Huntsman's 2010 PO/MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) T&I (turnaround and inspection) was a challenging project that required numerous maintenance activities to be completed, as well as simultaneous capital project work. This unit produces MTBE, a chemical additive to gasoline, which is sold overseas. As one of the only remaining MTBE-producing units in the United States, minimal downtime was critical to the client. The unit required that 1,497 work packages, using all types of industrial craft disciplines, be completed within a 45-day maintenance window. To accomplish this required peak staffing to reach levels of 600 workers per shift, both days and nights.

Turner's team of veteran turnaround and specialty service managers began planning six months before the actual start date. During this time, our turnaround management staff and Huntsman's turnaround and operations team met on a regular basis, along with various other contractors to identify and resolve concerns, and identify opportunities for improvement. Challenged with completing both maintenance and capital project work within the same timeframe, Turner recognized and relied on accurate progress to be entered daily into our proprietary, award-winning planning and estimating software system, WinPCS.

While performing the maintenance portion of the project, a significant amount of discovery work was identified, which added an additional 50,000 unplanned work hours to the schedule. Innovative programs involving planning and personnel management enabled Turner Industries to accomplish this work safely, on schedule and under budget.