Speaker Insight: Why the Best Turnarounds Never Stop Improving
Speaker Insight: Why the Best Turnarounds Never Stop Improving
Every turnaround is an opportunity to restore reliability, improve performance, and prepare for the next operating cycle. But according to Frank Engli, Senior Advisor, Maintenance & Turnarounds at Becht and Co-Chair of the 25th Annual Shutdowns Turnarounds Superconference, the most successful organizations see turnarounds as something more.
They see every event as an opportunity to learn, adapt, and improve. As Frank puts it: “The best organizations learn from these lessons and continuously apply them.”
In a recent interview with Maximl, Frank discussed how today’s leading organizations are challenging traditional thinking—using every turnaround to strengthen future planning, improve reliability, and make smarter decisions across the asset lifecycle.
Turnarounds Should Create Long-Term Value
For many years, turnarounds were viewed as a necessary interruption to production. Today, leading organizations are taking a different approach.
As Frank explains:
“You want to maximize the interval between your outages to amortize the cost of the outage and reduce your annualized cost.”
The objective isn’t simply to execute a successful turnaround—it’s to continually improve how maintenance is planned, prioritized, and executed over time.
Don’t Let Lessons Learned Become Forgotten Lessons
One of Frank’s strongest messages is that lessons learned shouldn’t be treated as a closeout activity.
Too often, organizations capture valuable observations at the end of a turnaround, file the report away, and revisit it years later when planning begins again.
Frank believes organizations should rethink how they approach closeout.
“A lessons learned process should never be just at the end of the turnaround. It should be evergreen.”
Capturing observations throughout planning and execution allows improvements to be applied while future events are already taking shape.
Technology Supports Better Decisions
As digital tools, AI, and advanced inspection technologies continue to evolve, organizations have more information than ever before.
But technology alone doesn’t improve turnaround performance. As Frank explains:
“A lessons learned process should never be just at the end of the turnaround. It should be evergreen.”
Technology can organize information, preserve knowledge, improve communication, and surface insights more quickly—but experienced people remain central to making the right decisions.
Continuous Improvement is a Team Effort
Improvement doesn’t happen through planning alone.
It requires operations, maintenance, engineering, projects, contractors, and leadership to work toward shared objectives throughout the turnaround lifecycle. Frank believes improvement is never finished.
“It’s a continuous improvement. We have to remember that it’s not a one and done.”
That mindset—continually learning, adapting and improving—is what separates today’s highest-performing turnaround organizations from the rest.
Watch the full podcast interview
Continue the Conversation
As Frank reminds us:
“It’s a continuous improvement. We have to remember that it’s not a one and done.”
Join Frank Engli and industry leaders at the 25th Annual Shutdowns Turnarounds Superconference as they explore practical strategies for improving turnaround planning, reliability, leadership, and execution.
Benchmark with owner/operators, contractors, and peers from across North America—and discover new ideas you can apply before, during, and after your next turnaround.
Learn more about the Shutdowns Turnarounds Superconference