O3 Software Suite

Having the right tool for the job is a critical component of many things in life, from doing renovation work on your house, to implementing Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) on a capital project. Making sure that you choose the right software for AWP will set your project up for success, especially when you consider that most projects can take years to complete and that changing your mind partway through can be very risky.

So what are some of the key things that you need to be looking for when choosing your AWP solution?

Provenance

Was the software created, from the start, to manage AWP? Or has it been modified or reconfigured to try to catch up with the industry’s best practices? Many solutions on the market were originally designed for something else, and have simply thrown an AWP label on their software while they scramble to update the code to support it.

O3 is the only software on the market that was designed from scratch to support AWP and Agile project management.

DNA

Is it a single tool, or is it a group of disparate legacy solutions that have been cobbled together or obtained through acquisition? In some cases, these tools are given the same product title, to provide the impression of integration even when they struggle to talk to each other. AWP is a collaboration process, and having software components that don’t easily link with each other will make the process infinitely harder.

O3’s solution suite is a single, integrated platform. The names we use for our individual products are just a way to identify which elements of our cohesive solution each client will need for their project.

Maturity

Can the tool meet us where we are in our AWP Maturity journey, and will it grow with us as we continue to improve our AWP processes? It is important to minimize the change management process within a company when implementing something new like AWP, and you need software that can not only match your current approach but also help you develop and grow.

O3 uses the AWP best practices as a baseline to accelerate your AWP journey, and companies can use whichever elements they need for each project. Just doing Workface Planning. No problem, we can use ONBuild for that. Starting to grow your AWP maturity and migrate into well-planned Engineering? We can use ONDesign for that. Whatever your AWP needs, our software has the solution.

Project Phases

Does the tool support all the project phases? AWP is not just a construction phase issue. If done properly, it starts as early as FEL2/Select. And the deliverables associated with AWP change as you progress through the phases. You need a software solution that can support all these moving parts, and act as a collaboration tool for all the stakeholders.

O3 is designed to support the full lifecycle of an AWP project, and we do not count seats, so you can have all your stakeholders using the tool, providing unmatched collaboration for your team.

Battle tested

Has the tool been used before, or will your project be the guinea pig? AWP implementation is critical to project success, so you don’t want to be using untried software.

O3 has been used on hundreds of projects and by more than 10,000 users (about the seating capacity of Cameron basketball stadium at Duke University). It has been put through its pace and shown to provide value for our clients.

Scalability

Not all AWP projects are mega or Giga, and your AWP software needs to be able to support the scale of projects that you are implementing. You do not want to use a cannon to kill a mosquito, as the saying goes.

O3 software is scalable for all sizes and has been used on projects less than $1 million Total Installed Cost (TIC), up to $70 billion.

Best In Class and Integration

AWP software, like the process itself, should be the central hub of several systems used to manage a project. To minimize disruption and change management, you need to find out if your AWP software can integrate with your scheduling tool, estimating, materials management, document management, and other tools. This will ensure that your processes remain Best in Class. If someone tells you that their AWP solution can replace your scheduling software, for example, be VERY skeptical.

O3 integrates with all client tools and systems, from commercial applications to in-house products. Our integration can be done using flat-file transfer or full API. This reduces the workload on your team and ensures the highest accuracy for information transfer.

Using AWP software can increase your chances for successful implementation and execution. But before deciding what software to use, make sure you understand and document your needs, and pick a product that can match your criteria. O3 is the market leader in AWP software and the only one that can support all the elements you require.