Far too many organisations have become complacent and allowed bad behaviours to creep in and thrive, and destroy any chance of achieving successful delivery. 
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• Putting the P6 schedule before the Execution Plan
• Vague and ambiguous milestones
• Onboarding too early >>> driven by business need and not engineering sequence
• Spongy Scope of Works / Scope of Services – turning Change Management into mush
• No clear line of sight between Client / 3rd Party inputs and Engineering outputs
• Multiple rules of credit and deviations between planned and earned
• Progress claims on unscheduled deliverables >>>inflated EV >>>undefendable overruns

Root Cause

1. Poor proposals without adequate delivery consideration – misalignment of bottom-up estimates and time writing practice.
2. Too much – “we did this on the last job” and not enough coming to grips with the current scope.
3. Ineffective change management due to “not enough coming to grips with the current scope and understanding the project objectives.
4. Non availability of appropriate key staff – or losing good people for the wrong reasons or presenteeism – major cause for schedule slip.
5. Boiler plate Project Management Plans – box ticking – Internal compliance does not equal success.
6. Weak onboarding / Project Inductions.
7. Poor Risk Management – More focussed on scoring and weighting – than actually taking decisive action – Technical Queries / Requests for Information / Escalations.
8. Poor Planning >>>Resulting in Poor Scheduling and Poor Tracking (Cost and Schedule) – progressing deliverables on the basis of burn rather than binary milestones. Too much “well that schedule was never going to work anyway” – more accountability needed.
9. Poor client management and weak determination of project health – need more customer service mindset.
10. Acceptance of aggressive client schedules - more needs to be done to circumvent clients taking unreasonable schedule risk which we can see will ultimately lead to significant rework, avoidable cost and relationship difficulties

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Our Best Defence

As a result, our first port of call and primary focus when setting up a project are the following areas.

1. Ensuring seamless transition / minimal disruption from proposal to job.
2. Job start-up assistance and supporting new starters / team formation.  
3. Capturing and using lessons learned.
4. Plan first (big picture), then schedule – understanding our dependence on 3rd party inputs, relied upon info, client drivers and workflow, etc.
5. Actively Managing Risks – using Technical Queries / Requests for Information and Issues and Concerns Registers
6. Using project reporting as a management tool – more than creating documentation – it’s a means to an end – not THE end.
7. Virtual War rooms – and getting the best of working in a remote / teams-based environment – protocols, courtesies and conventions.
8. Managing cross‐cultural project teams / clients – understanding / respect
9. Determination of project health using: No of Project Change Notices – Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) – Client Feedback Survey Scoring
10. Determination of project health using: Issue for Client Review (IFCR) baseline vs IFCR actual​

Change Management

Poor change management trips up most projects and leads to dismal results. Addressing this challenge requires a well-thought-out change management strategy that includes effective communication, engagement of stakeholders and effective tools against a strong baseline scope and schedule.
 
Change Management Checklist

1. Has the client adequately laid out the project Scope of Works?
2. Has the client adequately laid out the project Scope of Services?
3. Is there a project change control system in place and agreed with the client?
4. Are we clear about what the client has provided as Relied on Information and what has not?
5. Is there a schedule of Required by Dates for Client Supplied Information?
6. Do we have the clients target schedule and construction plan in hand?
7. Do we have the client’s vendor data delivery dates and any other client supplied information milestones as key drivers of engineering milestones?

 
Strategies

1. The Big Picture >>> Agree on strategy, objectives and timelines: Our schedule and more specifically the project plan with critical dependencies will be central to this.
2. Alignment at all Levels >>> Alignment Workshops – to ensure common understanding going forward – Scope of Works / Scope of Services
3. Weekly Updates >>> Good communication has the power to sort out most problems. And bad communication can create problems where there are none.
4. Confront Issues >>> Regular Performance Reviews –This is an opportunity for both parties to bring up issues. By prompting the client to share any concerns they have, it will be more natural and reasonable for us to bring up issues.
5. Manage Change >>> Any change from the contract/agreement should be taken through the change management process.

Continuity and Succession Planning

​Seamless project continuity in the event of team changes, remains a primary risk for organisations. We see too many projects lose their way when top structures change, forcing owners to dig deeper into their pockets to keep projects on life support.
 
For projects spanning over 2 - 4 years, it is a long time to hold onto the current team, so invariably there will be change. Owners need to shore up and ensure the project road map is clear and developed and is not dependent on individuals and knowledge and unwritten understandings resident in peoples’ heads. Otherwise, the project will lose ground whenever a team change occurs.
 
A clear project road map (not referring to the P6 schedule), Interface Plan (illustrating key relationships and contact points), engineering management regime (in the form of an owner prescribed weekly update) and team induction pack will go a long way to ensure that the owner determines the project path and the impact of team changes along the way are minimised.

