ABSTRACT
Some contend that e-mail is an overused medium for communication� It’s certainly convenient-at least for most people� And it ordinarily reaches widely dispersed and distant recipients quickly-although there’s no guarantee that the recipient will read the message right away�
Telephone: Calling someone on the phone can be an immediate (if they answer!), interactive method of communicating without creating a permanent, written record� Phone conversations allow you to hear voice inflections, although obviously you cannot view body language or other nonverbal communication�
Handwritten notes: Probably the most informal of all communication methods, short notes written by hand are an excellent way to provide positive recognition� Although they usually take very little effort, they convey “the personal touch” much more than verbal approaches or formal memos or e-mail messages�
Printed and mailed memos and letters: With the advent of email, memos and letters are now generally reserved for more formal or official communication� They’re slow and one-sided, but good when formal signatures are required and a permanent record is desired� Hence, printed, mailed memos and letters are still used frequently in contractual situations�
Formal presentations: Formal presentations are often used in situations where the distribution of information may be enhanced by an explanation or the information is too complex for written documentation� Formal presentations are often done in a group setting, thus ensuring that everyone gets the same level of understanding� They allow for impressive graphical displays of information, but often require a lot of preparation� They’re effective when you’re trying to promote understanding, enlist support, or expedite a decision (e�g�, management approval to proceed)�
Normally there will be two meetings daily� One is a meeting that the shutdown coordinator shall conduct with core team members including site incharges of executing departments and operation departments for only half an hour� The other one is a detailed job review meeting held at different locations consisting of site engineers with operation shift in-charges to check progress and constraints in detail�
The main review meeting chaired by the shutdown coordinator is held daily at a specific location comprising core team members to discuss the progress versus the plan, the extra resource requirement, and the risk� Meetings can be a very effective way of getting a clear picture and resolving an issue across the table� They bring people together for a relatively short amount of time so that large amounts of information can be shared and problems resolved immediately�
The shutdown daily meeting is held for the following reasons:
• Progress • Review of actions from last meeting • Progress from last period • Forecast progress for next period
• Decision-to develop and agree upon a decision • Agreement-to present a case on a decision and seek collective
acceptance • Information-to communicate information or decisions that have
been made • Opinion-to collect viewpoints and perspectives from participants • Instruction-to provide direction, enhance knowledge, or teach a skill • Review-to analyze some aspect of the shutdown, such as design or
due to some constraints for which some jobs are postponed to the next opportunity • Problems/issues • Resource requirement
Turnaround progress meetings: The turnaround progress review meetings shall be at two levels: the steering committee and the working committee�
Steering committee meeting: These meetings shall be chaired by the head of the refinery� The meeting shall be held once in a week and minutes will be recorded and circulated to the Director of Refineries� The main objective of this meeting shall be
• Presentation by respective planner highlighting delays and giving expected date of completion of the turnaround
• Monitoring the turnaround progress • Resolving any issues related to the turnaround
Working committee meeting: This meeting shall be chaired by the GMO� The meeting shall be held every day except for the day when the steering committee meeting is scheduled� The main objective of this meeting shall be
• Monitoring the turnaround progress • Resolving any issues related to the turnaround
Up-to-date information is the key to the success of a shutdown� Lack of job information during shutdown execution is the root of many shutdown failures� The status of all jobs must be communicated in a timely manner� A formal routine should be developed to report job progress�
1� Each morning, the shutdown coordinator should communicate with the shift coordinators� If a two-shift operation is being employed, the second (or night) shift coordinator should have already briefed the first shift coordinator�
2� During the day shift, all problems which may result in a delay in completion time or an increase in shutdown cost should be communicated�
3� At the end of every day shift, the shutdown planner should meet with all the shutdown support personnel and update the shutdown status�
4� Ask “What heavy equipment coordination is required today?”
