Procurement Disconnect
The story:
When visiting a project site, it was discovered that a compressor house was completely filled with scaffolding. When asked why it was necessary for the scaffolding, it was explained that the cladding panels needed to be insulated.
The impact:
Upon investigation, it was determined that in an effort to reduce costs by $100,000, Procurement did not purchase pre-insulated panels. The cost to insulate the panels separately totaled $1,000,000 and added 3 months to the schedule.
Root cause:
The Procurement Team made a decision based on a limited understanding of the process and cost of installation.
Lesson learned:
Early input from Construction would have found this issue during the 30% constructability review. The Engineering Work Package would then specify the need for insulated panels to eliminate the chance for this issue to arise during procurement.
Building from experience:
Team Builder Solution utilizes Advanced Work Packaging Best Practice to ensure Interactive Project Planning sessions early in the project provide visibility and accountability for the whole Project Team.
Turnover Headaches
The story:
As often occurs, the development of the Turnover Packages (TOP) was left to the end of the project.
The impact:
The Commissioning & Start-Up Team were delayed in commencing their tasks, increasing costs for the facility, and adding additional cost for a dedicated team to assemble the Turnover Packages in an expensive and inefficient manner.
Root cause:
Work was planned for efficient installation without considering the needs of the Turnover Team.
Lesson learned:
During the development of the Construction Work Packages, Commissioning & Start-up and Operations should be consulted on all the Turnover requirements. This includes the system definitions, required Turnover documentation, and the Turnover Package architecture. The Installation Work Packages need to be developed to ensure a seamless transfer of information to the Turnover Packages,.
Building from experience:
Team Builder Solutions advocates for the use of Advanced Work Packaging Best Practice to address this common issue. In following the AWP Best Practice, Installation Work Packages are developed with Turnovers in mind.
Engineering Communication
The story:
When faced with a potential failure of an existing system, a fast track project was introduced and approved to commence construction with an incomplete design. This allowed material to be ordered and the civil portion of the project to be completed early. However other aspects of the project encountered problems.
The impact:
Fabrication of the piping and structural was completed concurrently with design. This led to inefficient fabrication and out of sequence deliveries. Vendor drawings for equipment were not finalized prior to fabrication, leading to costly rework and delays.
Root cause:
Engineering documents were not completed before fabrication, so the construction sequences were determined by the completion of the design not on the most efficient Path of Construction.
Lesson learned:
Early involvement of teams throughout the project, including the Construction Team, allows collaboration with designers to determine the Path of Construction and remove constructability bottlenecks.
Building from experience:
Team Builder Solutions advocates for the use of Advanced Work Packaging Best Practice to adress this common issue. In this case, the development of Engineering Work Packages (EWPs) and Construction Work Packages (CWPs) allows identification and management of constraints in order to assist the fast track schedule and identifies long lead time items that need to be ordered during the planning process. Development of IWPs, based on the CWPs, allows for constraint free execution. By utilizing the AWP Best Practice, relevant Engineering Packages are completed prior to fabrication, and an efficient design is completed more quickly, allowing for a structured execution strategy, and addressing the issue.
Not So Special Delivery
The story:
During one project's weekly coordination meeting, it was discovered that the small valves required for venting and draining the pipe installation during the hydrotest were not ordered. The valve specification contained special trim for the process requirements, translating to an unexpected 12-week delivery, and delay of the hydrotest.
The impact:
The Procurement Team tried to mitigated delays by paying a premium to decrease delivery time, but the hydrotest was still delayed, which also delayed the final QA/QC inspection sign-off. In addition to the additional procurement cost, 2 weeks were lost from the schedule.
Root cause:
The main issue in this scenario is a lack of coordinated and early communication between the involved departments / silos. The work package was approved to proceed without confirmation that all relevent issues had been identified and resolved.
Lesson learned:
When following Advanced Work Packaging Best Practice, an Installation Work Package (IWP) is completed 90 days prior to execution. This material issue would have been found and resolved during IWP development. Also, there are 60-day and 30-day (prior to execution) status reviews to ensure that any constraints discovered during IWP development have been mitigated. An IWP cannot be executed until all constraints have been removed, ensuring that the issue above is identified and addressed without causing further issue.
Building from experience:
Team Builder Solution's experienced professionals apply the principles of Integrated Project Delivery, utilizing Advanced Work Packaging, to identify constraints such as these. This methodology mandates early identification of constraints through communication with all relevant team members, and subsequent review and approval stages prior to execution. Approval of all work packages helps to identify and resolve these types of communication issues.