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Just like any other business, your organization runs more efficiently when operating at full capacity. This is certainly true for power plants and worksites, meaning the time spent during a planned (or unplanned) outage is crucial to ensuring your company doesn’t experience a delay or halt in normal operations. Learn more about how to plan for outages efficiently and reduce liability by hiring a NCCCO Lift Director with Crane Industry Experts.

Planning for Planned Outages

Whether the purpose is to perform routine maintenance or address a specific mechanical issue, every successful plant outage starts with creating an action plan. No one plan will fit all scenarios, so it’s important to collaborate with senior members of your team and any outside plant consultation to determine what steps and procedures will maximize efficiency while minimizing outage downtime. Whether you choose to take a digital approach with the use of outage planning technology or your team has a proven method for designating roles and strategies for each team member during the plant outage, giving yourself enough time to properly plan is the most important component of the process. Some particular areas of importance for planning plant outages efficiently include:

• Personnel safety
• Regulations to follow
• Distributing workload
• Emergency procedures
• Role responsibility
• Open communication
• Team accountability and trust
• Equipment needed

While this list is generic to the industry, it’s vital that your team reviews each area through the lens of your project or organization, applying the necessary knowledge to create an organized plan of attack for your next outage.

Planning for Unplanned Outages

In a perfect world, plant outages would only be scheduled in advance with months or even years to prepare ahead of time. Unfortunately, we know that isn’t the case. Unplanned plant outages can completely derail a project or organization if they aren’t handled safely or in an effective way. While it may sound obvious to some, the best way to plan for an unplanned outage is to ensure everyone on your team knows their responsibilities and roles for a planned outage. Preparation is the only thing you can be sure of, and in most cases there won’t be time to come up with these detailed procedures on the fly. Failing to meet this standard can lead to an elongated disruption to the project, severe financial drain, and most importantly—imminent danger to your employees and site personnel. However, by following the aforementioned guidelines and maintaining a commitment to protocol and safety, your team will be able to overcome any unplanned outages that may arise.

Hiring an NCCCO Certified Lift Director with Crane Industry Experts

Organizing and preparing for planned and unplanned outages can be a stressful, liability-heavy process. What if you could bring in a certified expert to supervise? Crane Industry Experts has the connections you need to ensure a smooth, safe outage with minimal liability on you and your company. We have several NCCCO Certified Lift Directors available for on-site management and project planning. For outages, lift directors will provide oversight, direction, and consultation related to your project’s needs, all of which will be planned with safety and efficiency at the forefront. Before planning your next outage, we encourage you to learn more about our NCCCO Certified Lift Directors and contact us today for more information about getting started with Crane Industry Experts.