
tools (methodology - people - technology).
Contrary to what many believe is a Maintenance function, STO Events are all about reliability;
which, as earlier discussed, is defined as protection (a mission)—protection of people &
environment (community), protection of employees & contractors; protection of fixed assets &
mobile equipment, facilities, cash flow revenue & profits; protection of corporate image &
shareholder confidence. So, you can quite easily see, by its very nature, that reliability is the
KEY: an effective initiative which takes advantage of STO Events to deliver maximum
protection for a facility’s ability to deliver on its stated Vision & Mission.
Best-Practice: Establish a RAMP Team consisting of Leads from Process Operations,

Maintenance, Reliability/Inspection, Engineering and Process Safety Departments to
establish the Fixed Asset Register, perform FMEA, establish Criticality and
Maintenance Plans & Asset Management Strategies; furthermore, allow them to all
share in the decision-making process for Work Request/Work Order expenditures
based on risk/cost benefit analysis on a day-to-day basis for Routine Maintenance,
with the option to assign to STOp-events as required.
RAMP is a comprehensive approach to managing Fixed & Mobile Assets for maximum
sustainable reliability at the lowest risk/cost. The prize for an effective RAMP is Operational
Reliability that not only relies on Fixed & Mobile Asset Reliability/Maintainability, but also on
1RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) draws on my years of international industry experience working
with various Organizations, Consultants, Specialists, Employers, Cohorts and Associates on STO Events & EPC
projects; all of whom deserve recognition for the content herein, all of which is an interpretation of their
contribution without infringing on copyrights or proprietary information.
EJ Lister
Process Availability and the capability of personnel to consistently perform their functions
effectively and efficiently (Human Reliability).
Institutionalizing a RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) ensures a Company can

meet or exceed its reliability targets specific to Fixed & Mobile Asset condition and their
contribution to profitability as an effective business objective while ensuring resources are
used efficiently, adding that much more value to profitability. RAMP is illustrated on The RAMP
Model further on in this section; however, to understand RAMP in more detail, let’s look at
each of its fundamental sections: Project Management, Asset Management, Work
Management and Resource Management, which are all interrelated around five
interdependent elements combined to make the RAMP effective:
Design and Construction Process

Asset Maintenance Strategy Selection Process
Operate and Maintain Processes
Defect Elimination Process
Optimization Strategy Process
The following bullet points describe each of the five key elements which contribute to the
effectiveness of the RAMP:
Design and Construction
The reliability of a Fixed Asset is often pre-determined by the decisions made in the design
and construction phase.
 The Design Review utilizes Life-cycle Costing to optimize the project without
compromising its intended purpose; i.e. meet the business needs and process
availability while ensuring Fixed Asset reliability.
 Reliability is integrated into the design through the processes of reliability modelling,
reliability review, and FMEA (Failure Modes & Effect Analysis). Such things as: Fixed
Asset target run-life, desired process unit or Fixed Asset uptimes, expected unit STO
Event intervals, Fixed Asset criticality and RBI must be well defined, and the design
developed to meet the overall long-term process unit and plant throughput goals (5- 10
-20-year production plan).
 By considering what Asset Maintenance Strategy is required, designers have the
option of modifying the design of the Process to reduce Fixed Asset criticality.
Reducing the criticality will impact the Maintenance Strategy required (Maintainability
Analysis).
 Procurement secures the materials and Fixed Assets for construction in the most cost-
effective manner while not sacrificing specifications, material integrity, or life-cycle cost
considerations.
 To minimize failures, reliability concepts must be incorporated into construction
practices or standards; e.g. maximum Fixed Asset vibration levels, piping to equipment
alignment tolerances, vessel/exchanger stud torqueing, rotating equipment alignment
criteria, sheaves alignment and belt tightness criteria, grouting practices, pipe stress
standards, and so on.
 Specify what Fixed Asset commissioning tasks must be performed prior to operational
service; e.g. flushing piping, installing start-up screens, solo-run equipment, refractory
curing, proper equipment labelling, and so on.
 Develop specific Fixed Asset start-up/shutdown procedures and ensure adequate and
effective training is provided.
Asset Maintenance Strategy Selection Process
This process involves understanding how and why a Fixed Asset fails to perform as
specified and determining which proactive Fixed Asset reliability strategies will cost-
effectively detect, reduce, or eliminate the probability and consequence of failure.
 Criticality Analysis is conducted to identify and rank Fixed Assets which are critical to
the business needs and to ensure the optimum level of operating standards and
maintenance are conducted for the highest return on investment. Ranking each Fixed
Asset into one of three Criticality Levels is the first step in defining the Asset
Maintenance Strategy. Asset Criticality Ranking (FMEA) explains the method used to
determine the level of criticality for each Fixed Asset. Criticality is defined by ranking
the consequence of failure for four main factors (Process Safety, Environment,
Production Loss and Cost) against the probability of failure during a specified time
interval).
 The criticality ranking assigned to each Fixed Asset is also used during the Work
Request Validation Process as a guide when defining Work Order Priority.
Best-Practice: Fixed Asset Management Strategies must be established during the
Operational Readiness Phase of an EPC (greenfield or brownfield) project in time for
Commissioning & Start-up. In preparation (readiness) for a STO Event, RAMP is to be
used to confirm Fixed Asset Management Strategies are sufficient for the work to be
performed to re-establish Reliability & Availability.
EJ Lister
 The Asset Maintenance Strategy applied to static assets (Stationary Fixed Assets; e.g.,
piping, vessels, tanks, exchangers, towers, drums, etc.) is called Risk Based
Inspection (RBI). Conducting RBI evaluates the condition of the pressure boundary for
each Fixed Asset and recommends the inspection and maintenance levels required to
ensure mechanical integrity. The RBI program analysis considers the following type of
factors to develop risk-based inspection plans and inspection intervals: code of
construction, process operating conditions, corrosive/erosive elements and
concentrations, deterioration mechanism(s), years in service, original thickness,
corrosion/erosion rates, and historical inspection frequency and results. Based on
these factors, the consequence and probability of failure is calculated to determine the
total risk. Based on analyzing the degree of risk associated with the Fixed Asset, an
Asset Maintenance Strategy and the required level of inspection and inspection
frequencies are determined for the Fixed Asset. The level of inspection and
maintenance activities may require the Fixed Asset to be removed from operational
service (STO Event). The information is then used to determine the 5- 10- 20-year
long-range production plans.
Download: Top 5 Risks Encountered in STO Events:
https://stonavigator.ca/download/top-5-risks/
 The Asset Maintenance Strategy applied to dynamic assets is called the Equipment
Strategy Analysis Process (ESP). Conducting an effective analysis requires applying
traditional Reliability Centered Maintenance concepts including identifying functional
definitions for equipment, functional failures, failure modes and causes and the
expected functional life (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis – FMEA).
 For each function, FMEA involves examining the ways that the Fixed Asset can fail to
deliver its expected functions for the business, and then develop methods to predict,
reduce or eliminate these failures. For example, the expected functions of most pumps
are to deliver a defined quantity of liquid at the pump's discharge within established
pressure limits, and to do so without leaking any of the pumped liquid into the
environment. If the pump does not meet any of these functions, a functional failure
occurs. Once the functions are established, the ways that failures of these functions
can occur are listed. Some ways that a pump can fail would be a leaking seal, internal
wear of components, lack of lubrication of moving surfaces, etc.
 After the RBI and FMEA analysis have been completed, the Fixed Asset is assigned a
criticality ranking, and based on the criticality assigned, a Maintenance Strategy is
selected which will predict, reduce, eliminate or accept failures.
 There are numerous strategies that must be considered:
Maintenance Strategy On-Stream: This strategy involves performing specific activities,

which will assist in achieving optimum Fixed Asset life. These activities, designed to
mitigate the identified failure modes identified in the RBI and ESP analysis include
Preventive Maintenance (PM), Predictive Maintenance (PdM), Corrective Maintenance
(UCM/SCM) and in some cases, Plant Change (PC).
For “A” critical assets, conducting RBI/FMEA will dictate which strategies and plans are
used to establish the Planned Maintenance Program for the Fixed Asset. For other
levels of criticality, the strategies and plans are established based on the
manufacturer’s recommendations and regulatory requirements.
Note: Procedures and practices to ensure the workforce performs these activities
efficiently must also be developed
STO Event Strategy Off-Stream: The Asset Maintenance Strategy and Risk Based
Inspection Program (RBI) and other programs such as Risk/Cost Benefit Analysis and
STO Event Interval Optimization are used to establish the optimum schedules for
conducting production stoppages or reduction intervals for individual assets and STO
Events without compromising mechanical integrity or safety. The schedules are then
used to establish the Reliability Asset Management Program (RAMP) and Long-Range
Asset Management Budgets for the Facility.
TIP: Print the RAMP Model on poster-sized paper and laminate it for distribution to
all departments and stakeholders; it forms the basis of a High-performance
Organization whose focus is on safe, reliable and lean manufacturing.
Spare Parts Strategy: The Spare Parts Strategy is used to define the stock levels for
Fixed Asset spare parts and is based on Fixed Asset criticality, standardization,
interchangeability, days to deliver parts, carrying costs, max/min quantities, etc. The
strategy must consider future Fixed Asset degradation factors that are identified in the
Long-Range Risk Based Inspection Program (RBI) and the Equipment Strategy
Analysis Process (ESP). Critical components and materials that are difficult to procure
must be considered when deciding the spare part stocking levels. Unique stock codes
are assigned to the components and documented in the Fixed Asset’s Bill of Materials
filed in the CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System). The CMMS is
then used to determine interchangeability across the various components before
maximum (max) and minimum (min) stock levels are established. The CMMS Material
EJ Lister
Management Module continuously monitors the component usage and the stocking
levels are adjusted (at least annually) based on the component turnover rates.
Training Strategy: The training strategy must be effective for operations, maintenance,
and technical personnel to enable certification and qualification of individuals. The
training strategy defines the training and orientation programs required for specific and
general repair procedures and the application of preventive/predictive maintenance
techniques. The maintenance personnel should be trained in specific functionality and
failure modes for the “A” critical assets. For “B & C” critical assets, the training is based
on generic maintenance procedures and techniques. Operator training must focus on
the normal Process Unit and individual Fixed Asset design and operating parameters
with emphasis on the specific upper/lower operating limits and the start-up/shutdown
procedures.
Operational Strategies: For “A & B” critical assets, specific equipment operating

parameters with specific upper/lower limits must be established. Instrumentation is
typically installed to control/monitor, alarm and shutdown the assets when the
operating parameters are exceeded. Specific start-up/shutdown and operating
procedures must be developed for these assets. For “C” critical assets, general
operating procedures are utilized.
Best-Practice: CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems), EAM

