... if there are not enough employees for the required production on short term jobs they cannot object to the temporary increase of manpower using external contractors as long as they are still employed doing what they usually do. ... Here the preferred way to expedite shutdown work is through the use of external contractors to supplement in-house crews. ...

Just to be clear, I was referring to contract personnel specifically with respect to my comment on attracting the best labor.  A large contractor may have 100 welders working for it, but maybe 10-20 are really top-notch, best in class welders in high demand for critical (not necessarily critical path, but critical importance - safety, etc.) jobs.  When presented with a choice of job assignments - one including overtime pay and one not, the best workers seek the best compensation for their time/effort.  A refinery in Texas City that tries to hire contractors for a turnaround where they will run 8 hour shifts is going to have a tough time attracting good people and keeping them motivated to work when there are numerous other opportunities in the area for contractors to work 10 or 12 hour shifts and earn more money.  YMMV.

Mike,

Congratulations and happy fathers day.

Best regards,

Rafael

Sunil,

Your comments are appreciated. I perceive you like the debating of issues and listening others as dissenting opinion do matter on any brainstorming session. At times not always the "best solution" is what you initially thought, therefore in any analysis for your shutdown jobs also the idea of two ten hours shifts shall be on the table as well as any other reasonable option.

We usually go to the option of increasing work crews and have them work during daylight. In very limited occasions there is need for shift work, we never rule it out as another alternative.

It is not the same shutting down a single distillation tower than many. In the case of a single distillation tower it makes sense to work on shifts as there is a limit on how many people can work at the same time on a single tower but if the job consists of many such towers it might be better to increase the number of crews and work during daytime where you have daylight, when the hardware stores and material suppliers are working and there is clear responsibility on quality as not two different crews work on the same activity.

Even cultural issues shall be taken into account, if your people got to look to Mecca at certain time of the day let it be and set working time as not to interfere with this need.

Not all jobs are equal.

Best regards,
Rafael

Also, overtime rates are not necessarily equal to double the standard rate.

You are right, here it varies by industry and if union shop, by what has been agreed, always above the minimum required by law. Locally in the construction industry overtime rate is 2x and requiring work at meal time is equivalent to 3x because after six hours of continuous work without meal time break everything becomes at 2x rate. If you do not work at meal time you do not get paid but there are required breaks your employer cannot get away so if you are required to work at meal time you will be able to eat something during the intermediate breaks that are always to be paid by the employer.

There are other considerations in certain trades:

1. Guess a deep sea diver cannot work 10 continuous hours.
2. Same goes in less degree to other trades like exterior cement plaster under our tropical sun, or even worst at night in the dark.
3. Cement plaster of concrete ceilings have lower limits.
4. Epoxy painting with respirators has also its practical limits.
5. Some trades work by piecework, such as masonry.
6. Others by fixed production per work shift, such as cement plaster.
7. Long hours on some trades do not increase crew production. Take for example cement plaster, the crew can only mortar the surface area they can finish within a few hours, more than that will be impossible unless you make up a special crew with extra finisher with the result that productivity is reduced.
8. Long hours can reduce quality and increase risk of errors and probability of accidents.
9. When a contractor or owner get their employees easy access to overtime employees will get it on the spot and will slow down productivity when switched back to regular shifts. You might end up with higher than average productivity in the short run, during the shutdown but when finished, the effect will be lower productivity when overtime is reduced back, it is a two way street. I have my reserves on some of these studies as well as on the referenced article by InterPlan. I have issues with the idea everyone must be on overtime, that it is a shutdown does not means every activity is critical.
10. ...

The rules about overtime cannot be generalized, shutdown projects are not the exception they still must cumply with our laws, labor rates and union agreements which are more strict than the average Continental US Labor laws, same as with OSHA we have our local version called PROSHA which cannot be less stringent than US federal laws. Only on selected industries the application of federal minimum wage have been granted a waiver but neither the construction industry or oil and gas are within these exceptions.

Not generalizing means two ten hours shifts with 2 hours in between are not to be ruled out, same as two eight hour shifts each with an allowance of 2 hours for some overtime work and then 2 extra hours to make up the 24 hours work period.

Our unions are jealous about their work, perhaps same as yours, but if there are not enough employees for the required production on short term jobs they cannot object to the temporary increase of manpower using external contractors as long as they are still employed doing what they usually do. Arbitration with the local labor department is very fair to all parties, we have some exceptions to the federal minimum wage but we have an overtime rate of two.

Here the preferred way to expedite shutdown work is through the use of external contractors to supplement in-house crews. We find it more cost efficient.

Bernard,

• 8 hours = 8x1 ~ equivalent to 8 regular pay hours
• 10 hours = 8x1+2x2 ~ equivalent to 12 regular pay hours

This represents an extra 50% labor cost per day so the extra 2 hours shall represent 50% production increase per day for it to break even and make economic sense. Of course I understand the increased production shall be spread along all day, still a 50% productivity increase to offset the cost is a lot. If the average productivity per hour remains the same then overtime makes no sense.

In the analysis direct costs as well as cost of time shall be considered together as it is not just about production but also the high cost of overtime versus savings in cost of time. Remember that only critical activities will have an effect in total job duration and therefore in job cost of time.

Still we plan for some overtime on selected activities and try to limit the overtime to within the 10 work hours per day with an hour of meal time in between. We use overtime on a very limited amount and this keeps some sense of urgency.

Sense of urgency and rhythm of the work are one of my favorite words. I believe the starting days of a job will establish the rhythm and better be good, from the beginning there must be a sense of urgency. If the party starts with a bolero it will end up boring, if starts with salsa dancing it will be fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF-K9U4TcKo&feature=related

I have seen this type of overtime assignment across the board on the pharmaceuticals, maybe not the most economical from the point of view of direct construction costs but very important when the cost of time is so big that the extra cost well justifies the time gained. These guys start a plant as soon as the drug is approved, if a mega drug, every day lost represents millions lost forever to the generic manufacturers that will start producing the equivalent as soon as patent expires.

Best regards,

Rafael

Here after five consecutive hours of work you must have a lunch break otherwise it is at 3x regular rate, after total of 8 hours per day it would be overtime at 2x regular, rate the same if over 40 hours per week, this in the construction industry as each industry might have slightly different rules. Here it is common to agree in writing, as allowed by law, for lunch time to be 1/2 hour insteadof one so a regular 8 hour shift last 8-1/2 clock hours. We even have laws that require a coffee break. In addition there are other restrictions regarding minimum rest time per any consecutive 24 hour period. 

If you require people to work more than 12 hours a day, 8 at regular pay plus 4 at double rate the productivity will go down very fast. Also in the middle of your third 16 hours day (16+16+8=40), after accumulating 40 hours on your regular work week all would be at 2x regular rate, asuming you can get away with the minimum rests time.

This if you can survive the unions getting into your company, the labor department (local and federal) and probably a strike at your job. Although most probably you wont be able to get any workers as they would rather work for other contractor, the fun of having the strike, some damage to your equipment and a punch in the face to your management will be missing.

Take a look at the following reference.

http://cmdept.unl.edu/drb/Reading/overtime2.htm

Are there laws in your country that protect labor, laws against slavery?

Generally i found that running 16hrs shift is more efficent. we tried it on shutdowns before.