Mark Hierons, industrial operations director at plant and
equipment hire specialist, Hewden, offers a few tips on the
key areas to establish when embarking on a site shutdown –
considering how the choice of equipment provider can help
ensure the project runs to schedule

Even when site shutdowns are
scheduled far in advance, they are still
one of the most stressful periods for
plant engineers and project managers. And,
with costs under constant scrutiny, managers
and site supervisors must ensure that they
have the right partnerships, right equipment
and above all, the necessary planning in
place before committing to what could
otherwise be a lengthy and costly process.

Right people for the job
One area where the pressure of securing a
workforce and resource can be eased is in
choosing the right equipment rental partner
to provide support during the shutdown
period. Almost every significant plant
shutdown leads to a demand for extra
specialist equipment such as access
platforms, explosion-proof lighting,
industrial forklift trucks, compressors,
pumps, power generation, cranes and various
types of welding and hand tools, so having
an equipment specialist on hand can be
beneficial.

In addition, as shutdowns often lead to
hundreds of contractors and sub contractors
working on site, temporary villages may need
to be built to provide multiple
accommodation units, canteen areas, drying
rooms, offices, clocking stations, showers
and other amenities. With a high number of
personnel on site, radio communications is
also another key area to consider.

Such equipment is readily available from
many rental specialists and, in the past,
normal practice was to ‘pick and mix’ from
many different hire companies to fulfil
specific product requirements. However, this
approach leaves the plant manager to
coordinate the hire and off-hire of each piece
of equipment, chase up kit that fails to
appear, deal with equipment failure and
repair or replacement, as well as negotiating
hire extensions when the inevitable overruns
occur.

It’s therefore not surprising that many
plant managers now look to create
framework or partnership agreements
whereby the full hire management system for
a specific shutdown or turnaround project is
contracted to one supplier.

What you need, when you need it
On a typical shutdown site, there is a vast
quantity of equipment to organise and
manage, before thought is even given to how
long it is required, when and where. By
contracting this full hire management
process to one lead supplier, logistical
difficulties can be minimised. The lead
company will supply a significant percentage
of the hire equipment from its own range but
will also take full responsibility for sourcing
and managing the equipment required from
approved third party specialists.

Add to this the efficiency of a ‘single point
of contact’ and managers can immediately
alleviate the strain of coordinating the
equipment and any third party suppliers by
making one simple phone call – suitable for
any equipment hire emergency, whatever the
time of day.

Invoicing and payment
With labour and the appropriate resources
secured, the next step is to determine
whether the chosen provider is easy to do
business with; in short, whether its
administration routines and accounting
practices will avoid additional complexity for
the shutdown team.

One of the biggest pitfalls in the hire/offhire
period is invoicing and payment. This is
more apparent when the shutdown has
concluded, and many of the subcontractors
have been moved onto new sites, as at this
point it can be easy to lose the continuity of
the management system. In addition, there is
the time consuming process of checking the
agreed hire rates and hire periods, ensuring
all discounts and rebates have been applied
and ensuring purchase orders and invoices
match.

Therefore, establishing if the rental
provider can offer any payment options to
help manage administration, processing time
and cash flow can have numerous benefits.

One way in which a significant amount of
accounts’ processing time and cost can be
reduced is by using a consolidated invoice
service. Hewden, for example, offers this
service to all customers that hire a large
volume of equipment. This means that
customers receive just one invoice a month.

Safety is paramount
In an industry where site hazard and risk are
under constant review, it is imperative that
all partners and suppliers share and adhere
to any health and safety regulations. Before
any contracts are signed and before any
equipment reaches the site, plant managers
should establish which accreditations the
potential rental specialist holds.Working
with a hire company that has achieved these
accreditations provides the reassurance that
certain minimum standards for safety,
quality and performance will be met.