(Enterprise Asset Management Systems) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
platforms are only as good as the methodology and resources they support. No
amount of technology can make up for a lack of methodology and competent people;
therefore, ensure you have a well-defined, formal methodology and training/competent
people to perform the various Fixed Asset support roles before integrating and
institutionalizing technology. See digitalization for more information.
 Based on the Maintenance Strategy selected, a specific Planned Maintenance

Program (PMP) is established for each Fixed Asset item. These PMP’s are input into
the CMMS and other Asset Care Programs (e.g., Vibration Monitoring Program, Ultra-
pipe, etc.) to enable activities to be scheduled and executed through the Work Order
Management process. The CMMS will automatically schedule the planned
maintenance activities that are designated PM and PdM as part of the 52-Week
Planned Maintenance Schedule (Date/Cycle Time). The CMMS will automatically
schedule the planned maintenance activities that are designated SCM based on the
priority assigned to any Work Order associated with the Fixed Asset. Identified work
activities on Assets that are candidates for Plant Change are forwarded to the
Technical Department for consideration. Identified work activities on assets that require
a STO Event (or pitSTOp) are compiled on the Worklist for the next event. A Planned
Maintenance Program for Fixed Assets may also include many visual maintenance
inspection activities that are managed as part of daily or weekly routines controlled by
Standing Work Orders.
TIP: Create Child Work Orders for any additional work required to be scheduled as
a result of a schedule PMI (Preventive Maintenance Inspection). For example, if
the PMI is to inspect the drive belts and sheaves for fin-fan coolers, schedule
replacements or repairs should be tied to the PMI Work Order for future analysis—
to record the effectiveness of the PMI by its ability to predict and schedule future
replacements or repair prior to failure.
 It is important that any defects or abnormalities identified when executing maintenance

activities on Fixed Assets are reported as part of the Work Order Closure process. The
maintenance strategy for the Fixed Asset is updated as new performance data and
defect elimination findings are recorded during Work Order Closure and analyzed
during the Performance Analysis Phase.
 The criticality levels that are assigned to assets should be reviewed annually for “A”
Critical assets and every 2 years for “B & C” Critical assets. Business Process
Optimization changes such as adding a new field, new production rates, change
parameters, etc. that would operate the Fixed Asset outside of the normal target
operating window or a revised Fixed Asset strategy, should also trigger a Criticality
review.
TRIX: When using rotatable (3 Fixed Assets with the same Asset ID,
Model/Manufacturer No.) for the purpose of swapping-out the asset-in-service for a
spared (refurbished) asset from the warehouse; the swapped-out asset will go to
the workshop for refurbish; however, if you don’t change the Serial No. in the
CMMS/ERP you will end up tracking all history on one of the assets, which could
easily lead to misinformation on bad-actors. Be sure to change the Serial No. in
your CMMS/ERP to match the in-service asset—it won’t change itself.
Operate and Maintain Process

 The Criticality assigned to an individual Fixed Asset is used to determine an effective
Asset Maintenance Strategy that establishes the Planned Maintenance Program for the
Fixed Asset. Applying the same methodology to all the assets will establish the RAMP
EJ Lister
for the facility. The day-to-day operational requirements for the assets are
automatically influenced by the criticality and maintenance strategy determined for the
Fixed Asset in the Reliability Asset Management Program (RAMP). Operating
procedures are developed that ensure safe and reliable operation within the specific
equipment operating parameters for each Fixed Asset. STO Event schedules are
optimized to minimize production losses and maximize Fixed Asset
reliability/availability. There should be a continuous flow of information and data
between Operations, Technical and Maintenance (OTM) on Asset Performance Data.
This data assists in the daily decisions that are made by all three groups. The Work
Management Process for both Daily Maintenance and STO Events are designed to
efficiently manage maintenance activities to:
 Prioritize the work,
 Plan the work,
 Schedule the work,
 Execute the work and
 Document the results.
The Work Management Process is used in conjunction with other elements of the
Asset Management Process to promote Fixed Asset management based on proactive
practices that focus on Asset Reliability and Process Availability.
Best-Practice: Each Stakeholder Department must establish their business process
workflows, policies, procedures and guidelines which represent their stated mission.
This way, they can be held accountable to their customers’ requirements; e.g.,
Maintenance must promise (mission) to adhere to the Work Order Priority System in
order to deliver a level of service expected by Process Operations; that is to say,
Process Operations can hold Maintenance accountable for delivering their promised
level of service, and vice versa.
Defect Elimination
 Asset Reliability Performance Analysis is periodically conducted to measure and verify
production capacity; and ensure product quality and Fixed Asset performance is
consistent with the established goals and objectives for the Process Unit. The
elimination of defects improves the performance of assets that the analysis determined
are not meeting the established performance targets in terms of reliability, availability,
cost, life expectancy and/or safety and environmental performance. Defect Elimination
begins by conducting a review of current Fixed Asset performance during the
development of RAMP.
Optimization Strategies
 The Optimization Strategies influence the decisions that are made in three distinct
areas: Design and Construction, Asset Maintenance Strategy Analysis, and Operate-
and-Maintain Process.
The Optimization Strategy attempts to strike a balance between operating parameters

designed to maximize throughput and quality; and the RAMP designed for maximum
Asset Reliability and Process Availability
Various factors can affect the operational parameters and reliability/availability of a

given Fixed Asset and must be considered in the Optimization Strategy. These factors
include: which fields are developed for production, current market prices, performance
variables, throughput or rate limitations in the process units, Fixed Asset operating
constraints, long term/short term Fixed Asset corrosion/erosion rates, unstable
operating parameters, life expectancies based on the operating targets,
Download: RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) presentation for training

purposes: https://stonavigator.ca/download/ramp/
FMEA - Fixed Asset for STO Criticality & Classification

FMEA (Failure Modes & Effect Analysis)
Purpose of FMEA
 Failure Modes and effects Analysis provides a framework for analyzing potential
reliability problems early on in design.
 The FMEA framework is used to identify and prioritize possible points of failure,
determine their effect on the product’s operation, and identify action to reduce potential
failures.
Tips to make FMEA more Effective
Customize the rating scales

 While industry guidelines suggest customizing generic ranking scales, they do not
require it. However, by taking the time to add organization-specific examples of
applications of the ranking definitions, FMEA teams will have an easier time applying
the scales. The use of meaningful, relevant examples saves teams time and improves
consistency of rankings from team to team.
Use the same (custom) ranking scales throughout the Organization.
EJ Lister
 Once a custom set of ranking scales are developed, use them for every FMEA study
conducted in the Organization. By using the same scales, the RPN for every failure
mode and effect can be compared on a relative level and the highest potential risks for
the organization can identified.
Add a Control Plan right into the FMEA Worksheet
 Control Plans ensure a system is in place to control the risks of the same failure modes
identified in the FMEA. While Control Plans can be developed independently of
FMEAs, it is time- and cost-effective to link Control Plans directly to FMEAs. The
Control Plan describes how each potential failure mode will be controlled and how it
should be reacted to if it (the failure mode) does occur. To add a control plan
component to an FMEA, add “columns” to the FMEA Worksheet for the control factors,
the specifications and tolerances, the measurement system, sample size, sample
frequency, the control method, and the reaction plan.
Use a Team Approach
 A team will be able to generate a more comprehensive list of potential failures than any
one individual could do. A team approach will lead to a richer and more accurate
analysis of the risks associated with a process or design.
Download: FMEA Worksheet as an example for creating your own FMEA tools:
https://stonavigator.ca/download/fmea-worksheet/
Fixed Asset Classification
To keep with the reference to STO Events (Shutdowns – Process Integrity; Turnarounds –
Asset Integrity; Outages – Mechanical Integrity (Maintenance/Projects) I recommend
classifying production assets in the following example format:
Best-Practice: When scheduling STO Event Activities in your scheduling software—

MS Project® or Primavera™ P6, or example—be sure to create Activity Codes to
establish Fixed Asset Classification to help schedule according to your Execution
Strategy and to support DSM (Dynamic Scheduling Methodology) and DEM (Dynamic
Execution Management). Additional Activity Codes or UDF (User-defined Fields) can
be created for Work Type (Open, Clean, Inspect, Close, Replace, Repair, PSSR, etc.)
which will add that much more value to your STO Event.
Download: Primavera™ P6 for STO Training Manual ($24.95 USD):

https://stonavigator.ca/download/primavera/
Stationary
 Piping
 Pressure Vessels
 Exchangers
 Safety Valves
 Mechanical Valves
Rotating
 Compressors
 Pumps
Electrical/Instrumentation
 Control Valves
 Analyzers
 DCS/PLC
 Distribution
Criticality Analysis & Ranking
Purpose of Equipment Criticality Analysis (CA)

