Operational Readiness Roundtable
This week EnterpriseIS had the opportunity to chair a roundtable on Operational Readiness for attendees at the 25th Mainstream Conference. Representatives of organisations from around the world were willing to share their experiences, what went well and where there were gaps in Operational Readiness in projects they’ve experienced.
Operational Readiness can be defined as having the right processes, systems, people, structures, capability, strategies, tactics and even culture in place to safely and effectively operate and maintain the assets from Day 1. Instead of being prepared, many organisations spend the first 12 months of operation working out maintaining the asset and how to operate it. Whilst this approach may save costs upfront, the negative impact on ‘cost to operate’ and ‘cost to maintain’ over the whole of life can be significant.
Some of the common themes from the roundtable discussion were:
- Larger Projects usually have a dedicated Operations Readiness team and, as a result, have more success transitioning into operations than smaller brownfield projects and one-off equipment purchases, where Ops Readiness is often an afterthought.
- The budgets for Ops Readiness are often underdone or non-existent in the overall project budget. As a result, selling the value on Ops Readiness is difficult in some organisations.
- Very few operations have frameworks for implementing Ops Readiness.
- Ops Readiness relies heavily on the equipment suppliers providing the drawings and documentation early enough in the project to develop the equipment structures, maintenance strategies, tactics, operational procedures, and training. Making these a milestone in the project with a 5 to 10% contract value payment results in earlier delivery and better quality.
- The 3D models used in designing the plant are also beneficial to developing the maintenance procedures and preventative maintenance routes.
- Just building Warranties and Performance Guarantees into the contracts is not enough. Also, specify regular meetings to discuss performance during early operations with the vendor.
- Early involvement of the Operations team in plant design and construction will result in a more successful start-up.
Additionally, at EnterpriseIS, we’ve developed an Operational Readiness Framework to assist leaders in developing their plans and schedules for a successful start-up.
For teams that have already commenced their Operational Readiness activities, we provide an audit service to ensure that all key activities are underway and on track.
We also specialise in completing readiness activities for our clients, including developing business plans, operating strategies, maintenance strategies and plans, determining and cataloguing spares and even writing the maintenance tactics and procedures for use on Day 1.
You can find examples of the work we have done for our valued clients here.
Reach out if you need help in ensuring your project is successful in early operations.