Shutdown, Turnaround and Outage Planning

Shutdown planning is the full preparation of a maintenance shutdown, turnaround or outage, from the estimate and resourcing through to the execution programme. A shutdown lives or dies on the plan: the window is fixed, the work is dense, and every hour of overrun is production lost. Project Scheduling develops complete shutdown plans for mining and heavy industrial operations across Australia, so the work is scoped, resourced and sequenced to finish on time and on budget.

Why Shutdown Planning Matters

A shutdown is unlike normal construction. The plant comes down on a set date and time and must be back up on schedule, with hundreds of tasks compressed into a fixed outage. There is no float to absorb a loose plan. Every activity has to be sequenced, resourced and de-risked before the shutdown starts, because once it does, there is no time to recover a plan that does not hold. Planning is where a shutdown is won or lost.

What a Shutdown Plan Includes

The execution programme is the anchor. Around it sits the complete planning package:

• Estimate for the shutdown scope, so the budget is set before work is committed

• Benchmark-based resourcing, sized from industry norms where your data is not yet available

• Resource histograms and S-curves identifying peak crew and equipment demand across the outage

• Constructability review and methodology statement, testing the sequence before execution

• Detailed execution programme in Primavera P6, fully logic-linked with a defensible critical path

• Quality schedule passing DCMA schedule quality metrics

• Cost and cashflow forecast across the shutdown window

• Shutdown-specific calendars reflecting shift patterns, around-the-clock working and access constraints

• Interfaces between disciplines and work fronts shown in the programme

• Basis of Schedule setting out calendars, sequence logic, assumptions and the critical path

• Native programme file for you to run and update during executionBuilt for Execution, Not Just Approval

Shutdown Scheduling Built for Execution

A shutdown plan has to work on the tools, not just pass a gate. The programme is built to the level of detail the execution team actually runs to, with the sequencing, resourcing and access constraints that determine whether the work fronts flow or collide. When the shutdown starts, you are working to a plan that reflects the real job.

Mining and Heavy Industrial Shutdowns

Project Scheduling works across mining and heavy industrial shutdowns, turnarounds and outages. The work spans the full range of shutdown scopes: mill relines on SAG and ball mills, crusher, screen and conveyor outages, smelter, furnace and kiln relines, boiler and power station outages, tank and pressure vessel inspection, dragline and fixed-plant maintenance, ventilation and underground infrastructure upgrades, and the HV electrical, substation and instrumentation scopes that run alongside them. The work is independent and delivered directly, so the plan reflects your operation and your constraints, not a generic template.

Know your resourcing and cost position before the plant comes down, and finish the shutdown on time. Let us plan your next shutdown together.

Discuss Your Shutdown

Common Questions on Shutdown Planning

How do you plan a mining shutdown or turnaround?

Plan the whole outage before the plant comes down. Project Scheduling develops the complete package: estimate for the scope, benchmark-based resourcing, a fully logic-linked execution programme in Primavera P6 with a defensible critical path, a constructability review and methodology statement, shutdown-specific calendars for around-the-clock shift work, and a cost and cashflow forecast across the window. The window is fixed, so every activity is sequenced, resourced and de-risked before it starts.

What does a shutdown schedule include?

The execution programme is the anchor, supported by the estimate, benchmark-based resourcing, resource histograms and S-curves for peak crew and equipment demand, a constructability review, a quality schedule passing DCMA metrics, a cost and cashflow forecast, shutdown-specific calendars, discipline and work-front interfaces, a Basis of Schedule setting out calendars, sequence logic and assumptions, and the native programme file to run during execution.

How is a shutdown programme built in Primavera P6?

It is built in Primavera P6, fully logic-linked with a defensible critical path, to the level of detail the execution team actually runs to. Shutdown-specific calendars reflect shift patterns, around-the-clock working and access constraints, and the schedule passes DCMA schedule quality metrics. You receive the native file to update through the outage.

When should shutdown planning start?

Before the plant comes down, early enough to set the estimate, resourcing and sequence and de-risk the plan while there is still time to change it. A fixed window has no float to absorb a loose plan, so the planning is done up front, not recovered mid-shutdown.