What to require from an industrial maintenance provider in São Paulo
Hiring industrial maintenance brings into the plant a crew that will work with electrical power, machinery, pressurized equipment, confined spaces and heights. The contracting company remains responsible for what happens on its site. For this reason, evaluating the provider starts with compliance with the Brazilian Regulatory Standards (NRs) before getting to price.
Applicable Regulatory Standards
| Standard | Subject | What to check in the provider |
| NR-10 | Safety in electrical installations and services | Workers with valid NR-10 training, de-energization and lockout procedures. |
| NR-12 | Safety at work with machinery and equipment | Intervention procedures with the machine at zero energy and specific training. |
| NR-13 | Boilers, pressure vessels, piping and metallic storage tanks | Qualified professional for inspections and interventions on this equipment. |
| NR-33 | Confined spaces | Trained entry supervisor, attendant and authorized entrants, plus a rescue team. |
| NR-35 | Work at height | Valid training, risk analysis and fall protection systems. |
Safety documentation before mobilization
- Risk Management Program (PGR), required by NR-01, covering the risks of the activities to be performed.
- Occupational health certificates (ASO) within their validity, according to the PCMSO under NR-07.
- Training certificates for each worker, compatible with the planned tasks.
- PPE delivery records with a valid certificate of approval, according to NR-06.
- ART (technical responsibility record) of the engineer in charge of the engineering services.
- Work permit procedures for hazardous activities, integrated with the plant's rules.
A health and safety management system certification, such as ISO 45001, indicates that these controls are audited on a recurring basis, and not only presented at contracting.
Shutdown planning
In scheduled shutdowns, the time for the plant to return to operation depends more on planning than on execution. Require from the provider a detailed scope per piece of equipment, a schedule with the critical path identified, crew and equipment sizing per shift, a risk analysis for each work front and the lockout and release plan. Services that depend on prior cleaning, such as inspection of vessels and heat exchangers, must enter the schedule in the correct order.
Preventive, predictive and corrective in the contract
The contract should make clear how much of the scope is scheduled preventive maintenance, how much is predictive maintenance based on condition monitoring and how corrective service will be handled, with a defined response time. For details on each type and the general selection criteria, see industrial maintenance company.