Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) projects are high-risk, complex interventions essential to maintaining asset integrity, regulatory compliance, and operational reliability in processing plants. Despite their strategic significance and the efforts of most organisations to ensure successful implementation, the majority of these projects continue to experience cost overruns, quality-related challenges, and schedule delays. This study employed a quantitative approach to analyse the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that affect the successful delivery of TAM projects in the South African context. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to TAM practitioners across South African processing plants in industries such as petrochemical, manufacturing, mining, steel, pulp and paper, food and beverage, oil and gas, refinery, and power generation. The study utilised exploratory factor analysis, reliability testing, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression analysis. Findings substantiate that TAM project success is multidimensional, with Quality Management, the Selection and Competence of the Turnaround Manager, and Budget/Cost Compliance identified as the primary predictors of success. Although factors such as communication, top management support, and time management did not appear to be statistically significant in the regression model, they played a strong associative and facilitative role in enhancing project performance. This research provides significant empirical evidence for the TAM project management literature and offers a validated quantitative foundation for developing an integrated TAM implementation framework.

Keywords

Turnaround Maintenance, Critical Success Factors, Quantitative Analysis, Project Management, Processing Plants