Schedule
Your first goal should be to assemble a maintenance program where the customer can schedule both critical and normal maintenance items into a timeframe that keeps the refractory repairs off the critical path of the outage schedule.
Budget
A second goal is to save the customer money. The inception of a program includes 1) a structured review of the maintenance records of the customers current maintenance program, 2) surveys of the units under operational conditions, and 3) an inspection of the refractory linings during the outage / turnaround.
Hire a reputable source to assemble a practical preventative maintenance program that will result in lower refractory costs over the long term and assist customers to handle this effort “in house” through training of plant personnel in all aspects of maintenance of refractory linings. This includes inspections of the refractory linings as well as the budgeting process to assemble the long term maintenance plan.