The normal rate of progress for the average (typical) turnaround is very close to the average rate of progress, except that it is higher during the first half of the turnaround, and then decreases towards the end of the turnaround.

The rate of progress is calculated as a percentage of the productive manhours scheduled. In other words, progress is directly related to productive manpower. Be careful if you are not using ATC Professional™, some project management software report progress (percent complete) in terms of straight time (or duration) and not manhours. Time and effort are not linear. These percentages will not provide you with a meaningful measurement of progress.

The best way to determine the normal rate of progress for every plant unit is to average out the available progress data from all past (successful) turnarounds. See our Summary Progress Curves white paper for more details on different methods for generating target progress curves.

Minimum Progress Requirements for Schedule Attainment

In order to achieve the desired schedule, a certain rate of progress is necessary, below which the schedule would be extended.

The amount of progress achieved in the first half of the turnaround should be at least fifty-five (55%) percent. If progress is only fifty percent or less at the mid point in the schedule, then the schedule runs a very high risk of being extended.

This minimum rate of progress usually follows closely the normal rate of progress, but could be higher or lower. The progress targets in the minimum attainment curve produced by ATC Professional (Summary Progress report) is the result of the standardization of a large historical data base.

Factors affecting the minimum rate of progress are:

• productivity
• changes in the turnaround work scope
• scheduling bottlenecks