Insights

The thinking behind the read.

Plain, public-framework writing on what makes shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages run on time: schedule quality, readiness, scope, and what the data actually shows. No vendor pitches, no client names.

July 25, 20265 min read

We stopped scheduling interview weeks

Assurance reviews have always run on interviews, and the interviews have always been the hardest part to run well. Every STOAR now uses AI-led one-on-one interviews as standard: nothing for the client to coordinate, every discipline covered, and what one person raises tested against the next.

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July 11, 20265 min read

Lightning was the ignition source, not the cause

Early in my career, a lightning strike set a refinery storage tank on fire. Leading the investigation taught me that the ignition source is rarely the cause, and that the most dangerous hazard is the one everyone has stopped seeing. A look at physical, human, and latent cause, and why the lesson has to outlive the event.

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July 8, 20266 min read

From first LNG to first major outage

New LNG facilities are moving from commissioning into operations and toward their first major outages, often before the organization has run one. A turnaround is a system, not a purchase. Here is how to put that system in place before the outage finds the gaps.

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July 1, 20265 min read

Read your turnaround schedule like Google Maps, not a paper map

Most P6 turnaround schedules are treated like a printed map: approved and filed. Sound logic is what lets a schedule reroute when reality shifts. Here is what to check before baseline lock.

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