Turnaround Planner

NES Fircroft; Alabama; On-site; USD 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

NES Fircroft is seeking a Turnaround Planner to oversee detailed planning for maintenance, inspection, repair, and capital projects during plant turnarounds at a chemical facility. You will coordinate with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Engineering, and Procurement to deliver fully defined work packages and readiness for execution.

The role emphasizes safety, efficiency, and minimizing downtime, with responsibility for labor, equipment, and contractor coordination as well as detailed

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Associate's degree or technical certification in Mechanical Technology, Industrial Maintenance, Engineering Technology, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of maintenance experience in a chemical, petrochemical, refining, LNG, fertilizer, pulp and paper, power generation, or industrial manufacturing environment.
• Minimum of 3 years of turnaround planning, shutdown planning, maintenance planning, or project planning experience.
• Experience supporting major plant outages, shutdowns, or turnarounds preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop detailed turnaround work packages for mechanical, piping, fixed equipment, rotating equipment, and associated maintenance activities.
• Review and validate turnaround scopes submitted by Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, and Engineering teams.
• Conduct field walk-downs to verify job scope, work methods, access requirements, and potential constraints.
• Identify labor, equipment, scaffolding, insulation, crane, rigging, and contractor requirements.
• Estimate labor hours, duration, and resource loading for planned work activities.
• Develop detailed task sequences and execution strategies.
• Prepare comprehensive job packages including: Scope of work, Equipment and material requirements, Drawings and P&IDs, Safety procedures and permits, Isolation plans, Inspection requirements, Quality control documentation, Contractor work instructions.
• Ensure all planning documentation is completed and approved prior to execution.
• Work closely with Turnaround Schedulers to develop integrated turnaround schedules.
• Identify critical path activities and resource conflicts.
• Evaluate schedule risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Support look-ahead planning and readiness reviews.
• Participate in pre-turnaround planning meetings and execution meetings.
• Identify and forecast material requirements well in advance of turnaround execution.
• Coordinate with Procurement and Warehouse personnel to ensure timely acquisition of materials and services.
• Verify availability of spare parts and critical equipment.
• Track long-lead materials and vendor-supplied components.
• Assist with development of contractor scopes of work.
• Participate in contractor bid evaluations and planning meetings.
• Coordinate contractor resource requirements and field support needs.
• Ensure contractor work packages align with site procedures and safety requirements.
• Incorporate Process Safety Management (PSM) requirements into all work plans.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations, company standards, and site safety policies.
• Include Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and hazard mitigation requirements within work packages.
• Support Management of Change (MOC) processes when required.
• Promote safe execution of all turnaround activities.
• Participate in turnaround readiness assessments and gate review processes.
• Track planning progress and readiness metrics.
• Support post-turnaround reviews and lessons-learned sessions.
• Update planning templates, job plans, and best practices for future turnarounds.
• Identify opportunities to reduce turnaround duration and costs.

Skills

Turnaround planning

Maintenance planning

Resource loading

Cost estimation

Safety compliance

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Associate's degree or technical certification in Mechanical Technology, Industrial Maintenance, Engineering Technology, or related field

Tools

Pumps

Compressors

Turbines

Heat exchangers

Piping systems

Valves

Fixed equipment

Rotating equipment

Job description

Position Summary The Turnaround Planner is responsible for the detailed planning and preparation of maintenance, inspection, repair, and capital project activities associated with plant turnarounds, shutdowns, and outages at a chemical manufacturing facility. This position ensures all turnaround work scopes are fully defined, planned, resourced, and ready for execution to achieve safe, efficient, and on-schedule turnaround performance while minimizing plant downtime.

The Turnaround Planner works closely with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Engineering, Inspection, Procurement, and Contractor organizations to develop comprehensive work packages and drive turnaround readiness.

Key Responsibilities Turnaround Planning

• Develop detailed turnaround work packages for mechanical, piping, fixed equipment, rotating equipment, and associated maintenance activities.
• Review and validate turnaround scopes submitted by Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, and Engineering teams.
• Conduct field walk-downs to verify job scope, work methods, access requirements, and potential constraints.
• Identify labor, equipment, scaffolding, insulation, crane, rigging, and contractor requirements.
• Estimate labor hours, duration, and resource loading for planned work activities.
• Develop detailed task sequences and execution strategies.

Work Package Development

• Prepare comprehensive job packages including:
  • Scope of work
  • Equipment and material requirements
  • Drawings and P&IDs
  • Safety procedures and permits
  • Isolation plans
  • Inspection requirements
  • Quality control documentation
  • Contractor work instructions
• Ensure all planning documentation is completed and approved prior to execution.

Scheduling Support

• Work closely with Turnaround Schedulers to develop integrated turnaround schedules.
• Identify critical path activities and resource conflicts.
• Evaluate schedule risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Support look-ahead planning and readiness reviews.
• Participate in pre-turnaround planning meetings and execution meetings.

Materials Management

• Identify and forecast material requirements well in advance of turnaround execution.
• Coordinate with Procurement and Warehouse personnel to ensure timely acquisition of materials and services.
• Verify availability of spare parts and critical equipment.
• Track long-lead materials and vendor-supplied components.

Contractor Coordination

• Assist with development of contractor scopes of work.
• Participate in contractor bid evaluations and planning meetings.
• Coordinate contractor resource requirements and field support needs.
• Ensure contractor work packages align with site procedures and safety requirements.

Safety and Regulatory Compliance

• Incorporate Process Safety Management (PSM) requirements into all work plans.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations, company standards, and site safety policies.
• Include Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and hazard mitigation requirements within work packages.
• Support Management of Change (MOC) processes when required.
• Promote safe execution of all turnaround activities.

Turnaround Readiness & Continuous Improvement

• Participate in turnaround readiness assessments and gate review processes.
• Track planning progress and readiness metrics.
• Support post-turnaround reviews and lessons-learned sessions.
• Update planning templates, job plans, and best practices for future turnarounds.
• Identify opportunities to reduce turnaround duration and costs.

Required Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Associate's degree or technical certification in Mechanical Technology, Industrial Maintenance, Engineering Technology, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years of maintenance experience in a chemical, petrochemical, refining, LNG, fertilizer, pulp and paper, power generation, or industrial manufacturing environment.
• Minimum of 3 years of turnaround planning, shutdown planning, maintenance planning, or project planning experience.
• Experience supporting major plant outages, shutdowns, or turnarounds preferred.

Technical Knowledge Strong working knowledge of:

• Pumps
• Compressors
• Turbines
• Heat exchangers
• Reactors
• Pressure vessels
• Columns and towers
• Boilers
• Piping systems
• Valves
• Storage tanks
• Rotating equipment
• Fixed equipment
• Mechanical integrity programs
• ASME and API inspection standards

Experience with:

• Turnaround management processes
• Preventive and corrective maintenance programs
• Scope development and work packaging
• Critical path methodology
• Resource loading and workforce planning
• Cost estimation and budget control

With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining andManufacturingsectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.