Why Contractors Get Hurt During Shutdowns and Turnarounds (And How to Prevent It)

8–9 Minute Read

Shutdowns and turnarounds are some of the highest-risk periods in construction and industrial work. Learn why contractors get hurt and how to prevent it.

Shutdowns don’t reduce risk. They concentrate it.

On paper, a shutdown looks like the safest time to work. Equipment is offline, systems are down, and everything is planned ahead of time. It gives the impression that risk is reduced simply because production has stopped. In reality, the opposite usually happens. A shutdown takes weeks or months of work and compresses it into a tight window, bringing multiple crews together and forcing activity into the same spaces at the same time. The hazards were always there, but now they’re stacked on top of each other and moving all at once, which is where problems start to show up.

Increased manpower changes the environment faster than most expect

One of the biggest shifts during a turnaround is the sudden increase in personnel. Contractors, subcontractors, and specialty crews all come onto the site, many of them unfamiliar with the layout, equipment, or site-specific procedures. At the same time, the type of work expands. Crews are performing maintenance, working at height, entering confined spaces, and interacting with systems that are normally isolated during production. When you combine unfamiliar personnel with increased activity, the environment changes quickly, and without strong coordination, control becomes harder to maintain.

Simultaneous work creates exposure that doesn’t exist during normal operations

Under normal conditions, work is typically separated to prevent overlap. During a shutdown, that separation disappears. It’s common to see welding operations happening above mechanical crews, electrical testing being performed near other active work, or workers entering spaces that were just vacated by another team without a clear handoff. In these situations, the risk is no longer limited to the task a contractor is performing. It expands to include everything happening around them, which is where many incidents originate.

Energy isolation becomes more complex during shutdowns

There is a common assumption that lockout and tagout becomes easier when equipment is shut down, but that’s not how it plays out in the field. During a turnaround, multiple crews may be working on the same systems, adding and removing locks, or temporarily restoring power for testing purposes. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, failures in energy control remain one of the leading causes of serious workplace injuries, especially during maintenance activities. The complexity increases because it’s no longer just about whether something is locked out, but whether everyone involved understands the exact condition of that system at any given moment.

Time pressure changes how people make decisions

Shutdowns operate under strict timelines, and that pressure is felt throughout the jobsite. Production is halted, costs are accumulating, and delays have immediate consequences. As that pressure builds, behavior begins to shift. Communication becomes shorter, assumptions start to replace verification, and steps that would normally be followed can begin to feel optional. The work itself doesn’t change, but the way it is approached does, and that’s where risk begins to increase.

Contractors are often working within systems they don’t fully control

Most contractors entering a shutdown are stepping into an environment that already has established procedures and communication systems. The challenge is that not every crew operates the same way, and not everyone has full visibility into what is happening across the site. A contractor may not know that a system was recently tested, that conditions have changed, or that another crew is about to begin work in the same area. These gaps in awareness create exposure, and during a shutdown, even small gaps can lead to serious consequences.

The work is familiar, but the environment is not

The tasks performed during shutdowns are usually well within a contractor’s skillset. Welding, installation, inspection, and repair work are not new. What changes is the environment those tasks are performed in. Contractors have to account for increased activity, overlapping work, and constantly changing conditions. The risk comes from what is happening around the task, not the task itself, which is why situational awareness becomes critical.

The best crews maintain discipline when the pace increases

Contractors who perform well during shutdowns are not the ones who simply work faster. They are the ones who maintain consistency in how they approach the job. They take the time to verify lockout conditions, communicate before entering work areas, and stay aware of changes happening around them. That level of discipline prevents small issues from turning into larger problems and helps maintain control in an environment that naturally pushes toward disorder.

Leadership must be present and active in the field

Shutdown safety is not something that can be managed from a distance. It requires active involvement on the jobsite, where conditions are constantly changing. Leaders who are present, asking questions, and verifying conditions help create structure in an environment that can easily lose it. Workers respond to what is reinforced in real time, and consistent oversight is what keeps standards from slipping under pressure.

A final thought from the field

Shutdowns and turnarounds introduce a level of complexity that doesn’t exist during normal operations. The increased manpower, overlapping work, and time pressure create conditions where small mistakes can have larger consequences. Contractors who recognize these factors and adjust how they approach the work are better positioned to stay in control of their environment and avoid incidents.

~ Jason