How Blackwoods powers up shutdown solutions

Every time Stanwell schedules maintenance shutdowns at its Queensland power stations, it turns to Blackwoods to supply and manage the huge volume of consumables required. Routine shutdowns are a mammoth task. Planning takes six to eight weeks. Around 700 Stanwell employees and contractors work 24/6 for up to three months, and every one of them needs PPE and MRO gear to get the job done.

Getting thousands of items into workers’ hands throughout the shutdown can be time-consuming and costly. Stanwell has relied on Blackwoods’ end-to-end shutdown solution to tackle these challenges since 2021.

Blackwoods supports with planning, then deploys bulk storage and shopfront containers on site to ensure teams have uninterrupted access to everything they need. The solution has proven so effective that the dedicated shutdown containers now rotate between Stanwell’s two sites, supporting two to three outages each year.

How the latest shutdown unfolded?

The latest shutdown involved unit 1, one of four 365 MW subcritical generating units at Tarong Power Station, near Kingaroy. The shutdown started in September 2025, with a full overhaul planned, from coal pulverisers and steam turbines to transformers and cooling towers. Ageing assets come with surprises, and the shutdown stretched out to 22 weeks.

Aaron Relph, Group Manager Supply Chain and Procurement Operations at Stanwell Corporation Limited, says this added a layer of pressure that Blackwoods helped alleviate.

“To know that we’ve got Blackwoods supporting us from a consumables perspective made it really easy for us to continue that service work. It’s one less thing we have to worry about.”

Throughout the extended outage, the bulk storage and shopfront containers remained fully stocked, staffed by two staff members working rotating 10 to 12-hour shifts. Blackwoods supplied around 700 different product lines for the outage, covering everything from rags and solvents to site-compliant PPE, overalls and fasteners.

The benefits of Blackwoods shutdown solution.

The Blackwoods solution can help minimise downtime, prevent supply delays that could have an impact on the overall timeline and avoid budget blow-outs.

The benefits include:

• Cost control
• Responsiveness and agility
• Ability to deal with adhoc needs
• Transparent, detailed reporting
• Maximising efficiency and reducing downtime

The biggest benefit is that consumables are supplied on consignment. Left-over items that haven’t been used go back into Blackwoods stock, avoiding waste and budget over-runs.

“The ability to be able to react to different changes and the fact that we don’t have to hold on to gear at a cost has minimised our supply chain risk significantly,” Aaron says.

Blackwoods maintains visibility of what’s happening on site and proactively adjusts stock levels. If demand suddenly increases, such as a spike in disposable overalls, Blackwoods can replenish stock quickly to keep work moving.

“We give them that autonomy and trust knowing they are making the right decisions,” Aaron says.

That flexibility proved valuable during the shutdown. Alongside the extended timeline, a mistake led to an over-order of fasteners. Stanwell knew the stock would eventually be used and didn’t want to return it. But in the short term, it was taking up significant warehouse space.

Blackwoods stepped in with a practical solution, supplying an additional container fitted with racking. The extra storage freed up space and made it easier for workers to access what they needed.

Transparent reporting provides clear visibility over cost and consumption, while data from previous outages helps forecast demand and set the budget for the next shutdown. For Aaron, that’s one less thing to navigate.

“It also allows us to trial things from one outage to another - what lines moved what didn’t, what do we need to stock, and what we can get as needed,” Aaron says. “It very much helps us from a financial perspective because we can budget more effectively for it, but it helps us be agile through that process. Blackwoods makes it a lot easier to pivot as we need to.”

Having the containers on site means workers can access items faster, minimising downtime. Stanwell doesn’t have to hold extra stock in its warehouses or face the risk of delivery delays disrupting the workflow.

Aaron estimates having the containers close to the unit being serviced saved around 15,500 mobility hours over the outage. The centralised planning, ordering and stock management avoided around $80,000 to $100,000 in over-ordering costs.

When the work is complete, the team reviews what worked and what didn’t, driving continuous improvement.

Why Stanwell chooses to work with Blackwoods?

Aaron says Blackwoods eases the load at a stressful and critical time for the business.

“They are just an extension of us, that’s how close the relationship is. There’s never anything that’s too hard, they are very much trusted advisors for us in areas where we lean into them,” Aaron says. “They take a lot of effort out of the process and it’s seamless.”

Sally Robinson, Blackwoods National Strategic Account Manager, says the shutdown solution is highly adaptable and can be tailored to any organisation undertaking major shutdowns or asset overhauls.

“We’re proud to partner with Stanwell and help relieve the pressure that comes with largescale shutdowns. Our on-site inventory management solutions enable our customers to maintain business-as-usual operations while we take care of the rest.”

 Take the pressure off planning for your next shutdown and contact Blackwoods for support.