SSG 10 & 19 - Shutdown and Outages Strategy and Management (PDF)

The Shutdown and Outages Strategy and Management SSG has been developed in recognition that the most significant cost across the life cycle of an asset occurs through the maintain and operate phase. This is a disruptive but business-critical activity and can significantly impact finances, business reputation, and shareholder and stakeholder value.

The SSG focuses on the outage strategy and its management, establishing key phases across the life cycle, defining core elements and competencies, and highlighting leading practices and tools to manage through the phases. Managing and measuring performance is important to support a culture of continuous improvement, and indicative KPIs are highlighted. Developing a shutdown/outage strategy will provide a plan of action to determine how it is planned, managed, and executed throughout the phases. It also provides the opportunity to examine current capabilities versus what is needed to meet overall business goals.

The SSG also provides detailed guidance on how to optimize and define the shutdown/outage interval and work scope and leverage advancements in technology to: 

• access and process large amounts of data
• make improved decisions
• have greater visibility of performance
• digitize activities
• manage and control work more efficiently and safely at a reduced cost.

The SSG is complemented by real-life case studies, which identify a methodology with logical steps to optimize a shutdown/outage.