A single day of schedule slippage on a major turnaround can cost a facility far more than the maintenance work itself — which is why Turnaround Readiness has become a discipline in its own right. This Shutdown, Turnaround and Startup Readiness Training Course builds the practical skills needed to plan, coordinate, execute, and close shutdown and TAR activities safely and efficiently, while keeping schedule, cost, and safety under control.

Delivered by Arab British Fellowship Training Academy under its Operations Readiness and Assurance Training courses and the Engineering maintenance and operation category, the programme covers shutdown strategy, TAR planning, maintenance coordination, resource mobilisation, risk management, and startup readiness, helping participants manage interfaces between operations and maintenance teams and verify a safe return to service.

• Build effective Turnaround Readiness strategies, criteria, and assurance gates.
• Strengthen shutdown and TAR planning, scheduling, and work-scope coordination.
• Identify critical resources, materials, equipment, and workforce requirements.
• Apply risk assessment and safety controls throughout shutdown execution.
• Manage changes, delays, and unexpected issues during TAR execution.
• Develop startup and commissioning readiness plans with clear performance indicators.
• Verify operational, mechanical, safety, and documentation readiness before startup.
• Support a controlled transition from shutdown execution to normal operations.

Target Audience

• Operations and maintenance managers, engineers, and supervisors.
• Shutdown and turnaround managers, planners, and coordinators.
• Reliability and asset integrity professionals.
• Project, engineering, and commissioning/startup personnel.
• Planning, scheduling, and HSE/process safety professionals.
• Production and plant managers.
• Contractors and technical personnel involved in TAR activities.

Module 1: The Business Case for Turnaround Readiness

• Shutdown, turnaround, and startup concepts and TAR lifecycle.
• Critical success factors and governance for TAR programmes.
• Readiness criteria, deliverables, and assurance gates.

Module 2: Shutdown and TAR Planning

• Developing shutdown strategies and validating work scope.
• Work pack development, activity sequencing, and prioritisation.
• Schedule development, critical path management, and planning interfaces.

Module 3: Maintenance Coordination and Quality

• Integrating preventive and corrective maintenance.
• Backlog assessment, equipment isolation, and preparation.
• Inspection, repair, replacement planning, and quality controls.

Module 4: Resource, Materials and Contractor Readiness

• Workforce planning, mobilisation, and contractor management.
• Competency requirements, logistics, and material availability.
• Temporary facilities, productivity, and readiness tracking.

Module 5: Risk, Safety and Process Integrity

• Shutdown risk assessment, permit-to-work, and isolation requirements.
• SIMOPS and interface risks.
• Emergency preparedness and process safety/asset integrity controls.

Module 6: Execution and Performance Control

• Monitoring shutdown and turnaround progress, schedule, and cost.
• Daily performance management and constraint/issue management.
• Change control and escalation/recovery planning.

Module 7: Startup and Operational Readiness Verification

• Startup strategy, sequencing, and pre-commissioning readiness.
• Systems/equipment verification, operator competency, and startup risk assessment.
• Mechanical completion, handover, punch-list management, and final readiness approval.

Module 8: Post-Turnaround Review and Continuous Improvement

• Shutdown and TAR closeout and performance evaluation.
• Root cause analysis of delays and failures.
• Lessons learned and improving future turnaround programmes.