Experts' Corner papers | Project Value Delivery Updates

How Carbon Management is Becoming a Strategic Requirement on New Large Complex Projects

Sep 13, 2020PVD adminExperts' Corner papers

In our new Expert Corner paper 2020-02 ‘How Carbon Management is Becoming a Strategic Requirement on New Large Complex Projects‘, Sylvain Richer de Forges exposes how important carbon footprint becomes for large complex projects.

Managing carbon on a LCP has shifted significantly from a low priority to the point of becoming the very nature of future Large, Complex projects. This can also be seen with the rapid rise of renewables or carbon capture megaprojects.

The project full lifecycle carbon footprint is now a key decision criteria between options and solutions. It is not easy to calculate this comprehensive footprint taking into account procurement, manufacturing, construction, operating and decommissioning activities.

The paper also presents a systematic approach to carbon management on projects under the acronym AROTAD:

Accurate assessment of carbon emissions
Carbon reduction action plan
carbon Offsetting and Trading
carbon Analysis
carbon Disclosure

While a significant challenge, carbon management presents an unprecedented opportunity for LCPs in the 21st century.

Don’t miss our new Expert Corner paper 2020-02 ‘How Carbon Management is Becoming a Strategic Requirement on New Large Complex Projects‘ for insights on this key shift in carbon awareness for Large, Complex Projects.

If you can’t access to the links in this post, paste the following link in your browser to have access to the paper: https://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/expert/PVD_Expert_2020_02_Carbon_mgt_LCProject_v0b.pdf

How stakeholder management and ESG ratings becomes an essential focus for new Large Complex Projects

Jun 28, 2020PVD adminExperts' Corner papers

In our new Expert Corner paper 2020-01 ‘How stakeholder management and ESG ratings becomes an essential focus for new Large Complex Projects‘, Sylvain Richer de Forges exposes how important those aspects are for large complex projects.

This article captures the fact that due to their sheer size, Large Complex Projects offer an unmatched opportunity for practicing and promoting good governance (CSR) when it comes to stakeholders’ engagement. If appropriately covered, this will in term become a significant added value to the overall project reflecting positively on ESG Ratings which are scrutinized by global investors and other stakeholders as an indicator for financial success, stability and continuity.

ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) ratings become particularly important in terms of financing projects and the paper presents statistics that show how prevalent those ratings are now in terms of investment decisions.

In addition, the paper exposes how to deal with various types of essential stakeholders for large, complex industrial projects, and refers back to case studies to illustrate how important proper stakeholder management can be for those projects.

Don’t miss our new Expert Corner paper 2020-01 ‘How stakeholder management and ESG ratings becomes an essential focus for new Large Complex Projects‘ to better understand the current trends on those aspects.

The State of Project Control in the 21st Century: Historical and Future Perspectives

Nov 3, 2019PVD adminExperts' Corner papers

Project Control on major projects has changed over time and its meaning has also significantly altered. There are several software packages available for project planning, scheduling, cost, estimating, and budgeting. It is up to the Client to authorize the use of a particular software, available reporting format, price, and ease of operation. Present day Project Management is conducted over the phone. Changes that are approved over the phone mean that record keeping is highly essential. Data is stored in remote Cloud Computers, Supply Chain Management for Procurement and Construction Management with cell phones and bar codes. Distance and location of the project is of no concern anymore. The Project Control methodology has accordingly gone through major improvements with a variety of computer software; that continues to undergo change, which will be highlighted in this new expert corner’s paper by Saty D Satyamurti, ‘The State of Project Control in the 21st Century‘.

The paper covers both an interesting historical perspective and then covers important modern topics such as:

Modern Earned Value
Cloud computing
Drones in construction
Blockchain technology
Supply Chain Management approaches and software
BIM
Project and construction management
etc

Read our new expert corner’s paper by Saty D Satyamurti, ‘The State of Project Control in the 21st Century‘ to understand better the changes facing the Project Management and Project Control professions.

If you can’t access the link to the expert paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: https://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/expert/PVD_Expert_2019-01_PC_state_21st_century_v0.pdf

Case Study Of Large, Complex Projects: Seattle Tacoma Airport Upgrade [New Expert Paper]

Sep 30, 2018PVD adminExperts' Corner papersCase Study Of Large, Complex Projects: Seattle Tacoma Airport Upgrade [New Expert Paper]

Case studies can be used to suggest good practices and investigate success factors. In our new Expert Paper 2018-03 ‘Case Study: Implementation of Program Control Management On a Multibillion Dollar Project: SeaTac Airport upgrade‘, Saty Satyamurti describes how this 2.6 billion $ Megaproject was planned and controlled to achieve success. The paper describes specifically the successful implementation of Program Control on this multi-billion dollar project.

