Rotating Equipment Planner at Blackstone… · Houston

Rotating Equipment Planner

Location: Houston, Texas

A strong Rotating Turnaround Planner / Execution Specialist combines planning discipline, field execution expertise, and stakeholder leadership. In refinery, petrochemical, pulp & paper, mining, power generation, and heavy industrial environments, the best specialists are measured by safe, on-schedule, and on-budget execution during outages.

1. Planning & Scheduling Excellence

• Develop detailed work scopes and job plans
• Create resource-loaded schedules (Level 3 and Level 4)
• Identify critical path activities
• Define labor, materials, tools, and equipment requirements
• Build work packages with drawings, permits, procedures, and BOMs
• Understand turnaround work sequencing and logic

Key Tools

• SAP PM
• IBM Maximo
• Oracle Unifier

1. Field Execution Leadership

• Drive daily execution against schedule
• Coordinate contractors and internal crews
• Remove work-front constraints
• Manage emergent scope
• Facilitate daily coordination and planning meetings
• Validate work completion and quality

1. Turnaround Methodology Expertise

Knowledge of:

• TA lifecycle management
• Define, Plan, Prepare, Execute, Closeout phases
• Workface Planning (WFP)
• Advanced Work Packaging (AWP)
• Readiness assessments
• Scope freeze processes
• Outage performance metrics

1. Mechanical & Maintenance Knowledge

Strong understanding of:

• Rotating equipment
  • Pumps
  • Compressors
  • Turbines
  • Gearboxes
  • Fans

1. Risk Management

Ability to:

• Identify schedule risks
• Evaluate execution risks
• Develop contingency plans
• Manage critical equipment failures
• Conduct risk assessments and job hazard analyses

1. Safety Leadership

Top turnaround planners are recognized for:

• Zero-harm mindset
• Permit-to-work expertise
• Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)
• Confined space entry
• Working at heights
• Contractor safety management
• Safety intervention and coaching

1. Cost Control & Commercial Awareness

• Develop turnaround budgets
• Track labor productivity
• Analyze earned value
• Approve change requests
• Evaluate contractor performance
• Manage scope growth

Typical KPI Targets

• Schedule adherence > 90%
• Budget variance within ±5%
• Zero recordable incidents
• Minimal critical path slippage

1. Stakeholder Management

Must effectively influence:

• Operations
• Maintenance
• Engineering
• Reliability
• Procurement
• Contractors
• Site leadership

Key behaviors:

• Strong communication
• Conflict resolution
• Negotiation
• Decision-making under pressure

1. Data & Performance Analysis

• Daily KPI reporting
• Resource optimization
• Productivity tracking
• Lessons learned reviews
• Turnaround benchmarking
• Continuous improvement initiatives

1. Personal Attributes of Top Performers

The most successful rotating turnaround specialists are:

Attribute

Why It Matters

Detail-oriented

Prevents costly execution errors

Calm under pressure

Turnarounds are high-stress events

Decisive

Delays compound rapidly during outages

Results-driven

Focus on schedule recovery and completion

Highly organized

Hundreds of activities must be coordinated

Field-focused

Identifies issues before they become schedule impacts

Influential

Gains alignment across multiple stakeholders

Adaptable

Handles emergent work and changing priorities

A top candidate often demonstrates:

• 10+ years industrial maintenance experience
• 3-5+ major turnaround/outage events completed
• Experience with rotating equipment overhauls
• SAP PM or Maximo proficiency
• Primavera P6 scheduling experience
• Contractor management experience
• Strong safety record
• Reliability and maintenance background
• Mechanical trade, engineering technologist, or engineering degree

Executive Summary

The ideal Rotating Turnaround Planner / Execution Specialist is a blend of:

30% Planning & Scheduling
40% Field Execution Leadership
20% Technical Maintenance Expertise
10% Communication & Stakeholder Management

Their primary mission is to ensure every job is planned thoroughly, executed safely, completed on schedule, and delivered within budget, while minimizing downtime and maximizing asset reliability.