Home/Academy/Maintenance & Operations Planner Course

Maintenance & operations work planning · $199 · live on Zoom + recordings · on site for teams

Become the planner the maintenance team can't run without.

Q: Do I need planning experience or a CMMS to take it?

No. The course is tool-agnostic (concepts map to SAP PM, Maximo and others); hands-on work is in Excel with P6 / MS Project shown for shutdown scheduling.

Q: How is this different from the Outage / Turnaround course?

This course is the planner's day-to-day work: job plans, backlog, weekly scheduling, kitting, KPIs and single-day outages. The Outage / Turnaround / Shutdown course covers multi-week events: scope freeze, work packages, T-minus milestones, the P6 shutdown schedule and daily progress control.

Q: Is there a job guarantee?

No — training only. The 90-day job guarantee applies to the Job-Ready Project Controls Program.

An 8-module, hands-on course in maintenance work planning and scheduling: job plans a crew can execute, a backlog you control, weekly schedules built to real capacity, kitting that stops the waiting, outage days that start up on time, and the KPIs that prove it. Built from real maintenance and shutdown work at a bulk-handling export terminal — the footage behind this text is that work, with company names removed.

Enroll — $199 Ask about dates See the 8 modules

$199USD · one-time · 8 live modules · recordings · job plan, schedule and KPI templates included

Job plans & estimatingBacklog & weekly schedulingKitting & readinessOutage days & shutdown listsSchedule & PM compliance KPIs

Who it is for

For the tradesperson, supervisor or engineer who is about to own the plan.

Most planners are promoted from the tools or from engineering with no training, and they learn by being blamed for Monday. This course is the training they should have been given — the planning discipline, the templates and the KPIs — taught by a planner who has run shutdowns and weekly schedules on heavy conveyor, stacker, ship-loader and rail-dumper assets.

Technicians and tradespeople moving into a planner or scheduler role
New maintenance planners and schedulers in their first year
Supervisors, coordinators and operations planners who schedule crews
Reliability and maintenance engineers who write job plans and PMs
Project-controls people entering maintenance, turnarounds or utilities

What you will be able to do

Scope and write a job planSteps, crew, hours, parts, permits and QA — one a crew can run without calling you.

Estimate like a plannerDurations and crew sizes from job history and estimating methods, not guesses.

Run the backlogPrioritise, age and clean it until "ready to schedule" means ready.

Build the weekly scheduleTo real capacity, with break-in rules and a daily schedule the crews follow.

Plan an outage dayShutdown list, critical path, day / night crews, permits and the daily report.

Prove it with KPIsSchedule compliance, PM compliance, backlog weeks and wrench time on one page.

Curriculum

Eight modules. Each one ends with something you built.

Live on Zoom, recordings the same day, practice files from real (anonymised) maintenance work. Each module is a working session, not a lecture: you leave with the artefact — a job plan, a loaded week, a KPI page.

Module 1

The planner's job and the work-management cycle

Identify → prioritise → plan → schedule → execute → close → analyse
Planner vs scheduler vs supervisor — who owns what
Why planners plan future work only, and what "wrench time" really measures
Your first week as a planner: what to ask, what to build

Module 2

Work identification, priority and the backlog

Notifications and work requests that can actually be planned
Criticality and risk-based priority (consequence × likelihood)
Backlog health: ready-to-schedule, waiting-on-parts, aging, backlog weeks
Preventive, predictive and corrective work — and the mix a healthy plant runs

Module 3

Job planning — the job plan a crew can execute

Field scoping: what to look at, measure and photograph
Job steps, crafts, crew size, durations and estimating methods
Permits, isolations (LOTO), confined space, hot work, lifting plans
QA / ITP points, drawings and documents, close-out requirements

Module 4

Materials, kitting and job readiness

Bills of material, reservations and lead times
Kitting and staging so the crew never waits
Vendor and contractor coordination
The readiness checklist that decides whether a job goes on the schedule

Module 5

Weekly scheduling to capacity

Available hours by craft, shift and absence
Loading the week (and why 100% loading fails)
Break-in work, schedule freeze and the daily schedule
The coordination meeting: agenda, who attends, what is decided

Module 6

Outage days and weekend shutdowns

Shutdown lists, windows and the critical path of a one-day outage
Day and night shift plans, crew-by-crew
Permit and isolation sequencing; contractor call-outs
Daily progress report and the morning hand-over

Module 7

KPIs, reports and continuous improvement

Schedule compliance, PM compliance, planned vs reactive %, backlog weeks, wrench time
Work-order completion compliance and the weekly planner report
Building the planner dashboard in Excel or Power BI
FMEA / root-cause basics so the same job stops coming back

Module 8

Tools, capstone and getting hired

CMMS concepts that transfer: SAP PM, Maximo and others (tool-agnostic)
Excel planner toolkit; P6 / MS Project for shutdown work
Capstone: a job plan, a weekly schedule and a KPI page for a real asset
Planner interview questions and how to present your capstone

Real work, not stock footage

The maintenance and shutdown work this course is built on.

Belt and drive replacements, trimmer and spout changes, bearing work, rail-dumper repairs and multi-day shutdowns — planned, scheduled and reported by our instructor. Audio removed and company identifiers blurred; the work is real.

