Five Tips for a Successful Planned Downtime

The good, the bad, and the ugly. We’ve seen it all in our many years of industrial / commercial planned shutdown projects, including the impact of the Covid pandemic on 2020 and 2021 maintenance plans, an impact that continues to linger in 2022.

Painters USA co-founder and VP Paul Cook shared his advice and some examples in his article, "Get More From Planned Shutdowns At Your Facility" published by Facility Executive in December 2021. According to Paul,

Look at something tactical like the condition of your facility’s roof and turn that into an analysis that your financial team can use to direct spending. In other words, determine the condition of your assets, where the gaps are, and add up the financial cost of inaction (e.g., if we don’t repair this roof and it leaks, then what is the cost of shutting down and repairing water-damaged equipment, spoiled product or lost shipments?).

5 rules for successful shutdowns and slowdowns

Paul offers five key considerations for making the most of a planned shutdown:

1. Assess priorities based on need and value. Prioritizing helps facility owners and operators assess needs and make decisions that keep a project within a deadline and budget.
2. Marry scope of work and available time. Accurately align the time and circumstances for each task, as even when projects match available time, interruptions can happen.
3. Plan and communicate early and often. The more you can do in advance, the better. Preparation should involve external contractors plus your internal stakeholders and participants, including work teams that will be on-site when maintenance work is performed.
4. Leverage data to minimize maintenance time. For example, compare actual vs. estimated figures from prior years.
5. Select the right people, processes, and materials. Identifying the best processes and choose the right materials and supplies is crucial to getting work done fast.

Read more about the five rules (including working examples) at Facility Executive.

Delve deeper with our free guidebook

We created a little guidebook to help facility managers avoid problems and make the most of precious downtime.

BONUS: It includes a helpful checklist for interior painting / coating projects.

No time to shutdown completely?

Whether we work during off-peak time like weekends or a full facility shutdown, Painters USA has large crews and decades of experience for on-time, on-spec, on-budget completion—no hand-holding required. We’re woman-owned and fully insured.

SCHEDULE EARLY: We book fast during popular downtime periods like holidays, so don’t delay.

Click here to tell us your facility painting / coating needs or request an estimate.

Meanwhile, download our guide to successfully plan any facility maintenance projects.