 The Equipment Criticality Analysis is used to identify:
a. Which equipment has the most serious potential consequences on business
performance, ‘if it fails’? The resulting Equipment Criticality Number is used to
prioritize resource performing maintenance work.
b. Identify what equipment is most likely to negatively impact business performance
because it both matters a lot when it fails, and it fails too often. The Resulting
Relative Risk Number is used to identify candidate assets for reliability
improvement.
The criticality analysis (CA), like FMEA, is performed concurrently as part of the system design
process. The CA begins as an integral part of the early design process and is updated as the
design evolves. The CA produces a relative measure of significance of the effect a failure
mode has on the successful operation and safety of the system.
The CA is completed after the local, next higher level and end effects of a failure have been
evaluated in the FMEA.
When the FMEA is combined with the CA, the analysis is called Failure Mode, Effects and
Criticality Analysis.
EJ Lister
The CA can be completed using either a qualitative or quantitative approach. The level of
availability of part configuration and failure rate data will determine the analysis approach to be
used. The qualitative approach is used when specific part or item failure rates are not
available. The quantitative approach is used when there is sufficient failure rate data available
to calculate item criticality numbers.
Criticality Analysis enables the stakeholders to better understand the Fixed Asset’s operating
characteristics before failure occurs and implement proactive Fixed Asset reliability strategies
to cost effectively eliminate the likelihood and consequence of failure. The ultimate purpose of
Fixed Asset criticality ranking is to maintain or improve Fixed Asset reliability and process
availability while reducing the cost of ownership in an environment where the only accepted
reason for the failure of a Fixed Asset is due to predictable wear-out.
TIP: FMEA is beneficial to conduct while designing a product or process; Design FMEA
should be done during initial design of the product; Process FMEA should be done
during design of manufacturing process; Process FMEA can be performed for legacy
products and processes, also; if the process carries high risks to product quality,
customer, safety, etc.
Criticality Ranking is used for determining the scope and frequency of maintenance work
activities that must be conducted on the Fixed Asset, as well as providing a guideline for
prioritizing the work activities that are required to maintain Fixed Asset integrity and availability.
Assets are ranked according to Criticality “A”, “B” or “C” by considering the consequences of
the various failure modes and the probability that each failure mode would occur.
“A” Criticality is assigned to assets with identified failure modes that will result in a severe loss
of Process Unit production and/or a major HSE condition. There must also be a significant
probability of the failure modes occurring repeatedly without warning. During normal
operations, ‘A” Critical Asset Maintenance Work Orders/Requests are assigned Priority Code 1
– “Critical” with the associated work management rules for immediate execution.
“B” Criticality is assigned to assets with identified failure modes that will result in a minor loss
of Process Unit production and/or a serious HSE condition. There must also be a reasonable
probability of the failure modes occurring occasionally without warning. During normal
operations, “B” Critical Asset Maintenance Work Orders/Work Requests are assigned Priority
Code 2 – “Urgent” with the associated work management rules for execution when scheduled
resources become available.
“C” Criticality is assigned to assets with identified failure modes that will result in no immediate
loss of Process Unit production and/or no serious HSE condition. During normal operations,
“C” Critical Asset Maintenance Work Orders/Requests are assigned Priority Code 3 – “Normal”
with the associated work management rules for execution and are scheduled as part of
backlog management.
Best-Practice: One of the simplest and most effective methods of Fixed Asset
(production equipment) reliability is to implement EBC (Equipment Basic Care), which
can be performed by anyone directly related to operating and maintaining the
production equipment. EBC is taking ownership in the production equipment and
observing, cleaning, touching, smelling and taking pride in ‘owning’ it as they would
their own vehicle. As crazy as it might sound, EBC can increase Fixed Asset (and
Mobile Asset) reliability significantly with very little cost.
YouTube Video: FEMA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef70vLU5XVs&t=154s
FMEA/Criticality Analysis Worksheet
Download: FMEA (Failure Modes & Effects Analysis) tool in Excel format from:
https://stonavigator.ca/download/fmea/
RAMP Model
The RAMP Model illustrates the RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) in a four-
phased process—from commissioning to day-to-day operation—with the intent of establishing
the highest process availability throughput by design & practice covering both the ‘effective’
EJ Lister
elements and the ‘efficient’ elements. Its core methodology is the Asset Management
Strategies. Its core technology is the Data Lake (EAM/ERP).
TIP: Print the RAMP Model on poster-sized paper and laminate it for distribution to
all departments and stakeholders; it forms the basis of a High-performance
Organization whose focus is on safe, reliable and lean manufacturing.
The RAMP Model forms the basis for measuring performance through KPI Dashboards related
to Fixed (and Mobile) Assets and Human Resources (both Direct Workers and Indirect
Overhead). Think of the flow of data (ones & zeros) as the energy that powers the KPI
Dashboards and information as the inputs & outputs. Refer to RAMP (Reliability Asset
Management Program) for more information on the RAMP Model Illustration.
Front-end RBI Planning
Two opportunities exist for reducing risk and optimizing STO Event Scope of Work: 1) consider
RBI (Risk-based Inspection) of newly installed Fixed Assets before they are commissioned;
e.g., pressure vessels, piping and tanks to establish a baseline for historical data, which can
be compared with on-going RBI data leading up to the first STO Event; and 2) use RBI during
FEL (Front-end Loading/Plan2Plan) prior to RBSR (for EBSR – Evidence-based Scope
Review).
Front-end RBI Planning for STO Events www.stoworx.com
RAMP Model Illustration
The Closure Phase Advantage

It’s worth noting, before detailed explanations on this topic are expressed in Key 7: Lessons-
learned, the advantage of the Closure Phase from previous STOp-events, where the condition
of Fixed Assets observed and documented during decommissioning, cleaning, inspection,
maintenance and repair and used to support EBSR (Evidence-based Scope Review –
Quantitative) and RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review – Qualitative).
The combination of Fixed Asset condition (before cleaning or inspecting, and after repairing)
along with lessons-learned compiled and documented during the Closure Phase will help to
establish as much as 80% of Turnaround (Asset Integrity & Compliance) Scope of Work and
Scope of Scope of Work, as well as strategies from lessons-learned for isolating, cleaning,
inspecting, and so on—valuable data and information which can be passed on to the STO
Event Team assigned to subsequent events. How this information is captured, recorded and
passed on is critical, which as I first noted, will be covered in greater detail in Key 7: Lessons-
learned.
EJ Lister
TIP: Use FMEA (Failure Modes & Effects Analysis) to establish Fixed Asset Criticality
and related Strategies (Maintenance, STO Event, Spares, SOP, Training—as per the
RAMP Model Asset Management Strategies).
STOworx® Work Order Interface
RBSR (Risked-based Scope Review)

Once all Wish-lists and Worklists (Job Lists) are available for review and approval (T-2 4-
weeks prior to Kick-off) it’s time to conduct a RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review). Using a
formal RBSR tool and methodology, the Asset Management Team will schedule and facilitate
workshop sessions with key individuals to consider risk/cost benefit of each Wish-list and
Worklist (Job List) items for approval, creating the STO Event Scope of Work and Scope of
Scope of Work. From this, the Initial Budget can be calculated, and Scope Freeze/Budget
Freeze can be aligned with the Kick-off Meeting and Plan2Plan (Milestone Schedule) roll-out.
Note: a standard risk matrix can be used for RBSR; however, the methodology for using a risk
matrix for STOp-events must support it.
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) will always be somewhat subjective, that is to

say, personalities will get in the way of decision-making, often due to the fact that
someone does not want to be responsible for deferring or canceling work. To make
decisions easier, try establishing EBSR (Evidence-based Scope Review).
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Timeline
RBSR (Risked-based Scope Review) Step-by-Step Procedure

The following steps are suggested in order to benefit from RBSR—to reduce the Scope of
Work and minimize the Control Budget for a STO Event—while providing confidence that the
Operation can produce as per design/spec in a safe and reliable manner for a pre-determined
run duration. Keep in mind however that this method can be (and should be) used on a day-to-
day basis by the AMT (Asset Management Team) to enhance process safety, reliability and
profitability of the Operation.
Step 1: Schedule RBSR Workshop Sessions (4 hours each) for the following stakeholders:
 Asset Integrity/Reliability/Technical Services

 Process Operations/Process Engineering
 HSE (Health, Safety, Environment)/Industrial Hygiene
 Engineering/Projects
 Mechanical Maintenance/Rotating Equipment
 Electrical/Instrumentation
Best-Practice: Establish a RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) process for day-to-day

screening of Work Requests from your CMMS (Computerized Maintenance
Management System) to ensure work is justifiable (mitigate risk or cost benefit), which
will also allow the ATM (Asset Management Team) to check for duplicates, assign
priority, assign category (STORM – Shutdown, Turnaround, Outage, Reliability,
Maintenance) and create a Work Order in preparation for planning, scheduling,
execution and follow-up.
EJ Lister
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool in Excel Format
Download: RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) tool in Excel format from:

https://stonavigator.ca/download/rbsr
The foundation of any good RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) is its methodology, supported
by a workflow process (flowchart) illustrating the activities to be followed, decisions to be
made, and solutions to be implemented. And like any good business process, it must be
supported by competent people and tools—preferably technology which allows for a
collaborative, transparent and secure environment; such as STOworx®.
In the following illustration (RBSR Flowchart), you can see that it contains a section related to
input, a section on content and decision-making, and a section related to the output. And along
the bottom are key milestones related to the 5- 10- 20-year plan for STO Events (pitSTOps can
also be included in this timeline).
TIP: Modify this flowchart, or create your own, and print it on poster-size paper to hang
in the location of your RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Workshop Sessions. Use it to
orientate attendees and to facilitate each Workshop Session.
The general idea of this flowchart is to create a roadmap, or process in which data can flow to
produce a desire product—an approved Scope of Work for the STO Event, in preparation for
Initial Budget and STO Event Kick-off.
RBSR Flowchart
RBSR Workshop Sessions Bullet Points

