There are times when every industrial plant, facility, or worksite in Indiana and Illinois must stop its scheduled work for various reasons, even if its equipment is set to operate continually (i.e., 24/7/365). Bringing operations to a halt is a part of business planning for steel mills, commercial construction sites, manufacturing facilities, railyards, plants, factories, ports and harbors, warehouses, refineries, and more.
Times vary. Sometimes, things come to a halt for a short while to allow for repair, maintenance, and testing of a specific piece of equipment or machinery. Only a part of the plant, facility, or worksite will be involved. Weather events and local utility power outages can result in an unplanned and unexpected work stoppage of varying length, maybe just a few hours until the storm passes. More time will be needed for things like inspections, overhauls, or larger repair or upgrade projects. And, sadly, there will be occasions when significant time is needed because of an on-site work accident and its aftermath.
No matter the length of time involved, or the reason, these interruptions in the employer’s standard operating procedures are referred to individually as (1) “shutdowns,” (2) “turnarounds,” or (3) “outages” or collectively as (4) “STOs”. The goal for any STO is to keep the workplace working as efficiently, effectively, and safely as possible for the particular industry involved.
Routine or Scheduled STOs
Employers consider shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages as a part of doing business. Annual budgets will include the cost of shutdowns, turnarounds, and outages. In fact, there are professionals trained and hired specifically to handle things like developing, defining, scheduling, and tracking planned STOs for things like preventative maintenance. (See, e.g., the July 2022 job openings for Illinois Manufacturing Plant Maintenance Schedulers at Salary.com.) There are also companies dedicated to industrial turnaround services, where larger operations needing longer term STOS for things like major plant upgrades or changeovers hire the specialists to handle things.
In these situations, the routine turnaround, shutdown, or outage is known by employer and employee alike, both in what is planned to occur during the work stoppage and how long the STO is expected to last. Standard STOs happen all the time for necessary or periodic housekeeping responsibilities like cleaning confined spaces or draining sewers or pipelines for maintenance. Read, Lockout Tagout Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer Liability.
Unexpected STOs
There are also events where work comes to a stop unexpectedly. Machinery or equipment can fail, forcing operations to stop until things are fixed and online once again. Winter weather in our part of the country is notorious for causing STOs here. There are also hazards that exist in every industry, albeit that some jobsites are more dangerous than others. Fires or explosions are a risk in any steel mill, for instance, that can cause an STO of varying length, from days or weeks to months or years. Read, Winter Weather Accident Deaths: Duty of Care during Winter Weather Conditions and Steel Mill Workers in Indiana and Illinois: Rising Production and Greater Danger of Injury or Death.
Both types of STOs can be dangerous or deadly. However, unexpected STOs are more perilous than routine STOs, since there is a greater risk of bodily injury for those who are on the site in any capacity (from workers in various trades to visitors on the property). Often, immediate and emergency action as an STO is needed on the part of the employer and others in control of the site in order to limit or minimize the threat created by the unexpected event that stops work on its own or demands operations be halted.
Scheduled STO Dangers
In routine STOs, things are planned in advance and announcements are made. Workers are aware that there will be a shutdown, turnaround, or outage and why it is happening. However, employers must do much more than simply announce the STO on the calendar.
Scheduled STOs interrupt daily routines for every employee on the site. Special safety hazards will exist during this time, and there will different duties of care and safety to be met by the employer during the halting of the standard work schedule. Read, Workplace Safety and OSHA Regulations in Indiana and Illinois.
For instance, annual cleaning chores in a manufacturing plant facility may require workers to use scaffolds with little experience and with the need of special personal protective equipment (e.g., harnesses or belts). Painting a faded section of an industrial warehouse workspace may be proper maintenance but it will mandate its own safety protocols to keep workers safe as they perform their tasks to protect them from falls off a ladder.
Unplanned STO Hazards
When accidents happen on the industrial worksite, then it is highly likely there will be an unplanned shutdown, turnaround, or outage in response to the incident. In these matters, the dangers facing workers are compounded as the cause of the accident may create great danger for everyone on the site at the same time that the surprise STO forms its own workplace risks.
For instance, there may be an accident involving workers being trapped in a confined space on the worksite. Not only must these employees be helped but everyone on the site must be aware of the unique hazards they face during the crisis. Are there toxic fumes that may be a byproduct of a trench failure? Is there a rising risk of chemical explosion in the confined space during the work stoppage?
In these situations, not only must all workers be protected from harm by the employer but they should have had advanced training and knowledge about how to deal with unexpected events that demand work stoppages on the site due to dangerous conditions.
- See “Consider Non-Routine Safety Risks before Plant Shutdown Maintenance,” written by Karen Hamel and published on December 13, 2017, by EHS Today.
Employer Liability for STO Accidents and Worker Injuries During Shutdown, Turnaround, or Outage
The need for STOs is clear within our industries, as varied as they are, and established practices and procedures are well-known for the STO process. These practices and procedures not only entail maximizing efficiency in getting things back online as soon as possible from a profit-perspective, but assessing risks and hazards to keep everyone safe on the site while the turnaround or shutdown is happening.
As for state and federal regulations, the particular safety risk and hazard must be addressed. Working in a confined space to do repairs at a grain facility is covered by specific safety regulation and law, as is workers being asked to climb a scaffold or ladder to work from a height. For more, read: Grain Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Danger of Death in Engulfment, Entrapment, or Explosion; Scaffolding Accidents in Indiana and Illinois; and Ladder Accidents: The Very Real Danger of Death from Falling off a Ladder on the Job.
Accordingly, any worker who is injured or killed in a STO event, whether planned or unexpected, must investigate the specifics of the accident as well as the span of safety regulations that apply to it.
The investigation will also need to consider the various individuals and entities with a defined legal duty of care and safety whose breach contributed to the incident. Several different companies may be legally responsible in an STO accident.
For more, read:
- How Great is the Danger of Workers Dying in Fatal Work Accidents in 2022?
- Lone Workers: Employer’s Duty of Care
- Fatal Falls on the Job and the Employers Failure to Protect Worker From Fall Risk
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
- Fatal Industrial Warehouse Accidents in Indiana and Illinois.
Shutdowns, outages, and turnarounds are a part of doing business for most companies here in Indiana and Illinois. Sometimes, there are unexpected stoppages, too, especially during our notoriously bitter winters here. Safety must be a priority during these times; nevertheless, employers are infamous for putting profits over people, failing in their due diligence, and leaving workers at risk of harm during an STO. Please be careful out there!
