Seasonal turnarounds and shutdowns are more than just maintenance events—they are a high-stakes test of a company’s operational efficiency and planning capabilities.

These periods demand the coordination of maintenance teams, contractors, tight schedules, and rigorous safety standards, all while minimizing downtime and costs. For many companies, the success or failure of a turnaround or shutdown directly reflects the strength of their contractor management practices. A well-executed event can signal well-ordered systems and processes; recurring challenges may expose critical gaps in systems and processes. In many cases, even companies with healthy contractor management processes find opportunities to improve during a shutdown or turnaround.

In this blog, we’ll explore the top 5 most common health indicators that pop up during these high-stakes events and provide actionable insights to improve your contractor management programs.

Health Check #1: Planning and Coordination

One of the earliest indicators of a healthy contractor management program shows up in the planning and coordination of the shutdown or turnaround event. As successful execution depends on meticulous planning and seamless coordination between contractors and internal teams, if schedules are met and disruptions are minimal, it often signals that the contractor management program is healthy.

On the other hand, if the meticulously planned updates are not met and disruptions are sizeable – there may be a red flag to address.

• Red Flags to look for: Delays, miscommunication, or resource bottlenecks during a turnaround highlight weaknesses in planning, scheduling, or contractor selection.

• Health Improvement Actions: Communicate expectations and mitigation plans with suppliers well in advance of the shutdown or turnaround event. Each known supplier should have their onboarding checks completed as far in advance as allows, including expected schedules, points of contact, certification and safety checks, and risk mitigation plans. 
  
  Establishing easy-to-access communication channels, such as in a digital solution, can help suppliers and contractors to make potential concerns known well before any ramifications arise.
  
  
  

Health Check #2: Compliance and Safety

Seasonal turnarounds and shutdowns often require adherence to strict safety protocols and regulatory compliance – all of which needs to be managed in a high-pressure environment. The impact of not managing these risks well can have long-standing financial and operational impacts on a company, so it is absolutely critical to make sure that vetting and preparation in this area are not handled lightly.

• Red Flags to look for: Increased incidents, near misses, or safety violations during a shutdown could indicate gaps in experience, training, compliance checks, or monitoring processes. Suppliers that have a recurring pattern of not delivering work deliverables or labor within expected timeframes should be flagged for investigation and conversations.
  
  
• Health Improvement Actions: A well-functioning contractor management program ensures contractors are pre-qualified with the required skillsets, trained, compliant, and trustworthy. More often than not, we hear that as the volume and pressure of hiring contractors increases, the supplier vetting and onboarding processes reduce for the sake of speed.
  
  

  Do not give into the temptation to reduce the supplier and contractor onboarding protocols as they are in place for a reason – to protect the business and work environment. Instead, pre-qualify as many suppliers and back-up suppliers in the months before the turnaround and do not forget to ask about the history of delivery in fast-paced and high-pressure projects.
  
  
  

Health Check #3: Scalability and Adaptability

The ability to scale up contractor operations and adapt to dynamic needs during shutdowns reflects the flexibility and readiness of the contractor management program. Turnarounds and shutdowns are notorious for requiring fast-paced and high-risk changes throughout the project period, and having the ability to adapt to the required changes are crucial.

• Red Flags to look for: Struggles with resource allocation, failure to onboard contractors swiftly, or inability to handle unforeseen challenges reveal weaknesses in adaptability. Challenges with collecting information in a timely manner can also reflect weaknesses in the ability to adapt.
  
  
• Health Improvement Actions: In many cases, these struggles are the direct result of not having the right digital tools in place to manage contractors in real-time.
  
  Reconfigured ERPs, indirect procurement tools, and homegrown solutions can all contribute to a functioning contractor management program when the contractor volumes and pressures are low, but they are almost always ineffective for managing the constantly changing complexities and volumes of a turnaround.
  
  Assess your company’s digital tools and look for solutions that are purpose-built for high-volume and complex contractor management, such as a contractor management solution.

Health Check #4: Cost and Resource Management

Cost and resources are often the first two areas in which the effects of a turnaround or shutdown are most immediately felt – good or bad. Efficient cost management and resource allocation during turnarounds and shutdowns suggest the company has effective controls in place to prevent overspending and ensure productivity.

• Red Flags to look for: Budget overruns or gaps in visibility to spending, relating to either delayed invoicing, vague spend reporting, or lack of real-time spending data. Resource wastage in the form of duplicated task assignments, lack of clear direction, and miscommunications during shutdowns may point to inadequate contractor oversight or poor project management.
  
  
• Health Improvement Actions: Ensure that contractor management tools are set up with real-time spend and budget reporting that are visible to both managers and suppliers. This not only ensures that potential overruns can be caught ahead of time, it also eliminates time waste in the form of chasing down spend data every day.
  
  

  If the digital solution allows for threshold notifications when budgets are getting close to an overrun or invoices are not being submitted in a timely manner can also help mitigate some of the challenges that come with complex spend management.
  
  
  

Health Check #5: Performance Tracking and Instant Analysis

Successful turnarounds provide clear performance data, offering insights into contractor efficiency, work quality, and adherence to timelines. Lack of measurable KPIs or inconsistent performance tracking undermines accountability and continuous improvement. Further, ensuring that both turnaround managers and their suppliers have access to real-time performance metrics is crucial to keeping a successful turnaround or shutdown on track.

• Red Flags to look for: Inability to get accurate and/or real-time data on the performance of the shutdown or turnaround. Contractors or vendors routinely asking how they are doing throughout the turnaround or shutdown can also indicate that they do not have visibility to the proper metrics reporting in real-time.

• Health Improvement Actions: Consistent communication between suppliers and managers is important throughout a turnaround or shutdown event, but it is also important to ensure that the limited time available is being spent on the right types of communication.
  
  Determining the proper KPIs and metrics that reflect success well ahead of the event can help keep the project on-track, and ensuring that suppliers and contractors can see how they are performing against these numbers in real-time will help keep communication open for other necessary topics.
  
  

Seasonal turnarounds and shutdowns are a crucible in which the true effectiveness of a contractor management program is revealed.

From meticulous planning and compliance enforcement to adaptability and cost control, these high-pressure events highlight both strengths and weaknesses that might otherwise remain hidden. Companies that consistently navigate turnarounds successfully demonstrate not only operational excellence but also a commitment to safety, efficiency, and continuous improvement.

For those facing recurring challenges, these events offer a valuable opportunity to reassess and refine their contractor management practices. By addressing gaps and leveraging insights from each event, organizations can ensure smoother, safer, and more cost-effective turnarounds and shutdowns in the future.

The question isn’t whether your contractor management program will be tested—it’s whether it’s ready to rise to the occasion. Let’s get to checking that health!