Program Control Management that encompasses scope, plan, schedule, cost, budget and efficient use of resources is essential to any major engineering and construction project. Every aspect of the project should be reviewed at the outset, guidelines established, procedures developed, communication and interface must be enumerated with other groups in the organization including the client. A careful evaluation of major milestones, long lead equipment deliveries, vendor support, and construction contractor’s knowledge on complex projects execution is essential on a multi-billion dollar project.

The Engineering contractor’s exposure to large projects will be a great asset. Schedule, Cost and Budget follow very closely as all costs associated with the project should be identified early and a cash flow prepared to show the out flow of funds from the client to contractors and equipment suppliers and inflow of funds to manage the project from the client. The Program Management team should consist of Program Managers, Project Managers, Project Control Managers, Procurement Manager, Project Engineers, Environmental Engineers and Construction Managers. They should also bring in experienced support personnel to the team that compliments their endeavor throughout the project. Monitoring of schedules, costs, resources, and timely recognition of risks is critical. Quick evaluation of the risk is vital to develop an action plan to formulate a solution and determine the impact on schedule and cost.

Read our new new Expert Paper 2018-03 ‘Case Study: Implementation of Program Control Management On a Multibillion Dollar Project: SeaTac Airport upgrade‘ for more details about how those challenges were overcome in the case of this specific project.

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/expert/PVD_Expert_2018-03_PC_case_study_SeaTac_v0b.pdf

What Key Leadership Behavioral Attributes Are Essential for Project Success

Jun 24, 2018PVD adminExperts' Corner papers

The EPC Project business is a challenging market. Relative to other Project industries, the business margin and delivery pressures are high, and inflow of new generation employees is limited. The success measure of an EPC Project goes beyond delivering a onetime profit and expands into areas like human resource retention & growth, continual organization improvement, and repeat Client business. Our new Expert Paper by Kamlesh Narwani 2018-02 ‘Key Leadership Behavioral Attributes for Project Success’ discusses how a successful EPC Project Leader contributes to the aforesaid expansive areas, and the relevant key essential behavioral attributes.

Key behavioral attributes include:

One Team Approach & Performance Confidence
Stakeholder relationships
Agile Leadership
Contemporary Practices around Systems
Technology Enabled Entrepreneurship
Shaping Leaders of Tomorrow

Discover in much more detail those Key Behavioral Attributes in our new Expert Paper by Kamlesh Narwani 2018-02 ‘Key Leadership Behavioral Attributes for Project Success’

If you can’t access the link to the white paper, copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.projectvaluedelivery.com/expert/PVD_Expert_2018-02_Behavior_Project_Leader_v0b.pdf

Standardized Modularization: How to Engineer Efficiently for Onshore Facilities

Dec 4, 2016PVD adminExperts' Corner papers

In our new Expert Corner paper ‘How to Engineer Efficiently for Onshore Facilities: Standardized Modularization‘, Catalin Eftimie explains how to benefit to the maximum of the modularization approach and strategies when executing large projects onshore.

The modularization concept for onshore facilities has become in the past few years a design choice (when applicable) for many EPCM contractors competing on a tight market driven by a fluctuating oil price. It responds to the producers expectations for a reduced schedule project delivery at a lower cost. While this approach has definite advantages in certain cases, it also poses some challenges that need to be considered carefully.

Advantages of modularization include less constraints on site, better quality and fabrication control, standardization and redundancy management, reduced schedule. It is particularly relevant for brownfield sites or projects where reuse of the facility is considered.

In terms of challenges, in particular, there is an actual design cost and a need to be much more mature on engineering early in the project. It also requires the ability to manage successfully more complex project setups with significant logistics and multi-site challenges. Successful modularization therefore requires a more mature design and project execution organization.

Read our new expert corner paper ‘How to Engineer Efficiently for Onshore Facilities: Standardized Modularization‘ to understand in more detail the advantages and challenges of modularization, in particular as it becomes a trend in the Oil & Gas industry in the current downturn.