 Each RBSR Workshop Session should be no longer than 4 hours (scheduled follow-up
sessions as required).
 Each RBSR Workshop Session should be facilitated by the STO Event Manager,
Coordinator or delegate and supported by two members of the Project Controls Team (or
future Event Controls Team): Scheduler and Cost Controller—the reason for this is to
ensure the eventual Scope of Work is in alignment with any production targets and
financial goals of the business (more on this under Business Needs).
 Goals & Objectives
a. Screen each and every Wish-list/Worklist Item prior to approval to establish its
legitimacy to meet process safety, Fixed Asset integrity compliance (license to
operate), process integrity, mechanical integrity or improvements to reduce risk,
increase production at sustainable on-spec throughput and profitability for a pre-
determined run duration.
b. Establish an approved Scope of Work for the STO Event that meets the STO Event
Goals & Objectives and Business Needs.
EJ Lister
RBSR Workshop Session Agenda (Steps)

 Safety moment by volunteer
 Attendance (tracked on RBSR Workshop Session Sheet in RBSR Tool)
 Review RBSR Goals & Objectives
 Review STO Event Goals & Objectives
 Share on-screen information from the RBSR Tool: data filtered (grouped) and sorted by
Work Type, Equipment (Fixed Asset) Type, Plant, Unit, Discipline, and so on (as per the
Workshop Session stakeholders’ preference and content required; e.g., Asset Integrity or
HSE or E/I group, etc.)
 Review Job Planned (Scope of Scope of Work) and Justification (if not already filled out,
complete these requirements before moving on to the next step (see Screenshot a)
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review Tool Screenshot a)
 Facilitate the selection of RBSR/EBSR decision data: (see Screenshot b).

a. STO Category (Shutdown, Turnaround, Outage)
b. History (None, Data, Documents, Deferred, Due, Ops Baseline)
c. Can Isolate (Yes or No) – can the equipment (Fixed Asset) be safety isolated online
without disrupting production; e.g., using valves or switchgear
d. Criticality (A, B, C) – based on RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program)
e. Evidence (Hazop, MOC, RBI, N/A) – reference where quantitative data was acquired
f. Status (Equipment Operating Status – Spare, 100%, <80%, >100%)
 Facilitate the evaluation of risk by selecting Consequences and Probability of each item to
identify the risk ranking (see Screenshot c). Refer to the Risk Matrix for decision-making
(see Screenshot d).
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool Screenshot b)
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool Screenshot c)
TRIX: Have each stakeholder group pre-populate as much of the RBSR (Risk-based
Scope Review) as possible to save time during the RBSR Workshop Session; e.g.,
Decision Data.
EJ Lister
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool Screenshot c)
Download: Team Action Tracker in Excel format:

https://stonavigator.ca/download/team-action-item-tracker/
RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) Tool Screenshot e)
 Results will automatically calculate; however, you can still choose to make a decision
based on information available to support it; e.g., Deferred, Pre TA, Shutdown, etc.
 If ‘Deferred’, explain which STO Event (or pitSTOp) you will schedule this item for future
execution.
 Make notes as required.
 After all Wish-list and Worklist (Job List) have been screened through the RBSR
Workshop Session you can now extract the ‘Approved’ items as the STO Event Scope of
Work.
 Finally, assign each ‘Approved’ Worklist Item to the Planners in preparation for Work
Package Development.
Best-Practice: Plan all work, including Deferred Work, as early as possible in order to
procure materials and services, and to be ready for any Opportunity production
stoppages (unscheduled—as in the event of a crash-down of a Plant, Unit, System or
Fixed asset due to failure, power outage, fouling, etc.).
Budget Management & Control Process
The Budget Management & Control Process describes the process used to prepare your STO
Event budget. The funding (AFE - Approved for Expenditure, specific to CAPEX) for your STO
Event is requested and approved based on the Initial Budget. The Workscope Change
Management Process ensures that any new approved work items added to the Worklist are
estimated and prioritized relative to the existing Scope of Work. Worklist Items that make up
the Approved Scope of Work might have to be removed or deferred to maintain the Initial
(approved) Budget.
The Budget Management & Control Process begins with the preparation of a preliminary
budget based on the 5- 10-20-Year Production Plan and the information obtained from
previous STO Events, in particular, during the Closure Phase of the previous event. The
Budget is managed through all phases of the STO Management Process and is completed
with the final cost reconciliation during the Closure Phase.
TRIX: You will never know as much about the integrity of Fixed Assets as you will after
completing inspections and repairs; as much as 80% of Asset Integrity Work for
subsequent STO Events can be concluded during the Closure Phase. This is true also
for budget compliance as costs are reconciled within 30 days of the event—during the
Closure Phase.
Budget Phases
Each phase of your STO Event will require a different strategy to manage and control the
budget, from Initial Budget through to the Control Budget.
EJ Lister
Initial Budget Period (5- 10- 20-year cycle to STO Event Kick-off at Workscope Cut-off Date)
TIP: Planning your STO Event is not done without significant contribution by
stakeholders, and although many of those involved in developing the Scope of Work,
Strategic Plans, Detailed Work Packages, Procurement, Logistics, etc. are considered
OPEX overhead on a day-to-day basis, additional funding should be provided for
contract resources for planning, additional infrastructure, consumables, and so on.
Make a point of including a 10% per annum for each year on your 5- 10 -20-year
(Capital) budget where major STO events are being planned and executed.
The Scope of Work (Workscope) and the Initial Budget are established at the time of Kick-off,
following the RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) process for approving Wish-list and Worklist
Items from various stakeholders and functional areas, including the 80% of Asset Integrity
Work identified from the previous STO Event during the Closure Phase, and the on-going RBI
program. The Workscope Cut-off Date is fixed at this time, as well. This date is established far
enough in advance of the Execution Phase to allow for adequate planning, engineering and
procurement of materials and services; depending on complexity: Turnaround – T-minus 18
months; Shutdown – T-minus 12 months; Outages – T-minus 9 – 6 months, for example.
Best-Practice: Understanding Direct vs. Indirect Costs ratios prior to establishing the
Control Budget and commencing with the Execution Phase is vital to real-time cost
performance (CPI) of your STO Event. Therefore, when creating your budgets (Initial
Budget, Planning Budget and Control Budget) be sure to keep in mind how you intend
to measure Burn vs. Earn and CPI and expenditure commitments. And remember,
there are three ways to save money on a STO Event: a) minimize Scope of Work b)
Indirect Costs, and c) finish early!
Planning Budget Period (Workscope Cut-off Date to Pre-work Phase)
After the Cut-off Date, any added Worklist Items (Late Work) must follow the Workscope
Change Management Process. The budget during this period is defined as the Planning
Budget. The Planning Budget must include:
A detailed review of each Worklist item,

Determining the schedule impact of the critical work items which will establish the
duration of the outage and the estimated resource requirements for your STO Event,
A review of the historical benchmarked resource performance and schedule information
for each specific work item,
A detailed plan (Direct Worker Manhours, BOMs), and a cost estimate for each work
item—remember, indirect costs will be calculated using iCAT methodology.
The Planning Budget will fluctuate based on the detailed planning effort and/or Late Work,
sometimes undercutting the Initial Budget while other times surpassing the Initial Budget. In
the end, the Planning Budget will be your most accurate estimate of cost, just prior to Pre-work
Phase when contingency is added and the budget is frozen as the Control Budget.
Control Budget Period (Pre-work Phase to Feed-in)
During the Execution Phase, and until all costs are reconciled during the Closure Phase, the
“Control Budget” is managed using the Workscope Change Management Process. This
Control Budget is the final Working Budget that was approved for the Turnaround at Feed/Oil-
out. The Workscope Change Management Process includes a formal Request for Workscope
Change Report to prevent unauthorized Workscope growth and limit additional work to only
that requiring an equipment outage.
During the Execution Phase, the Audits and Corrective Action Plans are used to ensure
compliance with the approved budget and must focus on:
Preventing unauthorized charges to the Event Cost Centers

Ensuring the Work Package Planning is effective
Optimizing the resources on site
Maximizing the workforce performance
Ensuring safe and quality work is performed
Ensuring contractors are fulfilling their contractual terms and conditions.
Budget Categories follow STO
Shutdown Worklist Items: Process Integrity (cleaning, catalyst change-outs, etc.) This category
should also contain the Shutdown/Start-up Plan with supporting Pre-work requirements,
Blinding/Isolation, Tankages, Vac Trucks, etc.
Turnaround Worklist Items: Asset Integrity (Inspection, Technical, Engineering, Reliability, etc.)
This category is related mostly to stationary equipment: piping, pressure vessels, safety
valves, etc.)
Outage Worklist Items: Mechanical (Maintenance or Project) work that can only be completed
during an outage and is a repair, replace, revamp or new production item. Repair maintenance
is usually repetitive in nature and the justification is based on asset/process integrity,
operability and safety/environmental considerations; however, it is still an OPEX item and
should therefore be budgeted from the OPEX accounts and not added to the CAPEX or STO
Event Accounts.
EJ Lister
Capital Worklist Items: Any work activity determined to be an improvement or substantial

