Many safety professionals and management personnel fear a turnaround of any kind. Whether it’s on a large or small scale, it means a lot of change, different dynamics and upset employees. These officials can’t assume that the same rules will apply or that everything will be okay during or after turnarounds. More than likely, turnarounds have caused severely negative impacts in the past, and most people live the “lessons learned” thought process of don’t do it.
Uniqueness
These challenges are usually unique and different from anything else. There may be increased vehicle traffic, increased headcounts, increased activity of a dangerous nature, etc. All of these increases (or decreases) could cause more strain and stress on current resources.
While logistics can be daunting, so can the human factors that come with turnarounds. Many times, new hires are considered low on the totem pole, even if they have years of experience somewhere else. They’ll feel neglected, veteran employees won’t give them the time of day, and everyone will be upset.
Planning
One of the keys to turnaround safety is to plan and talk with current employees about these plans. You may require years of planning before you can start the change you’re hoping to make, but no change, even the most excellent and impressive, will work if you don’t clue in the employees.
Tell them what’s going to happen, how long it will take to happen, and what will go on during the change phase. Explain to them why these changes are necessary and bring in backup if necessary. Your safety manager should be willing and able to discuss the turnaround with other managers and department heads so they can give the information to everyone else. This way, everyone’s on the same page, people are still safe, and they welcome the change instead of push against it.
