Shutdown software
Power Plant Outage Planning Software for Annual and Capital Overhauls
Power plant outage planning software plans and runs a generating unit's overhaul from scope to return to service. In MaintWiz, findings from the opened boiler go straight to the planner and the scope change log, baselines show what moved, own and contractor crews are planned by trade with approvals by name, ePTW permits sit on every work order, and the float flag and executive view guard the return-to-service date.
How MaintWiz helps: MaintWiz is a comprehensive outage solution for power plants. It carries each unit outage from scope freeze to return to service in one plan, with findings, contract labour, permits and cost in the same system.
- Scope, plan, schedule, execution and close-out in one module
- Critical-path Gantt with float and baselines
- Seven readiness gates, signed off by name
- Integrated ePTW: permits and LOTO isolations on every work order
- Earned value: planned, earned and actual, with cost and schedule indices
- Spares needed, in stock and short, with SAP status
- Mobile work orders, offline on transaction screens
- 15 AI agents propose each day; your people approve
By Jai Balachandran · Technical review: Murali Nerur Pasupathy · Published · Last reviewed
What MaintWiz adds:Findings to the plannerContract labour by tradePermits on every jobReturn-to-service float
The outage
What makes a planned unit outage hard to hold?
The window is agreed in advance; the boiler decides how much work there really is.
Added work on opening
Tube thinning or erosion found in the furnace adds pressure-part repairs and tests.
Contract labour
Many small contractors and OEM supervisors, with crews that change daily.
A fixed window
The return-to-service date is agreed with the grid side before the outage starts.
Boiler certificate
Pressure-part repairs, hydro test and certificate inspection sit on the critical path.
NERC's reporting rules describe a planned outage as scheduled well in advance, with a predetermined duration and a work scope fixed beforehand; work outside that scope is classified differently. 1 Generators commonly place maintenance in spring and fall, when demand is lowest. 2 In India the Boilers Act, 2025 limits a boiler certificate to twelve months in the main case. 3
MaintWiz
How does MaintWiz run a power plant outage?
The outage manager's problems, each with its screen.
| Your problem | What MaintWiz does |
|---|---|
| Added work on opening | Findings straight to the planner, a scope change log, an emergent-work agent that proposes for a person to approve, and baselines that show what moved |
| Contract labour | Own and contractor resources by trade, and contractor approvals recorded with name and time |
| Permits and isolations | ePTW permits on every work order; a package cannot close with a permit open |
| The window and the certificate | Float flag on the return-to-service date, a roadmap with blackout windows, and the executive view |
| Lessons between units | Archive, and this outage compared with earlier ones on the same unit |
Plant outages
Is power plant outage planning software the same as an outage management system?
No. The two share a word and nothing else.
| Power plant outage planning software | Grid outage management system | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Maintenance outages of generating units: boiler, turbine, generator overhauls | Restoration of customer supply after faults on the network |
| Users | Outage managers, planners, maintenance and contractor crews | Distribution control rooms and field restoration crews |
| MaintWiz | Yes: the shutdown and turnaround module | Not a MaintWiz product |
Outage classes, planning lead times and scope checklists are covered in power plant outage management.
Measures
What should you measure in a outage?
A few measures tell you whether the outage went well; MaintWiz reads them from the same plan the field updates.
Outage days against plan
Return to service against the agreed date.
Cost against budget
Spend and forecast for the overhaul.
Added work after opening
Hours and packages added once the unit was opened.
Certificate valid on return
Boiler certificate in place when the unit returns.
Incidents
Incidents and near misses across own and contract crews.
Worked example
Worked example: tube thinning on day 9
ILLUSTRATION: a 500 MW unit on a 28-day annual overhaul; the certificate inspection is booked for day 22.
- 1Day 9 findingFurnace shows tube thinning beyond the list
- 2Scope changePressure-part repair added with hours and approval
- 3Crews and partsWelders by trade; tubes from stores or order
- 4Extra hydro testAdded before the certificate inspection
- 5Return to serviceFloat shows if day 28 still holds
One system
Why run the outage inside the CMMS?
The outage uses the same equipment, spares and permits as everyday maintenance; keeping them in one system removes the re-keying between tools.
