Improving Craft Tool Time through Better Planning and Scheduling

In the refinery industry, Craft Tool Time (CTT) refers to the actual time skilled workers spend performing productive tasks with their tools. However, CTT is often lower than expected due to inefficiencies stemming from poor planning, delays in material or equipment availability, and insufficient coordination. These inefficiencies drive up costs, extend project durations, and decrease productivity.

This white paper explores how improved upfront planning, execution planning, accurate scheduling, and Craft Tool Time monitoring can enhance efficiency in turnaround projects, minimizing CTT losses and boosting workforce productivity.

Understanding Craft Tool Time (CTT) Losses

Craft Tool Time (CTT) represents the percentage of a workday during which a worker is actively engaged in productive tasks. Ideally, CTT should be high, reflecting peak efficiency, but various factors contribute to reductions in CTT, leading to higher costs, extended timelines, and decreased productivity. Common causes of CTT losses include:

• Poor Planning and Scheduling: Inadequate planning or misaligned schedules result in delays and idle time.
• Lack of Material or Tools Planning: Delays arise when materials, tools, or equipment are not available when needed.
• Inefficient Coordination Among Managers: Poor communication and coordination disrupt workflows, causing unnecessary downtime.
• People Logistics (Planned Delays): Poorly managed logistics, such as workers waiting for transport, result in reduced tool time.
• Permit Delays: Waiting for permits can cause significant idle time, especially in highly regulated environments.
• Excessive Craft Overstaffing: Overstaffing leads to inefficiencies and increased safety risks as not all workers are fully utilized.
• Equipment and People Movement Planning: Inefficient movement of equipment and personnel leads to delays and a reactive execution approach.
• Reactive Execution and Problem-Solving: Addressing problems reactively, rather than proactively, disrupts workflows.
• Unclear Roles and Responsibilities: Ambiguity in roles leads to confusion, overlapping tasks, and inefficiency.
• Poor Teamwork and Coordination: Lack of synchronization between teams causes missed deadlines and wasted time.
• Insufficient Post-Review Analysis: Without reviewing execution failures, management misses opportunities for improvement in future projects.

A closer look at these losses reveals that many are preventable through better planning, scheduling, communication, and coordination.

Importance of Upfront Planning in Minimizing CTT Losses

Effective upfront planning identifies all project requirements and potential bottlenecks before work begins. Key areas for reducing CTT losses include:

• Scope Definition: Clearly defined scope ensures all tasks are identified, reducing confusion and scope changes that disrupt workflows.
• Resource Allocation: Assigning skilled personnel, equipment, and tools ensures teams are ready to work efficiently without delays.
• Material Availability: Ensuring that all necessary materials are available on-site before work begins prevents delays.
• Pre-task Briefings: Detailed briefings provide specific instructions, reducing uncertainty and ensuring workers are fully prepared.

Upfront planning also allows for risk identification, enabling teams to develop contingency plans and prevent disruptions.

The Role of Accurate Scheduling in Enhancing CTT

Accurate scheduling ensures proper coordination of resources, tasks, and teams. Two critical aspects of scheduling that improve CTT are:

• Time Phasing: Proper sequencing of tasks based on priorities, resource availability, and workforce capacity prevents idle time.
• Resource Leveling: Distributing tasks evenly prevents over-allocation and ensures continuous worker engagement.

Scheduling tools like Primavera and Microsoft Project optimize task flow, identify critical paths, and flag potential conflicts that could reduce CTT.

Case Study: Proactive CTT Management in a Refinery Turnaround

In a refinery turnaround project, a CTT study highlighted the significant productivity improvements achieved through the integration of upfront planning, accurate scheduling, and real-time CTT monitoring. The project team utilized Primavera for scheduling, which was seamlessly integrated with a workforce monitoring system to track CTT in real time.

Key Outcomes:

• 20% Increase in CTT: Enhanced coordination of materials and personnel minimized downtime.
• Reduced Overtime: Efficient scheduling decreased the need for overtime, resulting in cost savings.
• Faster Project Completion: Proactive management led to the turnaround being completed two days ahead of schedule.

This case study demonstrates the effectiveness of integrated tools and proactive management in reducing CTT losses and enhancing overall productivity.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Improving Craft Tool Time through better planning and scheduling requires a combination of detailed upfront planning, accurate scheduling, and real-time monitoring. By integrating advanced scheduling tools with CTT monitoring systems, refinery managers can minimize inefficiencies and achieve significant productivity gains.

Recommendations:

• Invest in advanced scheduling tools: Tools like Primavera and MS Project should be standard in both the planning and execution phases.
• Emphasize pre-project planning: Thorough upfront planning preempts many common causes of CTT losses.
• Utilize data-driven insights: Use both historical and real-time data to refine planning and scheduling processes continually.

By implementing these strategies, refinery projects can improve productivity, reduce costs, and achieve better outcomes.

Appendix

• Glossary: CTT: Craft Tool Time – The time craft workers spend on productive tasks using tools. Primavera: Project management software used for scheduling, resource management, and tracking. MS Project: A project management tool that helps with task assignment, resource leveling, and schedule creation.
• References: (Include relevant industry reports and studies on CTT and project management software).