change that requires the capitalization of funds to satisfy accounting policies and procedures.
Plant Change Worklist Items: Any work activity to improve the asset that is not Capital Work
but involves modifying, upgrading or changing an asset or system.
Demolition Worklist Items: This category involves work activities to eliminate obsolete
equipment.
Budget Preparation and Management
The persons responsible for the STO Event budget process must work with all stakeholders
(primarily Core Team Members) and the Planning Team to prepare the budget at each phase
of the budgeting process; from Initial Budget through to Control Budget. The Budget must be
prepared based on a disciplined cost estimating methodology using the Planned Job Package
scope of work, historical cost/performance information and benchmark/estimating standards
and must include:
Direct labour cost, materials, rental equipment, speciality services and any
miscellaneous cost associated with each Planned Job Package,
Labour productivity factors anticipated for the workforce involved,
Indirect labour costs/factors for such items as support personnel (supervision, planners,
engineers, inspectors, security, HSE, clerical, janitorial, housekeeping, orientation,
certification, training, etc.),
Straight time and/or overtime costs for staff and the pro-rated costs for infrastructure if
applicable,
Anticipated overheads and fees for Contractors,
Associated costs for tools, consumables, rental equipment, temporary facilities, utilities,
transportation and communications,
Incremental Operations related costs such as blinding, clearing, catalyst handling,
nitrogen/vacuum trucks,
Contingency Allowance (for Discovery/Extra Work and unexpected non-productive time).
A detailed cost estimate must be prepared for each approved Worklist Item (Work Package)
during the Work Package Planning Phase. This where LEMS (Labor, Equipment, Materials &
Services) will be used (see LEMS). The control estimate for each item of work/work order is
developed using the Planned Job Package. As the control estimates are developed for all
Approved (Budgeted Work pre-Cut-off Date) and Late Work (post-Cut-off Date/pre-Shutdown
Date) they must be reconciled to the approved Planning Budget amount. Partial or complete
work items must be dropped from the Scope of Work (cancelled/ignored work) according to the
established priority ranking to maintain the approved Planning Budget or additional funding
must be obtained.
Download: Work Package Example from STOworx®:

https://stonavigator.ca/download/work-package-example/
All maintenance, operations, HSE and inspection work must be identified, approved and added
to the Worklist and Initial Budget at least six months prior to the STO Event Feed-out Date.
This deadline is established to allow detailed engineering, procurement and planning to be
completed at least three months prior to the STO Event Feed-out Date.
All Capital and Plant Change work must be identified, approved and added to the approved
Scope or Work and Initial Budget at least nine months prior to Feed-out. This deadline is
established to allow process design work, detailed engineering work and long lead
procurement activities to be completed at least 6 months prior to the Feed-out Date.
The Budget Worksheet should be compiled and sub-totalled by Approved Worklist Item,
Budget Category, and Priority for ease of review and analysis.
At the Worklist Cut-off Date, three months prior to Feed/Oil–out, the Initial Budget becomes the
Working Budget. All changes affecting the Working Budget after this date are managed using
the Workscope Change Management Process.
Following the pre-Work Phase Milestone Date (start of pre-Work) the Planning Budget
becomes the Control Budget (added contingency) and is frozen to establish the baseline for
CPI (Cost Performance Index). All changes affecting the Control Budget must be managed
using the Workscope Change Management Process. The Control Budget is approved by the
Facility Management and the STO Event Management Team is responsible for ensuring the
expenditure of the approved funds are managed and controlled. Any unauthorized
overrun/underrun to the Control Budget must be approved in advance by the appropriate level
of Management.
No ‘Request for Scope Change’ is to be approved until you have the funds to pay for
it. You must either formally request additional funds or drop existing approved
(budgeted) Scope of Work.
All costs associated with a STO Event must be finalized and reconciled with the Control
Budget within 60 days after Feed-in—during the Closure Phase.
EJ Lister
TRIX: Have each Contractor, Sub-contractor and Vendor agree as part of your
Contracting Strategy Terms & Conditions to provide administrative (cost-
engineering/accounting) support with methods of tracking, approving and providing
accurate and timely invoices, in conjunction with change orders to guarantee all costs
can be reconciled within 60 days of Feed-in (during the Closure Phase). This will also
assist with capturing timesheet and security-gate data for Force Reports and Direct
Worker Pf (Performance-factor) Calculations.
Workscope/Budget Calculator
To make it easier to calculate your Workscope/Initial Budget, consider the idea of using the
Worklist (Scope of Work)—and from historical data (manhours per Work Package/Work Order)
and Indirect support/cost—calculating the result with more quantitative data and objective
input. Since Manhours is a common unit of measure for the effort required to perform Direct
Work (regardless of Contracting Strategy) it makes sense to use Manhours to establish your
Initial Budget; from which you can add percentages of Indirect Overhead, Materials & Services,
Contingency and Discovery/Extra Work. This works especially well when you have
documented libraries of historical information by Fixed Asset, Unit-specific Shutdowns and/or
Plant-specific Turnarounds (see Workscope/Budget Calculator Illustration)
TIP: If you haven’t already do so, begin to build libraries of Work Packages and capture
historical data (Actual Manhours & Durations, BOMs, etc.) for budgeting purposes, and
to reduce the amount of Detailed Work Package Planning required for each STO Event.
Remember, 80% of the Scope of Work for a Turnaround (Asset Integrity Compliance)
will be the same for each scheduled Turnaround Event.
In the absence of a Workscope/Budget Calculator you will have to rely on historical cost data
to create your STO Event Initial Budget. Be sure to use data from similar past events from your
own facility, or from sister facilities in the same category or event type, e.g. Shutdown,
Turnaround, Outage, pitSTOp). In the absence of historical data, here is what you can do to
establish your Initial Budget prior to having approved Scope of Work and prior to creating a
detailed Planning Budget using LEMS:
Use benchmark data from consulting companies who specialize in STO Event
Preparation & Readiness (search the web for: “sto benchmark data for budgeting”
Use a Rule-of-Thumb related to the type of production facility, size/throughput, location,
organization, etc., where you use the number of pieces of Fixed Assets (by category)
and multiply them by a cost figure related to a percentage of lost production (a typical
Turnaround will Burn on average $2M USD/Day (use the production stoppage schedule
from Marketing or an estimation of the Longest Path/Job to determine number of days.

But remember, this is a very basic, high-level summary of an Initial Budget simply to
reserve funding for your STO Event until the Planning Budget and Control Budget are
established; also, remember, this estimate could be established (required) years before
any STO Event is scheduled due to corporate long-range planning and partnerships, etc.
It’s not an exact science, but it will suffice until the Planning Budget and Control Budget
are established based on an approved Scope of Work.
Workscope/Budget Calculator Illustration
Establishing an Initial Budget for a STO Event is difficult at the best of times. Try to
establish a formal process for future estimating based on history and
accumulated/acquired benchmark data to make it easier for your predecessors to
establish a more realistic Initial Budget; but remember, it’s just an estimated bucket
of money reserved for your STO Event until the Control Budget is established.
EJ Lister
Planner Requirement Calculation
Download: Workscope/Budget Calculator with Coupon Code: Calculator:

https://stonavigator.ca/download/workscope-and-budget-calculator/
Planner Requirement Calculation
Two major challenges exist with STO Event preparation: deciding when to begin detailed Work
Package planning, and how many Planners to employ (full-time or contract) in order to meet
the Plan2Plan milestones for procurement, contracting, resourcing, scheduling, pre-work, and
so on. To help you minimize these two challenges, I’ve added a Planner Requirement
Calculation to my Workscope/Budget Calculator.
This is how it works: Historically, we’ve determined that a STO Planner can plan and manage
(execute and control) as many as 6,000 Activities. We’ve also determined that a STO Planner
can create 2 – 3 Work Packages per week (creating the Work Package Contents &
Contributor’s Steps, creating Step-out-Plans with Resources/Services and BOMs (Bill of
Materials) and scheduling Contributors for assembling the Work Package on time for review
and approval by Contractors’ Execution Teams. This calculation can be confirmed by
comparing a ‘Rule of Thumb’ estimate of 2% or 3% of Direct Worker Manhour estimates for

planning to the overall budget and budgeted Manhours.
Download: Work Package Tracking Tool for Planners and Planned Job Package
creation and tracking in Excel format: https://stonavigator.ca/download/work-
package-management-tool/
Contingency Allowance
Control Budget = Planning Budget + Contingency and is established and frozen at

the start of the Pre-work Phase. All CPI (Cost Performance Index) calculations must
be based on this fact. And remember, On-budget is not an impressive statement if
other KPIs, such as safety, were compromised. Just sayin’
The Event Management Team must use a systematic process to determine and apply the
contingency allowance to the Cost Estimate. The amount of contingency included in the
estimated cost of the defined Workscope is based on historical data and for estimates that may
prove inaccurate due to normal errors and omissions. It must not include significant changes in
Workscope or such items as civil disturbances, major strikes, etc.
Contingency Allowance is a Separate Item in the Budget
The Contingency Allowance should be shown as a separate line item in the budget. No
contingency should be carried intentionally in other accounts. Because the contingency
allowance is outside the Cost Estimate, planners should not make allowances for contingency
when preparing the Resource/Cost Estimate which includes the Direct Cost of each Planned
Job Package, the Indirect Labour Costs and the Associated Costs to support the Execution
Phase. Resource/Cost Estimates should be prepared based on “Benchmarked”
industry/historical/site specific standards and established estimating units adjusted to account
for the anticipated site conditions by applying the appropriate productivity factors. When
Planners add contingency at the activity and/or Planned Job Package level, resource, duration
and cost estimates will be inflated. Management may then make the mistake of assessing risk
as part of a normal management review process and include additional contingency to an
already inflated Resource/Cost Estimate.
YouTube Video: Watch an important video click from the movie Apollo 13 in
reference to ‘Go-for-Launch: https://youtu.be/lMtWWls4oas (I play this click at
various stages of my Plan2Plan Core Team Meetings as a reminder of the Mission
we’re all trying to achieve.
EJ Lister
Amount of Contingency Allowance
When the Initial Budget is frozen at the Cut-off Date, the amount of Contingency should be in
the range of +/- 40% (this might seem high depending on how you calculated your Initial
Budget, e.g., based on historical data from previous STO Events, or calculated from the
Workscope/Budget Calculator; regardless, sufficient funds for your STO Event need to be
allocated well before the event (quite possibly years before base on the business needs and
the 5- 10- 20-year production plan) with the knowledge that during the development of the
Planning Budget, a more accurate cost will be calculated, until only a + Contingency will be
added to the Planning Budget at the beginning of the Pre-work Phase to establish (and freeze)
the Control Budget.
Major Workscope Changes are not included in the Contingency Allowance
The Contingency Allowance should not be used to allow for major additions to the Workscope.
If a major change in Workscope is identified, the resource/cost estimate should be prepared
and additional funds to the budget must be obtained by following the established accounting
policies and procedures. Each major Workscope change must be justified, estimated and
approved on an individual basis.
Management of Contingency Allowance During Execution Phase
The Contingency Allowance must be treated like any other component of the Event Budget. It’s
important to remember that contingency funds are established for the uncertainties and risks
associated with the Scope of Work. Before the Contingency Allowance is reduced, the Event
Management Team must evaluate what risks and uncertainties may affect the completion of
the remaining Workscope activities.
Best-Practice: There is no such thing as a negative contingency, so do not use +/-