Belt changeConveyor belt change — crane picks and crew on the gallery · 20s

SiteTerminal overview — conveyors, berths and stockpiles · 18s

Ship-loaderShip-loader belt replacement · 16s

StackerStacker belt replacement over the stockpile · 18s

BerthShip-loader trimmer replacement at the berth · 18s

DriveConveyor drive replacement by crane · 18s

RailRail track works in the dumper yard · 18s

Night shiftNight shift on the belt change · 18s

Conveyor gallery and transfer tower during a daylight shutdown

Mobile crane lifting a conveyor truss section

Stacker boom over the stockpile during belt replacement

Night work at the berth under tower lights

Crane set-up for bearing replacement seen from the gallery

Yard access and conveyor line prepared for the shutdown

Stacker structure and walkway before the belt pull

Night-shift crew working on the conveyor

Replacement pulley rigged and staged for installation

Drive motor staged on a pallet ahead of the change-out

Rail clamps staged for track works in the dumper yard

Ship-loader trimmer work seen from above the berth

Footage and photos from maintenance shutdowns at a bulk-handling terminal. Identifiers removed; people's faces and company marks blurred where visible.

What you take home

The planner's toolkit — the same documents we use.

Every template below is used in class on practice data and then given to you. Names and client identifiers are removed; the structure is exactly what a plant runs on.

Schedule achievement & planner KPI report — client names removed — **Schedule achievement & planner KPI report**Schedule compliance, break-in / break-out, planned hours, PM compliance by month — the weekly planner page (shown with the markups from a review meeting).

Weekly planning forecast & work performance — client names removed — **Weekly planning forecast & work performance**Capacity by craft, loaded hours, carry-over and compliance for the week.

Daily progress report (shutdown) — client names removed — **Daily progress report (shutdown)**What was planned, what was done, what slipped, tomorrow’s plan — by shift.

Planning & turnaround meeting cadence — client names removed — **Planning & turnaround meeting cadence**Which meeting decides what, how often, and who must be in the room.

FMEA worksheet — client names removed — **FMEA worksheet**Failure modes, effects, causes and the planned maintenance task that controls them.

Shutdown / turnaround process map — client names removed — **Shutdown / turnaround process map**The milestone path from scope to close-out — the long-form version of an outage day.

Job plan template libraryStandard job plan format plus worked examples for mechanical, electrical and conveyor work.

Backlog & weekly scheduling workbookExcel workbook for backlog health, capacity and the loaded week.

Planner KPI dashboardExcel / Power BI page for schedule compliance, PM compliance, backlog weeks and wrench time.

Outage-day packShutdown list, permit sequence, shift plan and daily report templates.

Readiness & kitting checklistThe go / no-go list for putting a job on the schedule.

Interview prep sheetPlanner interview questions, with how to present your capstone.

Enroll or ask first

$199. Eight live modules. Templates you will use on Monday.

Taught by our founder — P.Eng, PMP, PMI-SP, PMI-RMP, CMRP and MMP — who planned and scheduled the work on this page. Pairs with the CMRP exam prep add-on (the Work Management pillar is this course) and with the Outage / Turnaround / Shutdown Planning Course.

Enroll — $199 Outage / turnaround course CMRP prep

Secure checkout by Stripe. Dates are confirmed on enrolment; evening and weekend sessions available. Teams: we deliver this on site — request a quote.

P.Eng certificate held by our founder, name and ID number hidden — P.EngProfessional Engineer · PEGNL (Canada)

PMP certificate held by our founder, name and ID number hidden — PMPProject Management Professional · PMI

PMI-SP certificate held by our founder, name and ID number hidden — PMI-SPScheduling Professional · PMI

PMI-RMP certificate held by our founder, name and ID number hidden — PMI-RMPRisk Management Professional · PMI

CMRP certificate held by our founder, name and ID number hidden — CMRPCertified Maintenance & Reliability Professional · SMRP

MMP certificate held by our founder, name and ID number hidden — MMPMaintenance Management Professional · PEMAC

FAQ

Before you enroll.

Do I need planning experience or a CMMS to take it?

No. A trades, operations or engineering background helps because you will recognise the work, but we start from the planner's job description. The course is tool-agnostic — the concepts map to SAP PM, Maximo and other CMMS systems — and the hands-on work is in Excel, with P6 / MS Project shown for shutdown scheduling.

How is this different from the Outage / Turnaround course?

This course is the planner's day-to-day: job plans, backlog, weekly scheduling, kitting, KPIs, plus single-day and weekend outages. The Outage / Turnaround / Shutdown Planning Course goes deep on multi-week events: scope freeze, work packages, the T-minus milestone plan, the P6 shutdown schedule and daily progress control. Many planners take both.

Does it help with the CMRP exam?

It covers the Work Management pillar of the SMRP body of knowledge in depth and touches Equipment Reliability and Business & Management. For the exam itself, add the CMRP prep add-on ($199), taught by a CMRP holder.

Live or recorded?

Live on Zoom in small groups, recorded and shared the same day. On-site delivery for plant teams in the USA, Canada and worldwide by arrangement.

Is there a job guarantee?

No — this is training only. The 90-day job guarantee applies to the Job-Ready Project Controls Program ($999), to which this course can be added.