The 16th Annual Global AWP Conference took place in Houston this week, bringing together industry leaders, practitioners, and innovators worldwide. The event was a hub for exploring the latest advancements in Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) and how organizations leverage these methodologies to drive project success. 

If you couldn’t attend, here are six takeaways from this year’s conference: 

1. AWP is no longer a novel concept practiced solely in oil and gas

AWP’s roots may lie in the oil and gas sector, but this year’s conference featured attendees from a wide range of industries, including utilities, chemicals, mining, life sciences, and data centers. 

“The energy at the conference was remarkable—a clear sign that participants were not only engaged by the content but were engaging with each other,” said Tedd Weitzman, Vice President of Solution Ideation and Design at Worley and AWP Conference speaker. “AWP continues to gain traction across multiple industries and functions that support total project execution.” 

If this tells us one thing, it’s that AWP is no longer a novel concept; it’s a proven approach to industrial construction and more industries are quickly realizing that if they want to keep up, they need to get on board. 

2. CII Releases New Productivity Evidence

Newly released research from CII revealed notable improvements in productivity when AWP is implemented compared to traditional project management approaches. The study consisted of 84 global projects spanning 2016-2024, and the results validated that AWP can no longer be the exception, but the norm: Projects who instituted Workface Planning and Advanced Work Packaging saw 12-23% improvement in direct work. 

Moreover, CII shared results from a 2023 study of 86 projects, measuring the benefits of AWP across various stages of the project. Notably: more than 75% of projects saw moderate or significant benefits in the: 

• Improved incorporation of constructability into the design 
• Clarity of information requirements/standards 
• Alignment of procurement and engineering strategy with field/fabrication and startup strategy 
• Improved clarity of priorities 
• Improved visibility into constraints during Path of Construction planning 
• Improved shared understanding of the scope 
• Earlier guidance to engineering and procurement on need-by dates for design/information deliverables 

3. AWP is for Project Controls, too

At the start of the plenary session, Not Your Grandmother’s Project Controls – How to stay current in an AWP environment, nearly 100 conference attendees submitted responses to rate their AWP maturity for Project Controls in several categories.

Across safety, cost, schedule, quality, and productivity, participants ranked Project Controls’ AWP maturity smack dab in the middle of the 1-5 rating scale. What does this mean? While other roles in the project lifecycle seem to be fully ingrained in AWP, Project Controls lag and are often an unintentional barrier to accelerating maturity.

During round one of the interactive activity where participants had to build a model project out of Legos, the activity was chaotic, lacked an accurate understanding of progress, and everyone failed to complete the project in nine minutes.

On the flip side, round two of the build implemented AWP principles, and the project teams were more controlled, had more accurate forecasting and on-time delivery, and could seamlessly manage a change order late in the project, completing their projects in under one minute.

4. AI is here – and AWP is capitalizing on the benefits

The most attended breakout session came from O3 Solutions, which unveiled its AI-driven copilot for Workface Planners. This tool automates the creation and sequencing of Installation Work Packages (IWPs), offering a glimpse into how AI is setting the stage for the next generation of AWP.

Colin Budka, Senior Product Manager at O3, emphasized that AI is a tool, not a replacement: “We’re not looking to replace people, but AI can empower teams by giving them the data and tools they need to achieve even better results.”

The construction industry is not immune to AI advancements. AI is here to stay and has valuable applications to AWP, as highlighted in the demonstration.

Want a sneak peek? Check out this quick video and how it works.

6. Newcomers to AWP Need a Clear Starting Point

One of the most exciting aspects of this year’s conference was the number of attendees who were new to AWP. However, many newcomers voiced a common challenge—they understand the benefits of AWP but aren’t sure where to start.

With so many best practices, tools, and methodologies to choose from, it can feel overwhelming. But AWP is a journey, and like any journey, it starts with a single step. At O3, we offer a Pilot to help companies take that first step. We’re confident in our solution, and we’re ready to prove its value to any organization.

Conclusion

One common thread throughout all of the takeaways is the shift from AWP being a novel concept, to becoming a business-as-usual practice in industrial construction, and more frequently required by owners. This is apparent as we observe more and more sectors wanting to adopt AWP on their projects, and O3 is excited to see this pivotal moment come to fruition.

“One of the biggest takeaways for me at the conference is that IPA is starting to get involved and provide benchmarking for projects that apply AWP,” shared Jimmy Richard, Construction Manager at Shell. “Coming from a trusted external source, this will help influence our leaders to support AWP on the front end and make the necessary investments to enable, and require, AWP implementation on projects.”

We lost count of the number of times we heard “you can’t manage what you don’t measure” throughout the conference. So, to get the most out of AWP, you need a partner that provides the expertise and technology to support your organization, no matter where you are on your AWP journey.

O3 is proud to be recognized in the industry as the #1 AWP solution, and we’re here to help your organization take the first, tenth, or one-hundredth step in your AWP journey.