In this post, Clay Bishop, Vice President of Construction at ProcessBarron, shares his insights on the value of a reliable maintenance partner and what to expect during outage season.
ProcessBarron’s field services team works on 800+ jobs a year. Most of these projects last around 5 to 7 days, and most of our work occurs during our customer’s annual maintenance outage periods. This is the most critical week of the year for maintenance in these plants, so our industrial field services team has to perform at a high level, whether we provide fan maintenance, change out a conveyor, repair a 10-year-old dust collector, or anything in between.
Our goal is to always utilize our experienced, high-caliber team of supervisors and crew members to help make each outage successful for both ProcessBarron and the client.
Providing Unmatched Expertise
If you went into a Home Depot and turned everything blue, you’d basically be in Lowes because the 2 companies are so similar. But there isn’t a Lowes to our Home Depot because we have expertise across so many product lines. We do have competition in every equipment line that we perform work on, but we don’t see another single company performing work on all of the air handling and material handling equipment that our teams regularly install, repair, or perform preventative maintenance on. We may not be the low-price leader in outage support, but we know we are the value leader. This value comes with our product knowledge, rush capabilities, and our ability to support with manufactured parts and equipment.
We have an extensive range of products. For example, we manufacture:
- Expansion joints
- Ductwork
- Dampers
- Fans
- Dust collectors
- Silos
- Drag conveyors
- Screw conveyors
- Bark bins
And that’s not even close to everything we do. Our team has the expertise in all of these product lines to handle everything from installation to maintenance. We are the only company that can provide that level of knowledge and turnkey packages on such a broad range of products.Â
Factors When Considering a Maintenance Partner
Most of our work is recurring, so we work with the same clients year after year. We love building relationships with these clients and using our knowledge of their facility to help with long-term outage planning and prioritization. It feels great to hear feedback from our customers regarding why they continue to work with ProcessBarron.
- Confidence that the job will be done right
- Safety record
- Simplifying their efforts during the outage by having one company handle multiple tasks instead of having to hire two or three companies for one project
- Equipment expertise
- Reputation for hard work and efficiency–we can get the job done in five shifts whereas it would take another company 8 or 9 shifts to complete the same work
Safety, efficiency, and quality results are foundational to a successful outage, so it’s essential to find a maintenance partner that can deliver on these goals.
Building the Right Team
We do a lot of planning and preparation before each job, but when the job starts, the supervisor is the star of the show. They wear many hats, including managing budgets and HR concerns. They are subject matter experts, and most importantly, they’re the face of our company.
The supervisors interact more with our customers than anyone else in the company. Our field team creates and maintains the relationship with the customer at each site. Our goal with the execution team is to put a plan together and work our tails off so that the supervisor has everything needed to be successful when on site. We’ve got the equipment and the right people to do the job. We provide clear work instructions and ensure that equipment is delivered on time. This sets our supervisor and crew up to serve the customer well.
Each supervisor has a core group of about five or six people that work with them on every job. Most of our supervisors have a general foreman, a tool truck driver, welders, and millwrights. The goal is to have a team that has familiarity and can count on each other.
All our teams are cross-trained, which means every crew has at least two certified welders, two millwrights, and a certified rigger. Every crew has people certified to operate forklifts and carry decks. Everybody has their OSHA 10 certification. Everyone is cross-trained because they may be working on a fan one week, an expansion joint the next, and then a dust collector after that. We believe the secret is having experts in every area but cross-training so the team can be flexible when the unexpected happens. Everyone is aware of their strengths, and they work together to achieve the best result.
Say No To Jobs That Don’t Fit
Staying in our lane is another critical factor that sets our field teams up for success. We don’t take on work that doesn’t fit our skillset. We know what we are capable of and focus on the projects we can complete with excellence. We do not want to be viewed as the company that takes on any job to make a buck. We’ve learned over the years that we do better in the long run if we say no to jobs that don’t fit our strengths.
Discover What Our Industrial Field Services Team Can Do For Your Plant
We have a lot of talented people with many years of experience, but I believe we have the best fan technician group in the country. Roy Hollis runs that group and has over 30Â years of experience. If one of your fans shuts down, the whole plant tends to follow, and nobody can afford a prolonged unplanned outage. Our ability to troubleshoot issues and provide recommendations offers a very high rate of return because we keep your facility up and running. Contact us here for questions about our industrial fan services. Find your nearest sales contact to learn more about partnering with ProcessBarron for your next outage!