Work orders and history
Every outage job is a work order on the same equipment record, so findings and repairs stay in the asset's history.
Spares and SAP
Needed, in stock and short come from the same stores data, with the SAP request or order behind each short part.
Permits and isolations
ePTW permits and isolations sit on each work order, and a package cannot close while one is open.
AI agents with an approver
AI agents review scope, estimates and the schedule and write daily summaries; each proposal has a named person who approves it.
Who uses it
Who uses MaintWiz in a outage?
Each role sees its own part of one plan, so nobody works from a copy.
| Role | What they see | What they decide or record |
|---|---|---|
| Station head | Return-to-service date and cost | Decisions on added work |
| Outage manager | Scope, schedule, contractors and permits | Recovery actions and approvals |
| Planner | Critical path, float and baselines | Re-sequencing after findings |
| OEM and contractor supervisors | Their packages and crews by trade | Progress and findings |
| Operations and electrical | Permits and isolations | Release and return of equipment |
Getting started
How do you start before the next overhaul?
Start from last overhaul's list and the agreed window.
- 1
Load last stop's job list
Import last overhaul's job list from Excel, or the schedule as Microsoft Project XML; MaintWiz is interoperable with Primavera P6.
- 2
Fix the return-to-service date
Set the date that cannot move and let the critical path, float and baselines show what drives it.
- 3
Set the gates
Configure the seven readiness gates to your rules: materials, resources, predecessors, tools and scaffold, permits and isolations, scope and engineering, and go.
- 4
Bring the crews in
Planners, supervisors, technicians and contractors get role menus and the native mobile app, with offline work on transaction screens.
- 5
Close and keep it
Close-out records handover, lessons and deferred items, so the next stop is planned against this one.
MaintWiz is shutdown management software built into an AI CMMS, so the stop shares work orders, spares, ePTW permits and maintenance history with the rest of the plant. For the sector background, read power plant outage management.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does power plant outage planning software do?
It plans and runs a generating unit's outage: scope, schedule and critical path, added work found on opening, contractor labour, permits and the return-to-service date.
How does MaintWiz handle added work found when the unit opens?
Findings go straight to the planner and into the scope change log with hours and approval, and baselines show how the outage has moved against the plan.
Can MaintWiz manage contract labour and contractor approvals?
Yes. Own and contractor resources are planned by trade, and contractor approvals are recorded with name and time.
Does it work with the OEM's or EPC's Primavera P6 plan?
MaintWiz is interoperable with Primavera P6 and imports and exports Microsoft Project XML, so the OEM or EPC plan becomes part of the outage plan.
Can it plan annual boiler overhauls and capital overhauls?
Yes. Each overhaul is a project with its own scope, schedule, gates and close-out, and the roadmap shows the units' outages and blackout windows across the year.
How are permits and isolations controlled across contractors?
ePTW permits and isolations sit on every work order, whoever does the work, and a package cannot close while a permit on it is open.
Can we compare this outage with the last one on the same unit?
Yes. Close-out archives each outage, and the comparison view sets this project against earlier ones on duration, cost, scope growth and incidents.
Is MaintWiz a grid outage management system?
No. MaintWiz plans maintenance outages of generating units; grid outage management systems restore customer supply after network faults.
How is MaintWiz priced?
MaintWiz is a subscription that grows with your users, sites and modules, with a fixed implementation fee; ask for a written quote at a demo.
Can MaintWiz use the equipment records we already have?
Yes. Equipment lists and job lists load from Excel, schedules from Microsoft Project XML, and where the plant runs SAP, assets and their codes sync from SAP PM or MM.
Sources
Sources
Public sources read on 7 November 2026. Worked examples are for illustration.
- North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Generating Availability Data System (GADS) Data Reporting Instructions, effective 1 January 2026
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Seasonal maintenance helps keep power online during summer and winter peaks (22 April 2011; ISO New England data)
- Government of India, The Boilers Act, 2025 (Act No. 12 of 2025), Gazette text as published by PRS India
Hold the return-to-service date
Book a demo and bring last overhaul's job list. We will show added work, contract labour and the return-to-service float on your own unit.