when it comes to contingency for your Control Budget (+/- can be used when
estimating the Initial Budget, but that’s a separate issue). Contingency for establishing
our Control Budget is a 15 – 20% reserve based on the Planning Budget of Direct,
Indirect and Services estimates (do not include Material estimates) meant for
managing excess expenditures related to Discovery Work (not to be confused with
Potential Work, which is budgeted based on expected repairs) and Indirect Overhead
increases due to non-productive time (low Earn/high Burn as it were) as a result of
delays, weather, unexpected events such as evacuations, labor relations, etc.
Once the contingency allowance is depleted, management must justify and obtain additional
funding. The STO Event Team must manage the Control Budget and identify the need for
additional funds as soon as possible since resources may have to be relocated and schedules
may have to be adjusted as a result of the delay.
LEMS (Labor, Equipment, Materials & Services)
The Planning Budget is managed from the Cut-off Date (Initial Budget) to Feed-out using
LEMS (Labor, Equipment, Materials & Services) as the reference to cost, while planning and
estimating each Work Package (Step-out-Plan) in conjunction with iCAT (Indirect Cost
Adjustment Table) to establish the most accurate budget prior to adding contingency and
freezing the Control Budget (Planning Budget + Contingency) at the start of the Pre-work
Phase.
indirect Cost Adjustment Table (iCAT)
Indirect costs on a STO Event can account for more than
40% of your total budget. So it’s not difficult to image the
opportunity for cost savings.
Both types of indirect costs—fixed and variable—can be estimated and calculated using iCAT
(indirect Cost Adjustment Table) where the relationship between Direct Manhours (estimated
from Work Package Planning) is directly proportional to a percentage of support required; e.g.,
Supervision = 3% of Direct Worker Manhours; PPE = 1%, and so on. Fixed indirect costs are
related to infrastructure maintenance (keeping the lights on during the STO Event even though
no revenue is being generated, as it were), unit rate and lump sum services, scaffolding, etc.
Indirect costs on a STO Event provide the best opportunity to reduce budget
expenditures. Not only are non-productive time (PF) calculations costly, any
indirectly-related overhead cost required to support your STO Event, and any Direct
Worker Resource inefficiencies provide opportunities to save money; big money. You
must, therefore, be able to estimate and track these expenditures and take every
opportunity to reduce burn and increase earn (high Earn/low Burn as it were).
TIP: Use iCAT to estimate indirect costs for your STO Event—remember, indirect costs
are one of the best opportunities to reduce budget and expenditure, especially the
variable indirect costs related to Direct Workers.
EJ Lister
iCAT (Indirect Cost Adjustment Table) in Excel format
Download: iCAT (Indirect Cost Adjustment Table):

https://stonavigator.ca/download/icat/
Worklist Cut-off & Initial Budget Freeze

Just prior to each STO event Kick-off, following RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) and Initial
Budget creation, the Approved Worklist and Initial Budget are frozen. After this date, any
change in Scope of Work, by adding additional scope (Late Work – up to Feed-out Date) or by
deleting or deferring scope (Deleted Work or Deferred Work respectively) must go through a
formal Change of Scope review to determine how it will be budgeted and how it might affect
the projected timeline and/or resource requirements.
As one element of The Perfect Storm, Scope Growth and Budget Inflation cause the most
damage, as it were, to STO Event delivery—often carried into day-to-day operation post-start-
up by impacting reliability and profitability; that is to say, if you don’t keep the Scope of Work
and Scope of Scope of Work controlled through RAMP and RBSR, the chance of failure and
production loss between events, along with increased OPEX can negatively affect a
companies bottom-line.
Download: Navigate the Perfect STOrm presentation:

https://stonavigator.ca/download/navigate-perfect-storm/
Legitimate Late Work

Late Work is defined as any Wish-list item, Change Request or Work Request submitted for
approval after Worklist Cut-off & Initial Budget Freeze, and before Feed-out. Given that the
Operation is producing during this time, it’s inevitable that work will be required to be
performed for OPEX which cannot be done on-stream and therefore might be considered for
the currently scheduled STO Event. This is legitimate work; however, it must be emphasized
that this work, although included in the Scope of Work, is not to be included in a Shutdown or
Turnaround budget—it’s OPEX. Any indirect costs; e.g., cranes, consumables, security,
supervision, transportation, etc. required can be absorbed by the Shutdown or Turnaround
budget, but the direct work, services and/or materials must be charged against the OPEX
budget.
Formal Workscope Change Management Process
As above (Legitimate Late Work), Extra Work, Discovery Work, Potential Work or work to
enhance production and/or increase operational profitability, identified after Worklist Cut-off &
Initial Budget Freeze, needs to be vetted though a Formal Workscope Change Management
Process. A formal Change Management Process will use the same RBSR (Risk-based Scope
Review) process used to establish the Approved Scope of Work but will now have to consider
the impact on Initial Budget. Therefore, a method of justifying the expenditure must consider a)
that an existing (Approved) Worklist Item must be cancelled or deferred, or b) that the Initial
Budget must be increased (remember, Contingency is not applicable at this time; contingency
will be added to the Control Budget just prior to Feed-out). Note: the Workscope Change
Management Process should not be confused with the Scope of Scope of Work Change
Orders, which is related to Extra Work, Discovery Work and/or design change.
Kick-off Meeting with STO Steering Committee and/or Core Team
After opening your STO Event and establishing the event’s Premise & Parameters, Scope of
Work, Scope of Scope of Work and Initial Budget, a kick-off meeting is scheduled with the STO
Steering Committee (T-minus 9 months to T-minus 18 or 24 months depending on the
complexity of the event) to assign the STO Event Manager, establish Mission Control (Core
Team Leads) and initiate the Plan2Plan Milestone Schedule.
One of the key deliverables of the Kick-off Meeting will be to establish the STO Event KPIs
(Key Performance Indicators) and Targets associated with the STO Event Vision: Schedule
EJ Lister
Duration and Cost; and the STO Event Mission: Safety, Quality and Tool-time Efficiency. As
well, the STO Event Goals & Objectives will be established.
TIP: Following the STO Event Kick-off Meeting, consider creating a STO Event
Newsletter to advertise your up-coming event, including such things as Scope of Work,
Workscope Cut-off Date, Budget, Feed-out to Feed-in Dates, KPIs, Goals & Objectives,
Core Team Members (Mission Control) and Steering Committee, etc.
Mission Control
Using the NASA analogy is an effective way to setup your Core Team, to keep everyone
focused on the mission of planning, executing and controlling your STO Event, from Kick-off to
Go-for-Launch (Feed-out); from Go-for-Launch (Execution Phase) to Re-entry (Feed-in); from
Re-entry to Recovery (Closure Phase). It also helps to establish a theme, one that makes it
more interesting (no one said STO Events had to be dull).
YouTube Video: Watch an important video click from the movie Apollo 13 in
reference to ‘Go-for-Launch: https://youtu.be/1-JdqHxqkHA (I play this clip at
various stages of my Plan2Plan Core Team Meetings as a reminder of the Mission
we’re trying to achieve and the preparedness by each team member around the
table: Give me a go-or-no-go: Logistics, Inspection, Maintenance, Ops, HSE, etc.
STOworx® Mission Control for your STO Event Core Team
Kick-off Meeting Attendance
The Kick-off Meeting must be attended by the Event Manager or Event Coordinator
(Facilitator) and each member of the Core Team (Department and Functional Leads), and if a
Steering Committee is supporting the event, each member of the Steering Committee should
attend. Note: following the Kick-off Meeting, a series of Plan2Plan (FEL Milestone Schedule)
Core Team Meetings will be established (monthly at T-minus 18-12 months; bi-weekly at T-
minus 12 months; weekly at T-minus 6 months.
TRIX: Have each Core Team Member sign an agreement to accept the position and
commit to being held accountable for the tasks they’ll be assigned on the Plan2Plan
Milestone Schedule; to attend each Core Team Meeting—or provide an alternate.
Kick-off Meeting Agenda
The Kick-off Meeting is the most important meeting—not to be confused with workshop
sessions such as RBSR or Strategic Planning—to be held in relation to successful delivery of
your STO event.
“Kick-off meeting: “a Mission Control concept of taking the challenge as a unified

team of stakeholders to prepare for launch of a vital mission.”
Begin your meeting on time (I know, this is a given, but you’d be surprised, right?). I suggest
you schedule this meeting off-site, at a hotel meeting room, and make it a big deal, including
lunch. This meeting is too important to treat it like any other meeting held in your Organization
on any given day. Once you’ve scheduled it (no more than one hour in duration, with lunch to
follow) you can issue the following agenda:
Attendance: fill out the attendance sheet (simple enough)

