Could you highlight one or two instances in your book, The Ultimate Guide to Manage Shutdowns, where seasoned shutdown experts or industry leaders offer pivotal insights? What valuable lessons can readers draw from those chapters?
Haithm Elsaka: Great question. The main focus of the book is to offer the readers insights, experiences, lessons learned, and best practices that were accumulated from 75 shutdowns and more than 50 sizeable brown field projects. The book clustered these into chapters where each focused on one main topic. Most of the topics were dedicated to describing the roles of the key members of a shutdown project management team (PMT). This way, the professional entrusted with a specific role can use the chapter as his or her practical manual. Other topics offered key concepts, suggestions, insights, and best practices that -if implemented- will positively impact shutdown execution. Examples are: Cost-saving initiatives. Building relationships with external stakeholders. And executing shutdowns away from your base country.
The book’s most impactful insight is the implementation of the shutdown checklists scheme across the entire PMT and its subcontractors. The checklists have succeeded in saving millions, avoiding mistakes, standardizing performance, and providing governance for execution.
The book contains ready-to-use templates that could be slightly tweaked by the readers for use at their respective shutdowns’ execution.
Another key insight would be the book’s call for integrating the data of manpower resources into a single interactive database, which includes the assessment of the manpower required, their loading & levelling onto the parts of the scope, their selection, mobilization, allocation to jobs & leaders, and the assessment of their performance. Management of Manpower through such a scheme shall almost guarantee successful shutdown execution.
The book also provides a detailed explanation of the organizational aspects of shutdown management. The explanation is supported with a plethora of ready-for-implementation examples.
As an author, what do you hope readers will take away from The Ultimate Guide to Manage Shutdowns? What impact do you aim to make in their lives or professions?
I hope the book will demonstrate to the readers who serve in the execution of projects that the following statements are true:
- Project execution is the fruit of the tree that you plant during the planning & preparation phase (i.e. the Pre-shutdown). There is no magic here! The better you do during the Pre-SD phase, the better your execution will be.
- Debunk the ‘Superman’ execution where some folks still believe that if the project team is led by a super performer, the project will be executed with a ‘happy ending’ even if other PMT members are failing or not performing. Success requires an entire team that is committed to collaborating to execute systematically.
- Continuous improvements do not happen by coincidence. Accumulation of the lessons learned and best practices, then implementing them, requires a solid quality assurance system with empowered leadership that drives the implementations. Continuous improvement is a culture…not a ‘one off’!
- The head office management’s active involvement is a prerequisite for the success of the shutdown execution. Almost certainly, if shutdown execution fails, look for the root cause at the head office first.
- The mastery of the shutdown execution methodology will improve the readers’ ability to manage any other type of project. Shutdown & brown field projects execution is the ‘Navy SEAL’ type, once compared to other projects.
In your opinion, what are some common misconceptions about shutdown management, and how does your book address and dispel them?
Haithm Elsaka: I will mention the most common misconceptions that I encountered repeatedly and were proven to be wrong:
- Misconception 1: If the resources are mobilized, everything will be OK!! – This is the most famous. Simply having them on site will not be enough. The book offers a detailed explanation of sourcing the resources, allocating them, and managing them effectively.
- Misconception 2: Execution on time and on budget is more important than HSE & Quality compliance – The book confirms to the contractors that safety & quality violations will have them blacklisted. Clients’ reputation and compliance with their values outweigh any single successful shutdown event.
- Misconception 3: Any successful main contractor with vast resources can execute shutdown projects too! – I have seen massive main contractors with impressive track records in executing civil & infrastructure projects come down to their knees when they attempted to do a small shutdown. The book explains the prerequisites and transformations that must take place before attempting a shutdown project.
- Misconception 4: Demobilization of resources should take place after completing the shutdown scope – the book advocates that demobilization of resources must be concluded and committed before the start of the shutdown execution. Before the start of execution, the resources demobilization planning must be planned and documented ‘by name’ for the manpower and ‘by tag’ number for equipment.
The book explains that the earned execution and revenues made will evaporate if the costs of the resources are not tightly controlled through an ambitious, well-planned, and agreed-upon resources demobilization plan.
- Misconception 5: If the same contractor performs the same facility’s shutdown again, improvement will come automatically. – The book proves that continuous improvement in execution will happen only when the contractor is implementing a formidable quality management system where (a) the employees are trained on how to capture lessons learned, (b) subject matter experts vet these lessons, (c) access is granted to the concerned employees to review the lessons learned database, and (d) the review of the lessons learned database is mandatory and their utilization is incentivized.
Without a system that governs the utilization of the lessons learned, improvements would be a mere coincidence. Continuous improvement is a culture that must be supported with mechanisms and systems.
Were there any significant challenges you faced while writing this book? How did you overcome them?
Haithm Elsaka: In order to cover all key aspects of shutdown execution, I had to include specialized and highly technical disciplines. The most significant are quality assurance, Quality control, health, safety, and the environment, planning & scheduling, and welding.
Factually, I was the manager of these specialized functions and the recipient of their deliverables. But that is not enough to enable me to address them at the level of detail that will benefit subject matter experts. To do justice to these disciplines, I followed three approaches while developing their respective chapters:
- Used the standard deliverables of each discipline as the table of contents for their respective chapters. Having participated in the execution of many shutdowns, I am fully aware of these deliverables. I decided that the book must provide the readers with guidelines & support materials to support them with the development of these deliverables
- Sourced the content from their respective professional bodies’ literature, guidelines, standards, and procedures. OSHA and ISO for HSE. ISO for quality. Project Management Institute (PMI) for planning & scheduling. The Welding Institute (TWI) for welding.
But I refrained from presenting the professional material that belongs to these organizations. I limited the book to highlight the importance of the great work of these institutions and the need to have professional leaders certified by these institutions.
- Selected and included in the book are the most valued lessons learned, best practices, guidelines, and anecdotes that the subject matter experts validated and attached high value to. The content came from real events and actions that were proven to be of great value, whether negative or positive practices.
Could you share a chapter or section that readers will find particularly useful or enlightening? Why do you think it will resonate so strongly with professionals in the field?
Haithm Elsaka: If I must mention only one, then it will have to be the “Cost saving execution as a company culture” chapter. All contractors are in the project execution to make money. The book cannot be useful unless it appeals to what’s important for the target audience. The chapter offers tried mechanisms and suggestions that can be applied by all contractors while executing shutdown projects and other projects as well. Positive results will be felt immediately.
If I could mention another one, it would have to be the checklist appendix. It contains ready-to-apply checklists that the readers could use while executing their
respective roles in shutdown execution. And for the best results, the checklists should be implemented by all the Project Management Team members. Implementing the checklists will save the readers from making our mistakes and will enable them to implement best practices towards effective and drama-free execution.
What’s your go-to celebratory moment when you complete a shutdown— or, in this case, a book about shutdowns?
Haithm Elsaka: My goal in writing the book is to share my experiences and those of my colleagues over the years with all shutdown execution professionals. The book would achieve its ultimate objective when the readers implement its content and succeed in executing their projects without the pain and struggles that my fellow colleagues and I have faced, and to achieve the victories & satisfaction when the job gets done right, and all stakeholders’ expectations have been met.
So, I think my celebratory moment will be when I receive rich feedback from the readers in the form of clarifications on how to apply the shutdown execution methodology, or positive feedback that they have implemented the book content, and their SD execution improved because of the book!
Book Details
Book Name: The Ultimate Guide to Manage Shutdowns: A Roadmap to Successful Execution
Author Name: Haithm Elsaka
ISBN Number: 978-1969368059
Paperback Version: Click Here