Reporting and Interface Management

Too many jobs rely on extensive Power BI reporting which are more focused on corporate imperatives. Unfortunately, it is the day-to-day failures that accrue and if not escalated, become the silent killers on job. We therefore promote weekly reports with a laser focus on engineering management. We do not see too much value in monthly reports as they are more corporate, burn unnecessary hours and tend to hide the issues.
A regime as set out below will go a long way to tackle this. The tools are weekly meetings and reports, but it must be maintained that these are just a means to an end.
Proper engineering management will help provide clarity and transparency in the engineering development and procurement process - and augments the typical project services reporting requirements – ‘S’ curves, etc. and should comprise:

Progress Update

• Key Accomplishments - List the significant achievements or milestones reached during the week. Be specific and mention how these accomplishments contribute to the overall project goals.
• Challenges and Issues - Describe any obstacles or issues that arose during the week. Be clear about the impact on the project and any actions taken or planned to address these challenges.
• Upcoming Tasks and Goals - Outline the tasks and objectives for the upcoming week. These should be aligned with the project timeline and objectives.
• Work Completed by Team Members - Provide a brief overview of the tasks completed by each team member during the reporting period. This helps in tracking individual contributions.
• Key Metrics and KPIs - Report relevant project metrics and key performance indicators. Compare them to the previous week or against project benchmarks.
• Project Timeline and Milestones - Update the project timeline and milestones. Note any changes to deadlines or any newly achieved milestones.
• Risks and Mitigation Plans - Identify potential risks to the project and describe the steps taken to mitigate these risks.

 
​Registers and Trackers

• Action Register
• Issues and Concerns
• Technical Queries / RFI’s
• Deliverables List – and performance summaries against IFCR and AFC gates
• Alert / Trends / Changes
• HSE Stats
• Manhours Report – Budget / Actuals / Balance PTD / ETC / BAC / VAC
• Expenditure Report – Budget / Actuals / Balance PTD / ETC / BAC / VAC
• Billing Report
• Team Structure - Outline the organisational structure of the team and PAF Register

 
PTD : Project to Date
ETC : Estimate to Completion
BAC : Budget at Completion
VAC : Variance at Completion
 
This regime will drive effective monitoring and the timeous escalation of issues supported by milestones that have been framed and calibrated so that nothing is hidden.

Risk Management

Extracting value for money and minimising exposure are areas we are passionate about. Whilst we promote the integrated team concept and joint alignment activities, far too often these events result in the owner unwittingly accepting and taking on risk that would otherwise require the EPCM to toughen up and own.
Risk workshops often cite a bunch of things that can go wrong in the engineering development phase. But instead of tightening up the front end, there is a tendency to throw risk money at it.
Tightening up the front end (FEL) comprises the following elements with the end game being effective engineering management and a balanced EPCM / owner relationship.

1. Project Start-up Key Milestones
   1. Receive Authorization to Begin Project Set-up / Award / PO
   2. Completed Integrated Planning Session
   3. Issue Preliminary Project Plan
   4. Construction Work Packages (CWP's) Defined
   5. Contract Packages Loaded to Project Control System
2. Stakeholder Alignment
   1. Hold Client Kick-Off Meeting
   2. Establish Client Specific Reporting Requirements (frequency and format)
   3. Establish Project Communication Plan
   4. Conduct Integrated Planning Session
   5. Establish Project Specific Strategic Delivery Objectives and Key Indicators (KPIs)
   6. Conduct Value Improvement Practice / Capital Efficiency Workshop(s)
   7. Establish Major Project Milestones
3. Execution Planning
   1. Establish Organization Charts
   2. Prepare Project Management Execution Plan
   3. Establish Document Templates (Non-technical documents)
   4. Establish Project Authorization and Delegation of Authority
   5. Establish the Change Management Procedures
   6. Establish Risk Management Plan, Procedure and System
   7. Establish Document Review and Approval Matrix (Non-technical documents)
   8. Establish Project Communication Interface Plan
4. Deployment of Systems and Tools
   1. Establish Engineering Work Packages (EWP's) and Budgets
   2. Associate Engineering Deliverables to EWP's
   3. Associate Engineering Deliverables to CWP's
   4. Establish a Master Bidders List - Purchase Orders
   5. Establish Required on Site Dates (ROS) for Equipment
   6. Establish Required Dates for Vendor Documents
5. Establish the Integrated Project Baseline
   1. Establish Baseline Quantity Take-Offs
   2. Establish Baseline Equipment List
   3. Establish Baseline Deliverable List
   4. Establish Baseline Level 1 Management Summary Schedule
   5. Establish Baseline Level 2 Project Master Schedule
   6. Establish Baseline Level 3 Control Schedule

 
Even if these requirements are included either explicit or implicit in the RFP / Scope of Services documentation, the start of the job is the time to bed it down and make sure everyone is of a mutual understanding.