Introductions by STO Event Manager and Steering Committee
Safety Moment: ask for someone to volunteer a safety moment
Assign Core Team or introduce Core Team if attending
Explain Core Team Meeting scheduling and commitments
Review Scope of Work summary
Review Milestone Dates (Pre-work, Feed-out, Feed-in)
Review Premise & Parameters
Review Goals & Objectives
EJ Lister
Establish or review KPI (Key Performance Indicator) Targets: Safety, Quality, Tool-time
Efficiency, Schedule Duration, Budget
Roll-out the Plan2Plan (FEL Milestone Schedule) and issue the first 3-week lookahead
report
Provide orientation on the Team Task Management program
Create a talisman for your STO Event (it’s been proven that when a project or team of
any kind has a talisman, logo, slogan or mascot the enthusiasm and buy-in is much
greater (I know, it sounds nerdy, but it’s true). In addition, get hats/caps and shirts made
for distribution to those involved in the STO Event, and those who contribute Lessons-
learned, or for those who read the monthly newsletter and complete its crossword
puzzle. This is one of the most successful methods of increasing communication and
awareness.
Download: STO Event bi-weekly Newsletter example:
https://stonavigator.ca/download/newsletter/
Wrap up with lunch and a commitment by everyone to contribute to the STO Event and
contribute to the best of their ability (I know, sounds a bit soft, right? But, come on, have
some fun! Life is short!)
Schedule the first Core Team Meeting and establish the meeting schedule and agenda
Core Team Meeting Agenda
Each Core Team Meeting (facilitated by the STO Event Manager) must be attended by the
assigned Core Team Members (or his or her delegates); no exception. Start time—this
meeting should not take more than 60 minutes, taking any issues off-line—must begin on time;
again, no exceptions.
The purpose of this meeting is to review the current status of the Plan2Plan (Milestone
Schedule and Dashboard Indicators), review any changes in Scope of Work and Initial Budget
(or Planning Budget status) discuss Plan2Plan, up-coming Milestones and Tasks (3-week
lookahead), and review any new (added) Tasks relevant to the 3-week lookahead. I suggest
the following agenda (my preferred time for these meetings is mid-week one hour before
lunch). Duration – 60 minutes:
Attendance (track attendance and mood/attitude—trend these indicators to ensure

people are attending as required and that their workload is not so much that their
mood/attitude is negatively affected – see Morale and Standard Work Matrix photo on
next page
Safety Moment: ask for someone to volunteer a

safety moment
Review Plan2Plan Dashboard for status and
compliance—and S-curve can work if your Tasks
are effort-driven with planned estimates, using
earned-value percent complete. Also, track the
status of uploaded documents, especially those
which are required to be reviewed by each of the
Core Team members (in a web-based
environment the system will track who read and
digitally signed the documents; pdf can work the
same way if you want to use that system)
Go around the table and review each Core Team member’s updates/status of Tasks,
looking for any Tasks which are behind schedule (red) and/or due (yellow) in the next
few weeks. Completed Tasks do not need to be reviewed.
Round-table discussion for off-line follow-up meetings and workshops
End of meeting
Team Task Management
STO Events are not limited to Maintenance and Inspection departments; they’re a business
need at a corporate level, and therefore must be planned, managed and controlled in a
collaborative, transparent manner across the Organization, including all Stakeholders
(Contractors, Vendors, Business Units, Departments and Functional Areas). The best way to
establish a collaborative and contributing environment, with real-time, secure and transparent
communication, while reducing dependency on spreadsheets, email and multiple, random files
folders, is to establish a web-based application for Team Task Management.
YouTube Video: Web-based Team Task Management Module example video

related to STOworx®: https://youtu.be/JdyYFQpPGsw
If you don’t have access to a Team Task Management Tool you can check out several options
simply by searching for Task Management Tools on the internet or create your own Team
Task Management Tool in-house with your ICT (Information & Communication Team). Try to
avoid creating an MS Excel® as they are difficult to control for this type of critical data and
information management system. Whichever system you choose to deploy, try to establish a
dashboard to track compliance.
EJ Lister
Best-Practice: Never assign more than one person accountable for a Task, and make
sure that person is either the Event Manager or Core Team Member. The Event
Manager or Core Team Member who is accountable can then assign others to be
responsible. And once you’ve set a Target Completion Date, do not change it. You
need to know which Tasks are not started, coming due, or overdue (variance) and you
can’t do this if you keep moving the target date; e.g., “Give me another week,” is not
acceptable.
Team Task Management
STO Events must engage all stakeholders in a collaborative manner where each of
their contributions can be recognized and valued in a transparent and secure
environment. Many STO Events fail to meet their intended goals & objectives simply
because of a lack of communication and collaboration. This is why pacesetter
companies are now moving toward more web- and cloud-based applications for
planning, managing and controlling their STO Events.
While the Team Task Management methodology and tools are meant to assign, track and
status STO Event preparation requirements, it should not be used as a substitute for the
Plan2Plan (FEL Milestone Schedule). The reason for this is that Plan2Plan activities are effort-
driven, that is to say, they have a measurable amount of time and effort commitment attached
to them to ensure that whoever is accountable or responsible for completed each activity is not
burdened by having additional work to perform. The Plan2Plan effort can be Resource Loaded
and Levelled to establish just how much of a commitment is required, and if additional
resources are required to ensure compliance to the Plan2Plan milestones. This is particularly
important when it comes to assigning Planning Resources. Often the individuals who are
required to contribute to the STO Event are already busy with their day-to-day activities, so it’s
especially important to recognize the added commitment in terms of time and effort. Whereas
the Team Task Management method and tools do not take this into account; they assume an
individual assigned to a task can preform it within the specified timeframe without
compromising their day-to-day activities. Therefore, if you are uncertain as to whether a task
should be assigned to an individual as part of the Team Task Management or as part of the
Plan2Plan, revert to the Plan2Plan and attached (estimate) time and effort to it, just to be sure.
This goes for all tasks and activities identified during the Strategic Planning Workshop
Sessions (see Strategy Workshops in Key #4: Strategic Planning).
Plan2Plan (FEL Milestone Schedule in MS Project® Illustration
Download: Plan2Plan (FEL Milestone Schedule) example:

https://stonavigator.ca/download/plan2plan/
EJ Lister
The Plan2Plan (FEL Milestone Schedule) can be used to measure preparedness

(readiness for Go-for-Launch) as well as the actual Readiness Program itself,
provided you schedule it with assigned resources and dates and save a baseline,
followed by weekly or bi-weekly updates with earned-value % complete and plot its
progress on an S-curve. This way, you will be driving the preparation phase of your
STO Event, rather than simply guessing as to whether you are prepared, or ready to
push the ‘Go-for-Launch’ button, while saving thousand of dollars on consultants who
say they can tell you whether you are prepared or not, only to find out they were
wrong! Just sayin’
Advertisement (contact me to advertise in this manual: ejlister@stonavigator.ca)
Fixed Asset Management for STO Exercise

Best-practices
 Institutionalize a RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) to create (or confirm)
that your Fixed Asset Register for STOp-events complies with STOp classifications,
criticality, maintenance programs and strategies.
 Use one source only—native data from your ERP/EAM (CMMS) to produce a Job List
prior to RBSR (Risked-based Scope Review)—avoid using spreadsheets or emails, etc.
Create a Work Request, Work Order, or Service Order for every potential job even if it
has to get canceled or deferred during the RBSR process.
 Establish a Long-range Production Plan (5- 10 -20-year plan) of STOp (Shutdowns,
Turnarounds, Outages & pitSTOps), including any planned capital expansions that will
reduce Process Availability Throughput (see Process Availability Optimization).
 Establish a RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Team—Operations,
Reliability/Technical/Engineering, Maintenance) to conduct RBSR based on the RAMP
Model.
 Use a formal RBSR process and tools to establish Scope of Work for each STO Event.
 Establish a Scope Cut-off Date which aligns with the Initial Budget and flag all new
approved work as Late Work with risk/cost benefit and Planning Budget justification.
 Use a formal method of establishing the Initial Budget (see Budget Control) using a
Budget Calculator and LEMS (Labor, Equipment, Materials & Services) methodology.
 Use Scope of Work as Fixed-Assets-requiring-STO; then, define the Scope of Scope of
Work; e.g., type of inspection, amount of cleaning, percentage of replacement, etc.
 Use Scope Type Codes for Late Work, Potential Work, Discovery Work, Canceled Work,
Extra Work in conjunction with the Budget Management Process.
Lessons-learned (record a few of your own reliability-related lessons-learned here)
EJ Lister
Fixed Asset Management for STO Quiz

1. Shutdowns are scheduled or unscheduled 2. Turnarounds are scheduled events for the
events for? purpose of?
a) Asset Integrity a) Asset Integrity
b) Process Integrity b) Process Integrity
c) Overhauls c) Overhauls
d) All of the above d) Projects
3. Worklists are screened using? 4. The Initial Budget is established using?
a) Cost Benefit Analysis a) Historical data
b) RBSR b) Scope of Work
c) FMEA c) Budget Calculator and LEMS
d) E=MC2 d) All of the above
5. Work approved after the Cut-off Date is 6. Reliability is defined as the ability for Fixed
labelled? Assets to?
a) Extra Work a) Operate without failure
b) Budgeted Work b) Operate as designed
c) Late Work c) Maintain its designed function until the
d) Discovery Work next scheduled STOp-event
d) All of the above
7. 5- 10- 20-year plan is used to? 8. RAMP is defined as?
a) Create STOp-event strategies a) Reliability Asset Management Process
b) Increase Process Availability b) Reliability Asset Management Program
c) Provide shareholder confidence c) Reliable Assets Make Product
d) Both a) and b) d) Resistance Armature Mega Policy
9. The Steering Committee is responsible for? 10. Feed-out/Feed-in is defined as?
a) The Plan2Plan Milestone Schedule a) The time between STO Events
b) The Strategic Planning Phase b) Critical Path
c) Oversee the STO Event Core Team c) The Longest Path
d) Provide oversight to the STO Event d) Production Stoppage/Reduction dates
11. Liquid or gas flow in pipes generally 12.Objective, fact-based data is used during
causes? RBSR because it is?
a) Erosion a) Qualitative
b) Corrosion b) Quantitative
c) Fouling c) Semi-quantitative
d) Oxidisation d) None of the above
13. A Risk Matrix is used to determine? 14.No MOC is require for?
a) Probability vs. Consequence a) Indirect work
b) Scope of Work b) Mobile Assets
c) Scope of Scope of Work c) Replacement in Kind work
d) All of the above d) None of the above
Fixed Asset Management for STO Quiz – cont’d

