For any site manager supervising a shutdown period, it is
essential to minimise delays, which can have a negative
impact both on productivity and profitability. Here,Mark
Hierons from Hewden Industrial Accounts’ division,
discusses how careful choice of equipment provider can
help limit downtim

Almost every plant shutdown will lead
to a demand for additional
equipment such as access platforms,
mobile lighting, various types of welding and
hand tools, compressors, power generation
and cranes.With all this equipment readily
available, businesses may decide to select
different hire items from a range of rental
specialists, both local and national, in order
to fulfil their specific product requirements.

However, in order to alleviate the
difficulties of working with numerous
suppliers, project managers should consider
working with one equipment rental
company and create a framework agreement,
whereby the hire management is contracted
to one supplier. The lead company will then
supply a significant percentage of the hire
equipment from its own range but will also
take full responsibility for sourcing and
managing the supply of equipment required
from third party specialists.

Project overview
A detailed project plan should be produced to
ensure that the work to be undertaken and
the health and safety implications of using
certain types of equipment are communicated
to the various subcontractors on site. This
plan could include details of any access
restrictions, working at height considerations,
the proximity of power and any hazardous
areas where there is a requirement for
intrinsically safe equipment to be used.

Schedule equipment
The project team should then identify the
equipment necessary for each stage of the
shutdown and compile a detailed schedule of
work. The equipment provider will begin by
establishing when each hire item needs to be
on site and the length of time for which it is
needed. This will ensure the right equipment
is available and will identify where cost
savings can be made, by reducing the volume
of equipment on site at any one time.

In addition, the hire company should also
build in a contingency plan for possible over
runs and delays and ensure that it holds
sufficient stock of equipment.

Identify health and safety risks
It is equally important to establish that the
operators using each machine are fully
trained and able to work safely. The hire
provider should carry out equipment
familiarisation with any plant operatives who
will be using the equipment. It is often the
case that a fully-trained operator may be
better suited to carrying out the task safely
and efficiently and this is where the hire
company’s own approach is important.

Increasing emphasis is being placed on
training operators to be multi-skilled, so it is
becoming easier to hire several machines that
can be operated by one person. This means
the supervisor will only need to carry out
one health and safety induction session and
will help reduce the number of workers on
site. Furthermore, it is important to establish
which accreditations the hire provider holds;
in particular, the three key standards are ISO
9001 for quality, ISO14001 for
environmental management and OHSAS
18001 for occupational health and safety.

Working with a hire company such as
Hewden, which has achieved these
accreditations at every depot in its network,
means that certain minimum standards for
safety, quality and performance will be met.

In short, plant managers have a much better
guarantee that the machine will arrive in
perfect working order and will not jeopardise
site safety.

Agreeing terms
No plant manager wants to acquire
additional processing costs or add time and
complexity to back office functions during
the shutdown period. Therefore, it is
advisable to agree pricing and invoicing
programmes before any equipment arrives
on site. Supervisors should ask if the rental
provider offers any payment options to help
manage cashflow better. Hewden for
example, offers a consolidated invoice service
for customers that hire a large volume of
equipment. This means customers receive
just one set of paperwork each month, or at
the end of the shutdown period, saving a
significant amount of accounts’ processing
time and cost.

With more than 20 years’ experience in
shutdowns, Hewden Industrial Accounts,
formerly Hewden Services, offers customers
a solution to not only manage multiple third
party equipment suppliers, but also to deliver
cost savings and efficiency benefits and to
ensure full compliance with health, safety
and environmental standards.