Project Risk Workshops

 Project Assurance Workshops

Project Assurance Workshops

• Align stakeholders on business objectives and priorities.
• Identify threats to meeting objectives and develops a plan to deal with them.
• Identify and evaluate the severity of risks.
• Develop an effective strategy for managing interfaces
• Evaluate implementation of best-practices to date and develop a plan to close gaps
• Achieve superior team integration and communication

Our consultants have performed readiness and risk workshops for a diverse set of capital projects including refinery projects, chemical plants, offshore oil and gas production projects, export pipelines, power plants, and expansions. The Asset Performance Networks consultants are also experienced presenters and facilitators who specialize in building dialogue and alignment across functional areas.

The workshops use our unique and proprietary tools such as the Project Readiness Pyramid^© to help measure readiness and pinpoint gaps with best-practice. Teams use this real-time tool to identify gaps and improvement opportunities in project planning and preparation. Our facilitators help identify team misalignments and establish a roadmap to ensure that the project has achieved a best practical level of project definition by the time detailed engineering is ready to start.

The workshops can be used at various stages of the capital project life-cycle as shown below:

The objectives of each workshop are tailored to the specific phase of the project:

Project Risk Workshops

Effective risk management is a critical component for the delivery of excellent capital projects. The primary objective of risk management is to improve business performance by avoiding surprises and reducing the chances of poor performance. Asset Performance Networks provides project teams with one-to-two day risk workshops to help teams identify, quantify, and manage risks.

The AP-Networks risk workshop brings together all key project disciplines to identify and assess risks using a structured approach and our web-based tool Pyxis ^©. The tool provides teams with a starting point for identifying and categorizing risks based on past industry experience. The output from this event is used to populate the risk register that can be used throughout the life of the project by all team members to track and monitor progress. Our consultants work with the team to help develop action plans to mitigate high-impact threats. The benefits of this workshop are the following:

• Detailed project risk register for tracking progress
• Increased visibility of risk across all team members
• Standardized approach across all disciplines in identifying and assessing risk
• Improved prioritization of actions
• Better communication to management on threats and opportunities 

A Targeted Program to Improve Plant-Managed Capital Project Performance

Increasing amounts of capital are spent on plant-managed capital projects. Industry studies have shown that these types of projects have significantly poorer performance than major projects.  Despite the opportunities for improvement and savings, these smaller projects have often received comparatively little attention.

To address this need, Asset Performance Networks developed the Maturity Assessment of Plant Project Systems (MAPPS). This program is a systematic approach to evaluate and analyze the competitiveness of an organization's plant based project system, recommend and help implement proven solutions, and track long-term performance.  The MAPPS establishes a performance baseline and improvement plan to deliver superior system performance.

The Approach

The effectiveness of plant based project systems are related to its discipline and consistency in implementing best-practices, effectively integrating key plant stakeholders such as operations and maintenance, and effective management of contractors. These factors directly correlate with the ability to deliver predictable project outcomes.  The degree to which an organization understands and consistently applies project management principles in a "fit-for-purpose" manner is a key element in determining performance. Our work measures the effectiveness of a project system and its maturity using the AP-Networks System Maturity Index (SMI^©) backed by interviews with plant stakeholders.  The tool was specifically developed for plant-based project systems and addresses the drivers of small project performance. Tactics that work for large projects are often not directly applicable to small capital projects.

The senior consultants who perform this work are uniquely qualified.  Collectively, they have reviewed and managed dozens of capital projects, worked in plant engineering organizations, and routinely perform independent peer reviews and project assurance workshops. Our professional team provides your company with an objective, outside perspective on all strategic decisions and tactical activities needed to move a project from an "out-of-control" rating to superior. Furthermore, we come equipped with rock-solid tools and our tried and true proprietary methodology - The Project System Pyramid^©.

Capital Project Recovery (CPR) Services

AP-Networks Capital Project Recovery Services provide clients with a rapid assessment and effective response to failing projects in real-time as well as actionable advice on regaining control over individual project disciplines. When quick recovery becomes necessary, you need reliable partners on your side.

AP Networks multi-disciplinary Capital Project Recovery Services include:

• Project Controls Assessment
• Review of progress schedules
• Establish labor productivity measurement system
• Examine Earned Value (EV) calculations
• Review contract requirements for project controls
• Analyze cost reports and systems

•  Project Recovery
• Rapid status reviews and analysis
• Create recovery schedules
• Plan recovery program (steps)
• Recover costs through project audits 

•  Contract Review & Dispute Avoidance
• Pre-execution contract and document reviews
• Highlight areas of contractual concern and exposure
• Identify possible warning signs for potential claims
• Provide claims administration assistance

AP-Networks' experienced Senior Consultants provide the above services, and have proven track records of managing large-scale project initiatives and creating innovative approaches to analyzing operational challenges. As industry experts in project management disciplines and establishing controls in highly complex environments, we excel in providing the highest value for our clients.