15. STO Event Kick-off aligns with? 16. Indirect cost estimates can be?
a) Plan2Plan (Milestone Schedule) a) Fixed
b) Workscope Cut-off Date b) Percentage of Direct
c) Initial Budget creation c) Variable
d) All of the above d) All of the above
17. After Initial Budget the budget is called? 18. The Control Budget includes?
a) Contingency a) LEMS
b) Late Work Budget b) Contingency
c) Planning Budget c) Direct and Indirect estimates
d) Control Budget d) All of the above
19. Scope of Scope of Work is? 20. Historical data is used for?
a) Work Order task details (plan) a) Budgeting
b) Work Order strategies b) Scope of Scope of Work
c) Fixed Asset Scope of Work c) Lessons-learned
d) None of the above d) All of the above
21. Special approval is required for? 22. Discovery Work is also known as?
a) Late Work a) Found Work
b) Contingency b) Potential Work
c) Extra Work c) Late Work
d) Both a) and c) d) Both a) and b)
24. What percentage of Scope of Work is
23. An MOC is required for?
identified during the Closure Phase?
a) Engineering worklist items a) 15% (Shutdown)
b) All approved worklist items b) 90% (Turnaround)
c) Non-replacement in kind worklist items c) 25% (Outage)
d) Inspection worklist items d) 0% (trick question)
25. Semi-quantitative tests are ones that yield? 26. Wishlist items prior to Cut-off Date are?
a) Less than 5 a) Maintenance-related work
b) Between 5 and 20 b) Operations-related work
c) Greater than 20 c) Reliability/Engineering work
27. A method of allocating the cost of a Fixed 28. Key members of the RAMP Team who
Asset over the period it can be used? facilitate the RBSR sessions?
a) Burn vs. Earn a) Reliability
b) Rundown cost b) Process Operations
c) Depreciation c) Maintenance
EJ Lister
Fixed Asset Management for STO Crossword Puzzle Exercise
1 2 3
5 6
7 8
9 10
11
12 13 14
15 16 17
18
19
20 21 22
23 24 25
26 27
28
29
30 31
32
33
34
35
Fixed Asset Management Crossword Puzzle Exercise – cont’d
Across Down
2. Events 1. Funding for a STO Event
5. Capital work 3. Operating expenditure
7. Gradual destruction of process piping 4. Work ________________
9. STO Event committee 6. Production stoppage for Asset Integrity
12. Ultrasonic inspection 8. Definition of work to be performed
13. Fix 10. Required for Fixed Asset integrity
16. Change document 11. Something to mitigate
19. Class of fixed assets for Turnaround 14. RAMP ________________
22. Breakdown 15. Preventing failure
23. Work Order software 17. Process Integrity requirement
24. Enterprise system 18. First step in a Reliability Study
26. Budget insurance 20. Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code
28. Class of fixed assets for Outages 21. Found work
31. vs. responsible 25. Process _________________
32. Screened with RBSR 27. Ranking of fixed equipment
33. Method of screening work lists 29. Workscope freeze
34. Used to create a budget 30. Safety valve
35. Plan of action
TIP: Include this crossword puzzle in your STO bi-weekly newsletter during your
Strategic Planning Phase. Or create your own crossword puzzle online here:
www.crosswordlabs.com
Best-Practice: Data Management & Document Control are critical aspects of Fixed
Asset Management for STO through digitalization (web- and cloud-based platforms).
Companies need to move in this direction now if they want to stay on the leading edge
of technology at a global level. Integrity, collaboration, transparency, accuracy and
security of data & documents is vital to future business. Companies who have
transitioned in this direction are pacesetters in the manufacturing and processing
industry.
Acknowledgments
There are untold numbers of friends, colleagues, associates, mentors, employers, students
and clients to thank for the amazing experience and memories I’ve enjoyed throughout my
thirty-plus-years of international consulting, coaching and training —from shop-floor
discussions to lunchroom celebrations; from boardroom strategy sessions to field execution
tactics; from classrooms to conference halls around the globe—all of which helped made it
possible for me to learn to successfully navigate the complex and risky projects we call STO
Events. Thank you to everyone who ever share my enthusiasm and passion for planning,
executing and controlling STO Events.

“Return on Investment of this manual is nearly incalculable…”
—Norm Poynter - Owner, NLAS Possibilities Inc.
7 Keys to Successful Shutdowns,

Turnarounds & Outages
—EJ Lister
This world-class manual provides valuable key lessons-learned and best-practices from
its author, EJ Lister, a seasoned practitioner and SME in the planning, execution and
control of industry STO (Shutdown, Turnaround, Outage) events.
For more than thirty years, travelling to more than forty counties—contributing to STO
Events with hands-on planning & scheduling, Fixed Asset management consulting,
coaching, training and speaking at international conference events, EJ Lister has learned
what it takes to optimize STO Events in the energy and mining sectors.
“It wasn’t always easy, and I wasn’t always successful; especially

when I was attempting to create my dynamic scheduling
methodology using MS Project and Primavera P6—a lot of people
scoffed at my ideology, calling it radical. But I persevered. In the
end, with the help of colleagues, cohorts, clients, and mostly, to
those I’ve had the pleasure to work with over the years, I achieve
my goal—to share my 7 Keys to Successful Shutdowns,
Turnarounds & Outages with you and your team.”
Filled with hundreds of tips & tricks, tools, lessons-learned, best-practices and free
download links, this manual promises to be a valuable resource for all—from the shop-
floor to the boardroom, for Owners, Contractors and Vendors alike—whichever position
you fill, however experienced or inexperienced you are in STO Event management and
control, you will benefit from this world-class manual.
$24.95 USD | $34.95 CAD

7 Keys To Successful Shutdowns Turnarounds Outages 1565888188 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

7 Keys To Successful Shutdowns Turnarounds Outages 1565888188 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Only through effective Fixed Asset

Management and Risk/Cost Benefit

Only with a formal process,

A competent STO Manager,

How each Stakeholder intends to

Detailed Planned Job Packages

Executing according to the Plan to

Continuous Improvement is the

Thank you for supporting my desire to share years

I began my career working on construction and maintenance projects as

“Knowledge is acquired by learning lessons, experience is gained

CNO (Chief Navigating Officer)

Author of Successful Change Management - ISBN 978-0968841716

To arrange for author in-house training, short-term consulting or speaking

STOworx® Suite – on Elements® Industrial

For more information on STOworx®, the world’s first

Introduction “The most successful STO Events reduce operating risk,

Regardless of which position you are assigned on a STO Event to contribute

This manual outlines the importance of effectiveness (what work to execute

STOrm Chaser Tips & Trix

STOrm has many years of international experience in the planning, execution

How to get the Most out of this Manual

www.stonavigator.ca 2019 © | iii

Download: Navigate the Perfect STOrm presentation:

7 Keys to Successful Shutdowns, Turnarounds & Outages (Definition)

Key Terminology & Acronyms

Terminology & Acronyms “Nothing is more important than terminology when it

Surprisingly, given their global status, much of the terminology in STO

Pay special attention to definitions related to:

Shutdowns, Turnarounds, Outages and pitSTOps

Industrial Digitalization: refers to the implementation of web- and cloud-based platforms

MOC: Management of Change – a document/form attached to all non-Replacement-in-Kind

Safety/Environment, Fixed Assets and Mobile Equipment, Infrastructure, Community,

STO Navigator Inc., Canada

Stakeholder Strategic Workshop Facilitation

Best-Practice: High-performance Organizations take advantage of Subject Matter

STO Readiness Assessments & RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review)

Advertisement (click here to register or visit www.stonavigator.ca/events-3)

Key 1 – Fixed Asset Management for STO

1 – Fixed Asset Management “Scope-of-work determines the future reliability and

To ensure these assets contribute to a safe and reliable operation, and to

This #1 Key (Fixed Asset Management) as it pertains to STO Events should

Business Needs: 5- 10- 20-year plan (Process Optimization)

Steps (Key Milestones) to Implementing Fixed Asset Management for STO

Key Milestone Events from Operational Readiness to On-spec Production

Download: STO Readiness Assessment Tool:

b. Establish a Fixed Asset Management and Production Team initiative to create

YouTube Video: STO300 Training—defining Shutdowns, Turnarounds & Outages:

Key Milestones: Initiating subsequent STO Events:

Step 3: RBSR (Risk-based Scope Review) and EBSR (Evidence-based Scope

Business Needs: 5- 10- 20-year production plan (Process Optimization)

Best-Practice: Establish a culture of high-performance with business needs in mind,

Customers & Shareholders

Meeting customer demands and shareholder expectations is vital to the sustainability of an

5- 10- 20-Year Plan aka Long-range Production Plan

Process Safety, Reliability, Profitability & Sustainability

Companies that compromise on reliability investments to save money have no idea

Best-Practice: Establish a RAMP Team consisting of Leads from Process Operations,

Institutionalizing a RAMP (Reliability Asset Management Program) ensures a Company can

Design and Construction Process

Design and Construction

 There are numerous strategies that must be considered:

Maintenance Strategy On-Stream: This strategy involves performing specific activities,