Capital Project Management posts

Estimates for Insurance and Business rates

I provided estimates to various organisations associated with End-Users. For example Insurance companies and the Valuation Office

LEAN Principles may not be suitable for capital projects

Waste from A to B shown as a squiggly line and Lean shown as a straight line

An EPCM contractor once convinced me to use Lean principles as a core strategy for a capital project

The project started in 2016 when LEAN was the latest management tool being pushed by consultants

Leading KPIs is a useful project review tool

In the last few years I found the reporting of Leading KPIs in monthly progress reviews very useful

Project Completion requires stage checklists

I found the most useful checklists in capital projects were those that defined in detail the key stages of project completion when responsibilities are usually passed from one party to another

Project cost estimates are presented in different ways

EPCM contractors preferred to present project cost estimates one way but Clients preferred it another way

Project phases should be minimised if possible

Four cartoon faces for project phases 1 to 4 showing increasing frustration

Project phases post-sanction should be minimised if possible

I found that EPCM Designers became so focussed on completing a phase that progress and attention with the following phases usually suffered

Challenging projects which require extra vigilance

Man finding it challenging pushing a large boulder up a hill

I found two types of capital projects the most challenging:

SHE (safety health and environment) projects. Usually due to difficulties finding, justifying and then applying new technology
New offices. Usually due to trying to accommodate the many different personal expectations of office workers

These issues needed to be managed and included in risk registers

Capex’s for production and productivity reasons, with clear business cases and financial paybacks, were a lot more straightforward

Simple project risk matrix using project objectives

However complex the project, I found using the simple 9 box (likelihood versus impact} risk matrix more than adequate for use and presentation

Client’s perspective of capital project implementation

Two cartoon men looking at an optical illusion with a different perspective

My view of the Client’s perspective of capital project implementation changed during my career

When I worked for an EPCM Contractor, I thought that design was key to the success of the project. Get it right and the project will deliver.

I moved to a site and realised that from a Client’s perspective the “shop window” of an EPCM contractor’s competence was the construction progress and site safety.

This was especially true when Clients got involved with safety audits and near miss reporting

Also when nearing construction completion, the Client is lining up his commissioning team. These extra resources then see delays occuring due to deficiencies in design and procurement.

The do nothing option should not be presented

Many capital expenditure proposals and project cost estimates I reviewed included a do nothing option

We propose projects to bring about a change or solve a problem

The do nothing is the problem so I do not think it should be presented as a possible solution