Real-Time Dashboards: Turning Data Into Decisions

Introduction

In turnaround execution, data alone is not enough. Leaders need information they can trust, interpret quickly, and act on immediately. Too often, the issue is not only that reports are stale but that they are difficult to read and digest. Spreadsheets filled with numbers can overwhelm rather than inform, and even when the data is current, leadership may struggle to see what truly matters.

Dashboards solve this by presenting layered views. High-level metrics give executives clarity at a glance, while coordinators and inspectors can drill down into the details beneath. This turns raw data into usable information and ensures decisions are made with speed and confidence.

The Problem With Static Reporting

Turnarounds generate thousands of moving parts: work orders, permits, manpower, equipment, safety observations. Traditionally, these are tracked in spreadsheets or static reports updated once or twice per day. This creates several problems:

• Delays in decision-making: Supervisors wait hours for information before acting.

• Conflicting reports: Different groups circulate their own versions of “the truth.”

• Idle time in the field: Crews stand by while leadership reconciles data.

• Hidden risks: Safety or quality issues go unaddressed until the next update.

Static reporting slows execution. In a turnaround, a single hour of delay can cost tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars in overtime, rentals, and lost production. Multiply that by dozens of daily gaps, and the math gets ugly fast.

The Impact of Poor Visibility

When leadership cannot see the true state of the job in real time, the impact is immediate:

• Budget creep: Delays multiply overtime, rental costs, and indirect hours.

• Schedule slippage: Decisions made late push critical work further behind.

• Eroded trust: Crews lose confidence when leadership is always reacting instead of leading.

Every wasted hour compounds into cost, risk, and frustration across the site. In oil & gas, where turnarounds already chew through billions in project costs annually, poor visibility turns predictable execution into reactive firefighting.

What Works: Dashboards as the Single Source of Truth

Real-time dashboards solve these problems by creating one transparent, shared view of execution. The best systems integrate directly with Primavera P6 and CMMS platforms, the tools oil & gas already use, so they reflect both the actual plan and actual progress simultaneously, pulling in scope approvals, HSE flags, and schedule updates without requiring manual uploads. Effective dashboards provide:

• Live schedule visibility: Critical path progress shift by shift, with resource leveling updates.

• Manpower tracking: Current headcount and craft distribution; no roll-up sheets.

• Permit and safety integration: Open permits, safety observations, isolations linked to jobs.

• Issue escalation: Problems flagged immediately, not 12 hours later.

• Visual clarity: Graphs and charts that make bottlenecks obvious at a glance, like scope change alerts or QA hold points.

Equally important: dashboards make complex data interpretable. Customizable layers let executives see overall progress and risk, coordinators see bottlenecks and manpower, and inspectors drill to the asset or work package level. This ensures each audience gets the clarity it needs without drowning in data, turning front-end loading into field-ready execution.

Oil & gas manufacturing resists software because “we've always done it this way.” But spreadsheets don’t scale to 1,000 work orders or integrate with P6 for real-time progress tracking. Dashboards do, and they work with the systems you already pay for, reducing delays by up to 30% in planning phases.

When everyone works off the same data, confusion disappears and accountability increases.

Leadership and Culture

Dashboards alone do not drive performance; leaders do. Real-time data only matters if leadership uses it as the single source of truth. That requires discipline in three areas:

• Data discipline: Field supervisors and coordinators must enter updates consistently and accurately.

• Meeting discipline: Shift updates and coordination meetings should reference the dashboard, not competing spreadsheets or other reporting systems.

• Decision discipline: Leaders must act on what the data shows, not on outdated assumptions.

When leaders set the expectation that the dashboard is the playbook, the workforce adapts. Over time, that expectation becomes culture.

Takeaway

Turnarounds move fast. Decisions made late cost money, add risk, and erode confidence. Real-time dashboards close the gap between the field and leadership by turning data into decisions, not just reports. They simplify complex data into customizable layers that different groups can act on, ensuring the right people see the right information at the right time, from scope ranking to recommissioning checklists.

The practical step is simple: Integrate your dashboards with P6 and CMMS, enforce data discipline, and make the dashboard the single source of truth.

In turnaround execution, visibility and usability are not optional; they are the foundation of safe, efficient, and predictable outcomes. The plants still running on spreadsheets aren’t behind the times; they’re choosing to stay there, while forward-leaning teams cut through padded timelines with unbiased control.