How to plan a 48-hour industrial shutdown
A shutdown is a fixed-duration project with a hard finish. Here is how the plan is built, and where the hours are usually lost.
Planning cranes, hydras and forklifts before shutdown work
Lifting equipment is the most common single cause of shutdown delay. It is also the easiest to plan properly.
One crane serving four work fronts is not four times as productive. It is a queue.
Capacity is not the only number
Capacity at radius, not capacity on the chart cover. A 50 T crane at 18 metres is not a 50 T crane.
Working radius from the actual standing position, which is decided by what the ground and the building allow, not by where it would be convenient.
Hook height against the lift, the rigging height and the roof.
Ground and access
Ground bearing pressure under outriggers, and whether mats are needed. Inside a plant this often means checking what is under the floor — drains, ducts, basements.
Access route for the machine itself, including the assembled boom if it comes in sections.
Setting-up and dismantling time. A crawler crane that takes half a day to rig has consumed a quarter of a 48-hour shutdown before it lifts anything.
Paperwork that stops work if missing
- Third-party certification, valid on the dates of the job
- Operator licence and experience for the machine class
- Sling, shackle and spreader certificates
- Lift plan for anything non-routine, with a named lifting supervisor
Sequencing
Plan lifts against the hour plan, not against the task list. Group them by location so the machine moves once. Note which lifts are on the critical path, and give those the first slot rather than the convenient one.
If two fronts genuinely need lifting at the same time, that is a second machine, and it is cheaper than the shutdown overrunning.
The failure everybody recognises
Crane booked for 8 a.m., permit issued at 11, first lift at 1 p.m. The crane was never the problem.