Why turnaround platforms are failing.
Companies are retiring globally deployed systems and letting each site choose its own. The frustration is legitimate. The response creates a second problem.
We have talked with several companies walking away from their turnaround platforms this year. The topic came up repeatedly at industry conferences: organizations retiring globally deployed systems and letting each location decide independently what works best for its operation.
The frustration behind that decision is legitimate
- Enterprise platforms — too complex and slow to implement
- Narrow platforms — too many gaps and workarounds
- Promised features that never existed
- Customization that never arrived, or cost too much
- Support that disappeared after implementation
But the response creates a second problem
When a centralized platform is retired, letting each site choose what comes next sounds flexible but can quickly create fragmentation.
One site returns to spreadsheets. Another buys a planning-only tool. A third licenses standalone tools that do not connect. Contractors bring their own systems, leaving valuable turnaround data outside the organization.
Soon, each site tracks readiness, planning, execution, materials, and cost differently. Leadership loses consistent visibility, and teams cannot easily compare performance, preserve lessons learned, or make better decisions on the next event.
At closeout, critical information is scattered across spreadsheets, personal drives, and contractor reports. By the next turnaround, the people and decisions behind that information may no longer be available.
Every site tracks readiness, planning, execution, materials, and cost its own way. Data scatters across spreadsheets, personal drives, and contractor reports — and visibility is lost.
One place for the data, with the flexibility each site needs. Company-owned records, contractor access, consistent visibility, and comparable performance across the organization.
There is a middle ground
EZTRAK is purpose-built for turnarounds — comprehensive enough to cover what turnaround teams need, without the complexity of an oversized enterprise platform.
- Covers the essentials. Planning, readiness, execution, material visibility through field installation, and cost tracking.
- Connects with SAP and Primavera so they can remain the systems of record.
- Goes live in weeks, and core users can be trained in minutes.
- Contractor access and shared workflows, so turnaround data remains company-owned.
The result
Sites keep the flexibility to use the processes that work best for their operations. Leadership gains consistent dashboards, comparable performance data, and visibility across the organization.
Keep what works. Connect what doesn't.