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Navigating outage delivery during peak periods

Power plant outage management during peak periods presents a unique set of challenges that demands carefully planning outage delivery strategies, clear communication, and collaboration between service providers and customers. Each element is essential in meeting project deadlines and ensuring safety, quality, and customer satisfaction. This blog explores common obstacles in planned maintenance outages, effective outage management strategies to overcome them, and the critical role of customer collaboration in outage planning.

Challenges in outage delivery

  • Peak period pressure: During peak seasons, such as spring and fall, the demand for outage services surges, resulting in resource constraints and scheduling conflicts. Managing these periods requires advanced planning, strategic resource allocation, and contingency planning to mitigate challenges.

  • Alignment gaps: Miscommunication and misalignment on outage dates, start times, and scope can lead to delays and inefficiencies and impact our ability to meet established deadlines. Establishing clear communication early in planning is crucial to avoid misunderstandings and delays.

  • Quality of tooling: Issues with tools and equipment, such as damaged or obsolete equipment, can cause significant delays. Inspecting equipment and tools before execution can help ensure they meet safety and operational standards, keeping operations running smoothly during the outage.

  • Scope and extra work alignment: Outages rarely go exactly as planned, resulting in additional work that can disrupt schedules and budgets. It is essential to align with the customer on the project's scope and establish clear processes and protocols for proactively addressing unscheduled work.

Outage management strategies for optimal outage delivery

  • Early date confirmation: Securing outage dates well in advance with Customer Portfolio Managers (CPM) allows for better resource planning. This helps ensure all parties are aligned on the start date, scope, and availability of necessary resources, including field engineers, craft labor, tooling, and parts.

  • Alignment on incremental scope: Regular meetings between customers and service managers are essential to review and coordinate additional scope occurring on-site, including third-party work and any emergent tasks during the outage. Tracking significant milestones and setting clear processes for authorizing extra work will help reduce strain on the project's timeline.

  • Root cause analysis (RCA) teams: Implementing RCA teams for significant issues and conducting Kaizen events to drive continuous improvement. These initiatives help identify gaps in the process, resulting in implementing corrective action plans to prevent delays or issues in the future.

  • Enhancing talent and training: Investing in talent development and training enhances expertise and readiness for complex outage scenarios. This focus on skill development is pivotal in maintaining high standards of execution.

  • Comprehensive tooling and equipment inspections: Regular audits and tool maintenance are crucial proactive measures, recommended to uphold consistent safety and quality standards, and prevent delays caused by unusable equipment.

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Customer collaboration in outage planning

Customer collaboration in outage planning is crucial for the successful execution of outage delivery strategies. Engaging with customers early in the planning process helps coordinate dates, ensure tool inspection for planned maintenance outages, and align on the scope of work. Inspecting tools is necessary to prevent delays and ensure safety and quality standards. Consistently reviewing and agreeing on critical milestones keeps both parties aligned on progress and any work scope changes. Clearly defined protocols for authorizing extra work help manage unplanned tasks efficiently, streamlining the approval process and execution during power plant outage management.

On-demand webinar

Safety, quality & on-time execution: Planning for your next outage

Navigating outage delivery challenges requires a collaborative approach, clear communication, and proactive planning. Effective customer collaboration in outage planning enables service providers to deliver outages smoothly and efficiently. Our experts discussed these topics at length and many more in this webinar. Take the opportunity to watch the webinar today to learn how you can proactively influence your next outages to ensure they run smoothly.

Frequently asked questions

Learn more about outage delivery strategies

What are the key factors that determine effective project and outage execution?

Effective project and outage execution depend on early planning, clear communication, and resource allocation. Key factors include:

  • Locking in dates well in advance

  • Defining start dates

  • Inspecting tooling 

  • Aligning on the scope of work and extra work authorization processes

How does GE Vernova handle changes in scope during an outage?

Before an event, we focus on contingency planning, collaborate with engineering partners, and aim to handle scope changes efficiently by identifying trends and allocating necessary resources. Our proactive measures are expected to make a significant difference in managing scope changes during outage periods.

When dealing with scope changes during an outage, we thoroughly reassess our plan to ensure safety and quality standards are met. We evaluate procedures and safety mechanisms, update documentation and plans as needed, and integrate Live Outage modules where applicable. 

How does GE Vernova manage resources during the busy outage season?

During peak outage seasons, resource allocation requires advanced planning and strategic allocation. This involves forecasting demand, developing robust operating plans, and collaborating with customers to adjust outage schedules. Continuous monitoring and adjusting of plans ensure that resources are available to meet demand effectively.

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Daniel Fimbianti

GM Operations Excellence
GE Vernova’s Gas Power
One Field Services

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