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Work packages
ready for execution, workable without queries
Everything in the package
Materials, scaffolding, permits, inspection
Interface
between scope and scheduling
400+
turnarounds and projects as our base of experience
Why preparation is decisive
Between “this needs doing” and “this is how it gets done”
The difference between a smooth shutdown and a troubled one rarely lies in the skill of the crew, but in whether it can work without hindrance.
Waiting time in a shutdown cannot be made up – and if it lies on the critical path, it moves the end date. Detailed work preparation tackles exactly the three most common reasons why work stands still: searching, waiting and improvising. Every work package must therefore be prepared so that it can be completed without queries: with everything it needs, in the right place, at the right time.
Swipe sideways to view →Eight components, all clarified before the shutdown. If one is missing, a crew waits in the field.
The basis is the approved scope from scope management. What we make of it goes back into scheduling as realistic durations and resource requirements – only then does the network schedule become reliable.
Scope of services
What belongs in a package
We break every scope item down into executable packages and equip them with everything needed to complete them without disruption.
Work packages
Work steps, method, realistic duration and manpower and tool requirements per activity – the basis of any reliable scheduling.
Material & spare parts planning
Bills of materials, requirement notices to your purchasing department and provision when needed, so no activity waits for material.
Isolation & safety planning
Isolation concepts (LOTO) and work permits (permit-to-work) prepared rather than improvised – safety is planned, not spontaneous.
Access & scaffolding
Scaffolding, crane and access planning as a fixed part of the package, so the work can be reached when it is due.
Constructability review
Feasibility is checked in advance – so problems do not first show up in the field, where they become expensive.
What you gain
What you gain
Less waiting timeThe crew does not wait for material, scaffolding or permits – the most expensive time in a shutdown.
Safe executionPlanned, documented isolations and permits instead of improvised solutions in the plant.
Realistic durationsReliable input for scheduling – a network schedule is only as good as its activity durations.
Less reworkBecause constructability was checked in advance rather than discovered in the field.
Calm in the fieldThe crew works instead of organising – from day one.
Our approach
Break down, detail, feed in
01
Break down
Every approved scope item is broken down into executable packages – cut so that one trade can complete them in one go, without waiting for another.
02
Detail
Every package is described until it is ready for execution: method, duration, personnel, materials, scaffolding, isolation, permits and inspection steps.
03
Feed in
The realistic durations and resource requirements go into the schedule, the material requirements into procurement. This turns an approved scope into a plan that can actually be executed.
Context
When we take on the preparation
Three starting points. In all three, there is more to prepare than the remaining time allows.
01From planning to the shutdownThe standard case: work preparation starts before the freeze and runs into the shutdown – and it takes time.02When in-house capacity is tightWhen your internal work preparation cannot handle the volume alongside day-to-day business.03For critical packagesSpecifically for complex work on the critical path that leaves no room for improvisation.
Technical planning sits between three disciplines: scope delivers the what, the schedule turns it into a sequence, coordination takes it into the plant.
Scope Management
Capture, assess, freeze, control: the work scope is fixed – and holds even when the pressure rises.
A work package contains everything the executing trade needs – including the activity and method, duration, personnel, material, scaffolding, isolations, permits and inspection steps. It answers every question before it is asked in the plant. The acid test: can the package be worked through without anyone having to ask?
How does technical planning improve schedule adherence?
In two ways. First, work packages with assessed durations supply realistic durations for the network schedule – a schedule is only as reliable as the activity durations it is made of. Second, coordinated sequences prevent crews from waiting for materials, scaffolding or permits.
How is safety taken into account in planning?
Work permits, isolation concepts, inspection steps and hold points are part of every work package. Safety and quality are thus planned in from the start rather than added afterwards – that is the difference between planned and improvised safety.
Does technical planning work together with scope and scheduling?
Yes, it sits right between the two. Scope management supplies the what, technical planning the how, and scheduling brings both together into a workable sequence. Without this interlocking, you get plans that work on paper but not in the field.
What does technical planning cost?
We charge by the hour, by day rates or at a fixed price, for example per work package – we work out together which model fits. The effort depends on the number and complexity of the packages. For a first indication, your scope list is enough for us. The initial call is free of charge.
Terms such as work package, QA/QC and E&I are explained in our glossary – along with 56 other terms from the shutdown and project business.
From the blog
From the field.
Further reading: an article by our specialists on this topic.
Turnaround · Thomas Krischak
From foreman to planner: what operators gain when practitioners plan
No vocational training teaches technical planning and turnaround scheduling. We train practitioners to become our planners – for the entire turnaround.