Turnarounds (or TAR's) are scheduled events wherein an entire process unit of an industrial

plant (refinery, petrochemical plant, power plant, pulp and paper mill, etc.) is taken offstream for
an extended period for revamp and/or renewal. Turnaround is a blanket term that encompasses
more specific terms such as I&Ts (Inspection & Testing), debottlenecking projects, revamps and
catalyst regeneration projects. Turnaround can also be used as a synonym of shutdowns and
outages.
Turnarounds are expensive - both in terms of lost production while the process unit is offline and
in terms of direct costs for the labour, tools, heavy equipment and materials used to execute the
project. They are the most significant portion of a plant's yearly maintenance budget and can
affect the company's bottom line if mismanaged.[1] Turnarounds have unique project
management characteristics[2] which make them volatile and challenging.