Careers Maintaining Performance Beyond Turnarounds
Sustaining reliability, efficiency, and output between major shutdowns
As turnaround intervals continue to extend across refining, petrochemical, and syngas operations, operators face a growing challenge: how to maintain asset performance and integrity without relying on full shutdowns.
Today’s facilities are expected to run longer, harder, and more efficiently – often with fewer maintenance windows and tighter budgets. Between turnarounds, even minor degradation can escalate into lost efficiency, unplanned downtime, or significant production risk.
IGS helps operators maintain performance beyond turnarounds through proactive and online maintenance strategies that restore efficiency, protect asset integrity, and sustain process output – while equipment remains in service or during short, controlled maintenance windows.
The Challenge of Longer Runs
Traditional 3-5 year turnaround cycles are now stretching to six, seven, or more years. While reliability-based maintenance and predictive monitoring help detect degradation earlier, fewer shutdowns mean fewer opportunities to correct it.
Common mid-run performance issues include:
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Reduced cooling capacity in air-cooled heat exchangers and fin-fan systems
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Corrosion and erosion of heat exchanger tube sheets and weld seams
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Refractory damage, fouling, and tube displacement in fired heaters
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Increased fuel consumption and energy losses
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Blocked SCRs affecting draft and emissions control
Left unaddressed, these issues can force production cutbacks or lead to unplanned outages, often at the most critical moments.
A Shift Toward Out-of-Turnaround Maintenance
Maintenance is no longer defined solely by the shutdown calendar. Operators are increasingly adopting out-of-turnaround maintenance – targeted interventions performed during normal operation or short maintenance pauses.
This approach enables:
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Early mitigation of fouling, corrosion, and refractory damage
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Restoration of performance without cooling, depressurizing, or shutdown
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Reduced turnaround scope, congestion, and risk
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More predictable maintenance planning and asset life extension
By shifting essential work between outages, facilities preserve availability while reserving turnarounds for only the most critical offline tasks.
Proven Results Between Turnarounds
Across global refining and petrochemical operations, IGS out-of-turnaround solutions have delivered:
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$156M in avoided shutdown costs
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8–15% recovery in cooling efficiency
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3.5% fuel reduction, generating ~$640,000/month in added profit
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82% SCR pressure-drop reduction and 15% throughput increase
HVTS® Alloy Cladding for Heat Exchangers
Corrosion and erosion at heat exchanger tube sheets often accelerate during extended runs, especially in high-temperature or aggressive service environments.
High Velocity Thermal Spray (HVTS®) technology provides a dense, corrosion-resistant alloy cladding that:
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Restores metal loss without thermal distortion
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Avoids the downtime and metallurgical risks of weld overlay
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Delivers long-term protection within short maintenance windows
By integrating HVTS into planned mini-outages, operators can extend asset life, defer major repairs, and maintain reliability until the next turnaround.
Hot-tek™ Online Maintenance
During extended runs, fired heaters, furnaces, and incinerators can develop refractory damage, fouling, hot spots, or flow restrictions that threaten safety and production if left unaddressed.
Hot-tek technologies enable engineered maintenance and repair while units remain in service, allowing operators to stabilize performance without cooling, depressurization, or full shutdown.
Hot-tek solutions are designed to:
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Restore refractory integrity and resolve hot spots on live equipment
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Maintain throughput and thermal efficiency during extended operating cycles
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Eliminate the downtime and energy loss
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Enable targeted intervention through engineered access, isolation, and monitoring
Integrated Maintenance for Continuous Performance
The greatest reliability gains occur when inspection, cleaning, surface protection, and repair are coordinated under a single strategy.
By integrating these scopes:
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Access and permitting are minimized
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Mobilizations are reduced
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Maintenance becomes more predictable and repeatable
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Assets return to full performance faster and more safely
This integrated approach transforms maintenance from a disruptive event into an ongoing safeguard of performance.
Keep Critical Assets Online
Maintaining performance beyond turnarounds is no longer optional: it is essential for sustained reliability, efficiency, and profitability.
IGS partners with operators worldwide to design and execute continuous maintenance strategies that keep critical assets operating safely and predictably year-round.
Sustained reliability and efficiency between turnarounds.
That’s Asset Vitality.
Free consultation with an IGS Subject Matter Expert
Contact us to learn how online cleaning, HVTS®, and Hot-tek™ solutions can support your facility.