The Key to a Great Outage

The key to a great outage is communication without saying anything. The analogy that fits best is watching a PIT stop at NASCAR. Most PIT stops are under 8 seconds (note this is what I got from the internet I’m not an NASCAR expert) in that 8 seconds there are approximately 8 people working on the one car; jacking it, fueling it, changing the tires, etc... That’s a lot of work to perform in 8 seconds.

The point is if you watch the PIT stop no one is talking to each other however their efforts are well coordinated and it is obvious that they are communicating in some fashion. Otherwise, how could they perform so well? The best outages are like a PIT stop: lots going on and not a lot of discussion. To achieve this there is a great amount of work that gets done before the PIT stop. Choosing the right contractor, particularly the scaffolding contractor (who’s work affects the entire schedule) and being absolutely clear with them about expectations is a must for a great outage.