Webinar Recap: Managing Facility Shutdowns – Part 1: Hot Stops

Our recent discussions with the Fiix community have highlighted the ongoing challenges that the COVID‑19 pandemic continues to impose on manufacturing and maintenance operations.

In response, Fiix partnered with our Professional Services team to launch a two‑part webinar series—Hot Stops and Cold Starts—designed to help users navigate production slowdowns, full or partial shutdowns, and unplanned outages.

During the opening poll, 80% of attendees reported operating in full or partial shutdown mode, while an additional 5% anticipated imminent production impact. Whether you’re a Fiix customer or not, the insights shared by our CMMS implementation experts can help you tackle these challenges.

Meet the Professional Services Team

Steve Ricard, Implementation Team Manager

A Certified Facility Manager and Certified Reliability Leader, Steve brings 34 years of maintenance management experience and is a sought‑after speaker on the national stage for maintenance professionals.

Charles Rogers, Senior Implementation Consultant

With a mechanical engineering background and 33 years of training and field experience, Charles specializes in maintenance & reliability, risk management, and OSHA PSM.

Download a Maintenance Checklist for Facility Shutdowns

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Summary & Key Recommendations

Steve and Charles distilled industry best practices for shutdown and outage management, offering actionable guidance that also applies to emergency shutdowns and unplanned outages. Below is a quick‑reference guide with timecodes to the most valuable segments.

04:36: Charles explains why a systematic management approach is essential for effective shutdown & outage control.

05:57: He reviews three core shutdown strategies, highlighting that tight control often delivers the greatest cost savings.

06:30: The discussion covers outage types, role responsibilities, and the critical shutdown coordinator position.

07:36: Charles details essential checklists and demonstrates how Fiix CMMS can manage shutdown work, including:

• Using a dedicated shutdown work order type for planning and execution
• Creating an event trigger to group all shutdown‑related work orders
• Attaching files—checklists, procedures, drawings, safety documents—to the work order
• Building a shutdown task group for repetitive tasks
• Generating comprehensive shutdown reports

In a follow‑up poll, 77% of attendees admitted they were not using their CMMS to capture shutdown work. Steve opened a Fiix demo environment to showcase practical tips for leveraging the platform during shutdowns.

11:30: Steve demonstrates how to change the work order type and apply color‑coding for easy identification. He offers four key recommendations for maintenance supervisors during an unplanned shutdown such as COVID‑19:

1. Generate work orders even if the work will not be performed.
2. Create a “Closed – Incomplete COVID‑19” status for unfinished work orders.
3. Attach relevant shutdown documents to the work order’s file tab.
4. Use widgets to build a custom shutdown dashboard.

14:46: A participant asked whether simply pausing maintenance supervisors is advisable. Steve explained that keeping scheduled work orders active and closing them as “Incomplete COVID‑19” provides better reporting and audit trails.

16:36: Another question concerned bulk status updates. Steve demonstrated how to change the status of multiple work orders simultaneously in the Fiix demo.

18:30: Steve outlined two main strategies for time‑based scheduling—fixed and float—along with formulas for adjusting schedules during outages longer than 14 days but less than one year. The formulas include:

• 24:00: For maintenance tasks that will not be completed during the shutdown:
  1. Last Release Date – Facility Close Date = Next Due Days
  2. Next Due Days + Facility Reopen Date = New Release Date

• 25:55: For tasks that should ignore the shutdown period:
  1. Facility Reopen Date – Facility Close Date = Next Due Days
  2. Next Due Days + Next Release Date = New Release Date

29:33: Charles reiterated that emergency and unplanned shutdowns can follow the same strategic framework as planned outages, and emphasized how the tools demonstrated by Steve can set the stage for a smooth restart.

31:54: An attendee requested further details on the responsibilities of a shutdown coordinator; Charles provided an overview of the role’s core duties.

33:04: To prepare for an emergency shutdown, Steve returned to the Fiix demo to show how a shutdown event trigger can instantly generate pre‑populated work orders.

36:30: A Fiix user, Prisciliano, asked how to create an event that would trigger scheduled maintenance tasks. Steve walked through the steps:

1. Create an event type (e.g., “shutdown”).
2. Associate the event type with the relevant scheduled maintenance.
3. When the event occurs, flag it on the asset record to auto‑generate the work order.

40:22: Another question concerned retroactive adjustments while the facility was closed. Steve explained that Fiix CMMS is accessible worldwide via the internet, but also addressed potential firewall and VPN considerations.

42:20: Following a discussion, Charles and Steve highlighted how thorough shutdown planning can boost workforce morale and operational resilience.

45:30: Promotion for Part 2: Cold Starts featuring Fiix user Brandon De Melo, Manufacturing Engineer and CMMS Coordinator for a leading global automotive supplier. The upcoming webinar will cover advanced restart strategies and post‑shutdown best practices.

Ready to Learn More?

Watch the full Hot Stops webinar replay or join us for Cold Starts to deepen your shutdown management expertise.