November 11, 2021 by The value of improving turnaround performance has been long overlooked in the refining industry. Some refiners have recognized the need for improved turnaround performance, yet recognition and successful implementation have proven to be worlds apart. This paper explores how a mid-sized refining company successfully instituted a culture of excellence in approaching and managing turnarounds. Their step-by-step implementation of turnaround excellence can be used a roadmap that will benefit other refiners. Building a Culture of Turnaround Excellence: Lessons from a Mid-Size Refining Company Introduction In today’s volatile refining market, operational readiness and reliability define success. When margins tighten and capacity utilization fluctuates, one factor often separates the leaders from the laggards — the culture surrounding turnarounds. This case study explores how a mid-size refining company, guided by Asset Performance Networks (AP-Networks), achieved dramatic improvements in safety, cost predictability, and teamwork through a structured approach to turnaround excellence. The Problem: Declining Utilization and Costly Turnarounds Despite record refining margins, the industry faced declining utilization rates driven by poorly executed turnarounds — 40% cost overruns, three-week schedule delays, and morale-draining stress. Leadership realized that the issue wasn’t just technical inefficiency; it was cultural. The lack of collaboration and consistency across sites eroded performance and profitability. Step One: Leadership Realization and Resolve Senior management recognized that lasting competitiveness required a collaborative culture of excellence — a mindset visible in everything from maintenance and safety to communication and housekeeping. They commissioned a third-party assessment that revealed a deeper issue: turnarounds were fracturing teamwork. Poor coordination and inconsistent execution had created silos, cynicism, and major financial losses. Step Two: Empowering a Corporate Champion The company appointed a dedicated turnaround champion with a single mission — transform how turnarounds were planned, executed, and measured. Empowered to define KPIs and drive change, this leader built a Turnaround Initiative Steering Team that united plant managers and provided accountability across departments. Step Three: Understanding the Baseline With support from external consultants, the team benchmarked each site’s turnaround performance against industry best practices. They quantified gaps in safety, schedule, and cost predictability — revealing major variability across the enterprise. The analysis provided a factual baseline and fueled motivation for change. Step Four: Rapid Process Deployment Rather than building a new process internally, the company adopted a proven turnaround management framework from an outside provider — a decision that saved time, money, and morale. Within three months, a web-based process was customized and rolled out, enabling real-time collaboration and readiness tracking across multiple sites. Step Five: Integration and Alignment Turnarounds were no longer treated as isolated events. The process was linked with business planning, capital projects, and commitment tracking. By aligning deliverables across departments, the company prevented late scope changes and improved cross-functional collaboration — essential for enterprise-wide reliability. Step Six: Training, KPIs, and Continuous Improvement Company-wide training sessions built awareness of best practices and measurable goals. KPIs were structured to drive behavior change — starting with 80% weighting on process adoption in year one, gradually shifting toward performance outcomes by year three. These metrics cascaded from executives to plant operators, ensuring alignment at every level. The Results: Measurable Gains in Less Than a Year Within the first year: Zero recordable injuries across six turnarounds. Improved schedule predictability and smoother startups. Growing cost control and teamwork across departments.The company’s success echoed transformations seen in the U.S. nuclear power industry — proving that leadership and culture can drive quantum leaps in turnaround performance. Key Takeaway Turnaround excellence isn’t achieved through tools alone; it’s built through leadership, collaboration, and culture. When companies empower champions, standardize processes, and measure what matters, reliability and performance naturally follow. As AP-Networks has demonstrated, a culture of excellence can be created — one turnaround at a time. Contact Reference To learn more about developing a culture of turnaround excellence or implementing a proven turnaround management framework, visit www.ap-networks.com.