7 Key Practices to Create Real Business Improvement and Overcome the Business Improvement Paradox

Aug 2, 2015PVD adminExperts' Corner papers

Why is the industry project performance not improving?

EPC Project companies implement process continuous improvement and business excellence practices. However, in spite of significant resource investment, those improvements rarely transfer into actual business improvement. Actually in most cases, business effectiveness tends to decrease over time. How is it possible to overcome this paradox? Our new Expert Paper 2015-03 ‘Overcoming the Business Excellence Paradox: 7 Key Practices to Create Real Business Improvement‘ exposes 7 key practices that will effectively transform process improvement into tangible business improvement.

These 7 practices are:

Remain true to the core objective
Diligently comply with the practice design
Maturely create a culture of measuring practice success
Leverage on the work force experience and wisdom
Assign functions to own and manage the work practices
Flexible to apply, and anticipate business changes
Have a scalable model

Discover these 7 practices to overcome the Business Improvement Paradox in our new Expert Paper 2015-03 ‘Overcoming the Business Excellence Paradox: 7 Key Practices to Create Real Business Improvement’

Eight Principles for Sustainable Proposals Management [new Expert Paper]

Jun 14, 2015PVD admin3 CommentsExperts' Corner papers

Many project organizations underestimate the importance of rigorous Tendering/ Proposals process. In particular, measuring the number of awards obtained is irrelevant if those projects awarded cannot be executed without major changes, delays and overruns. Our new Expert Paper 2015-02 ‘Eight Principles for Sustainable Proposals Management’ by Kamlesh Narwani concentrates on the best practices that need to be implemented in the Proposal process to ensure sound proposals that can effectively be executed. It proposes 8 key principles that should be applied in all Proposals processes.

Those principles are:

An Achievable Execution Strategy
Robust Supply Chain
Relevant Project Organization
Adequate Project Contingency
Relevant Contracting Philosophy
Pricing for Achievement
Handover – Transfer to the Project
Proposal Team Engagement During Project Execution

Find more details about these 8 topics and more in our new Expert Paper 2015-02 ‘Eight Principles for Sustainable Proposals Management’ by Kamlesh Narwani!

Why Contract Management is Indispensable in EPC Project Management

Feb 1, 2015PVD admin1 CommentExperts' Corner papers

Many project organizations underestimate the importance of proper Contract Management when executing projects, and in particular, EPC (integrated Engineering-Procurement-Construction) projects. Kamlesh Narwani in our latest Expert Corner’s paper briefly discusses about the application of Contract Management in different phases of EPC project management, why this role is indispensable, and the role profile of a Contract Manager.

First of all, Contract Management is generally an action-oriented activity that aims to administer and optimize the project contractual and commercial position. It is different from the focus of Legal department.

The paper exposes what are the qualities of good Contract Managers and what role Contract Management has in the different project steps, from bidding to close-out.

All EPC projects can benefit from Contract Management. Contract Management as a function is sometimes misunderstood or undervalued. It is important for EPC project-driven companies to recognize its value and foster the development of successful Contract managers. Read our latest Expert Corner’s paper “Why Contract Management is Indispensable in EPC Project Management”!

How to Properly Control Client-Induced Changes in Your EPCI Project [new Expert Corner Paper]

Jun 22, 2014PVD admin3 CommentsExperts' Corner papers

Contractors lose on average 5 to 7% of the Contract value due to undetected additional requirements requested by their Client.

Changes cannot be fully avoided during project execution, but they should be minimized to avoid disturbing the execution. One major practical concern is the amount of changes that can be created by the Client, and which are too often not acknowledged. This leaves the Contractor in a sometimes difficult conundrum. Yet it is essential for the Contractor to remain protected because a significant value can be at stake. Our new Expert Paper by Herve Baron examines some good practices that should be implemented by Contractors to protect themselves.

One of the main issues is Non-acknowledged changes that come in the form of comments on deliverables, requirements transmitted “candidly” via letters, records in minutes of meetings, informal communication (oral, emails etc.). The Paper gives some useful strategies that need to be implemented with discipline to avoid uncompensated scope creep.

Maintain your position in the case of non-acknowledged changes – read our new Expert Corner’s Paper “How to Properly Control Client-Induced Changes in Your EPCI Project” by Herve Baron!

If you would like to raise your contractual awareness further and practice on real cases, join the author’s hands-on Contract Management Training. The next session will be held on October 20-21, 2014, in Jakarta. For more details and to register, please visit: www.rhenindo.com.