Annual outage is approaching
1.4.2016
Preplanning covers about 200,000 work hours within a 24-day period.
The amount of preplanning and other preparatory work peaks in early spring, when the exact changes, time schedules, resourcing and costs required by this year’s annual maintenance outages are finalized. In addition, many parts of the organisation are getting ready to play their part in supporting the annual outages, from procurement and tool storage to repair shop, equipment maintenance, laundry and canteen. The aim is to carry out 200,000 hours’ worth of work during 24 days, in phases to ensure both safety and efficiency.
In the big scheme of things, preparation for this spring’s annual maintenance outages began already ten years ago. Two years ago, we started planning the more detailed work and resourcing. Now, just over a month before the outages start, apart from some fine-tuning all the planning has in practice been done. And yet there’s more activity than ever!
Says Jukka Wahala, in his first year as Outage Manager: ”Without the outstanding attitude our staff is showing, long-term partnerships and great planning, we wouldn’t succeed.”
Throughout Wahala’s 35-year history at TVO, the company has always made meticulous preparations for the annual maintenance outages. And this dedication has shown in the results. Our maintenance outages have received several awards, among them the prestigious international Outage of the Year award. Not that the work has been without challenges. For example, a fault in the equipment has occasionally meant we have had to quickly start the whole maintenance outage ahead of schedule. According to Wahala, having a preparatory plan in place well in time has been the key to overcoming these challenges.
”Now when it’s my first time to pull everything together, I’ve noticed that my task is quite straightforward. I know that the annual outages are in the hands of real professionals and I have complete confidence that these 71st and 72nd annual outages will go as smoothly as before. My job is not to try to pull all the strings, because they are firmly in the hands of experienced experts. My job is to make sure that everything comes together on time and according to plan.”
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