Shutdown coordination platform
A custom application replaced spreadsheets and email chains for planning and running major shutdowns, giving the team one place to manage scope, logistics and labour.
scope, bookings and labour in one place
information found rather than hunted across inboxes
the platform carries into the next campaign
The challenge
Major shutdowns are commonly planned across dozens of spreadsheets, email threads, phone calls and print outs. Scope, bookings and vendor labour comprises information that is commonly disjointed, hard to find and prone to inefficiencies that come at a cost. Personnel involved in the coordination of these high pressure environments require reliable processes, and technology to support quality outcomes.
When it's time to act
The signs we commonly see when this initiative is due.
- Shutdown scope lives in one planner's spreadsheet and dies with their laptop.
- Vendor labour numbers differ between the email chain, the spreadsheet and the invoice.
- Daily execution meetings spend more time finding information than deciding with it.
- Timesheets arrive on paper and get reconciled weeks after demobilisation.
- Each campaign starts from a blank workbook instead of the last campaign's lessons.
How we deliver it
Map the campaign
Follow how the team actually works, from scope build through to daily execution.
Model the data
One structure for scope, bookings, logistics, vendors and rates so nothing lives in a silo.
Build
A single application for campaign management, with timesheeting and labour requests.
Run in parallel
Use it alongside the existing process for one campaign until the team trusts it.
Reuse and refine
Carry lessons and scope libraries into the next campaign rather than starting again.
Map the campaign
Follow how the team actually works, from scope build through to daily execution.
Model the data
One structure for scope, bookings, logistics, vendors and rates so nothing lives in a silo.
Build
A single application for campaign management, with timesheeting and labour requests.
Run in parallel
Use it alongside the existing process for one campaign until the team trusts it.
Reuse and refine
Carry lessons and scope libraries into the next campaign rather than starting again.
Our approach
- Understand how the shutdown team actually works and where coordination breaks down, from scope build through to daily execution on the floor.
- Assess the current process and tools against your own shutdown management standards and, where relevant, established industry practice, so the build targets real gaps rather than automating existing workarounds.
- Build one application to manage campaigns, logistics and bookings together.
- Add online timesheeting and vendor labour requests, tied back to rate data.
- Roll it out alongside the existing process for the first campaign until the team trusts it.
Tools and methods
The value it creates
- One source of truth for shutdown scope, bookings and labour.
- Less time chasing information across spreadsheets and inboxes.
- A platform the team reuses each campaign.
What changes
Dozens of spreadsheets and threads
Scope, bookings and labour in one platform
Information hunted across inboxes
Information found where the work is managed
Paper timesheets reconciled later
Online timesheets tied to rates as they happen
Every campaign from scratch
Scope libraries carried into the next campaign
Where these initiatives fail
The failure modes we design against.
- Digitising the existing chaos instead of mapping how coordination actually breaks down.
- A big-bang cutover in the highest pressure environment a site runs; parallel running exists for a reason.
- Ignoring vendor reality: if labour requests are harder than email, email wins.
- Building for one campaign instead of a platform that compounds.
Common questions
Why custom software rather than an off-the-shelf shutdown tool?
Sometimes off-the-shelf is the right answer, and we say so. Custom earns its keep where the coordination model, vendor arrangements and rate structures are specific to the operation and packaged tools force workarounds.
How does the first campaign on the platform work?
In parallel. The team runs the platform alongside the existing process until they trust it, which is also how the platform absorbs the details the process mapping missed.
Does it replace the scheduling tool?
No. Planning and scheduling stay in the tools built for them. The platform manages the coordination around the schedule: scope, bookings, logistics, vendors, labour and rates.
Key terms
Plain-language definitions from our glossary for the concepts this page leans on.
Further reading
Articles and calculators on the methods behind this work.
- Schedule Compliance Calculator (tool)
- Planner, scheduler, long term planner: three different jobs (article)
- Building software that runs a 24/7 operation (article)
- Rail solutions (solution)
- Oil and gas solutions (solution)
Related projects
Facing a similar challenge?
Tell us what you are working through and we will bring the right mix of engineering, data and hands-on experience.
Contact us