I can’t count the number of times I have heard project teams say “It’s too early to implement Advanced Work Packaging” (AWP). Often, when they are saying this, they are heading into FEED or already starting to look towards the Final Investment Decision (FID). They are missing the “Advanced” part of AWP. Early project planning is crucial, and this is where project management plays a significant role in ensuring tasks are allocated efficiently and goals are clearly defined.

The Project Management Institute provides expertise on project management processes, helping to define project deliverables and establish a historical timeline for the field.

When Should You Begin Early Project Planning?

I have heard everything from FEL1 (Assess) to Detailed Design as the answer to that question. So I will give you my take on it, from years of experience implementing AWP during various points of the project lifecycle. The best time to start is as soon as you have completed the concept selection and have a basic plot plan. This is typically halfway through FEL2, at the latest. During this planning phase, you create a detailed project plan and make concrete decisions about the project. There is no real point in making lots of plans before you have chosen your concept because the vast majority of what you do will end up on the scrap heap.

• During FEL2, the cost of making changes to the plan or design is incredibly low, and the potential savings are significant.

• During FEL3 (FEED), the cost of making changes starts to creep up, and the potential savings are getting lower. It costs more to have good ideas, and some ships have already sailed.

• During Detailed Design, having a smart idea about the Path of Construction or AWP structure is going to be a significant cost to the project, as well as a potential schedule delay, and the savings you can make are way down.

• Frankly, if you wait until just before construction starts to plan your Path of Construction or AWP strategy, you are now picking up crumbs. You can still make construction execution more efficient, but you have missed out on all of the low-hanging design fruit.

Discover What Works for Early Project Planning

FEL2 is all about having good ideas and making initial plans. Utilizing project planning software can help in running various scenarios and getting input from multiple stakeholder groups, especially Engineering and Procurement. Tools like Float, Folio, and Wrike can streamline project planning, manage tasks, and automate timeline planning.

Collaboration within the project team is crucial at this stage to ensure all perspectives are considered. But, most importantly, nothing should be off the table. This is the “There are no bad ideas” stage.

Refining the Early Project Planning Process

Then during FEL3, refine the plans. This stage is all about optimization, both in terms of the design and the AWP plan. Challenge your assumptions from FEL2. Check the Path of Construction against any new information and updates to the design. And tinker with it until you get it running as smoothly as possible for effective project execution. You may end up with Revision 6, or 7, or 10. That’s great. It shows you have been open to ideas.

Project monitoring is crucial during this phase to track progress and ensure that objectives and project deliverables are met.

Then, when you get to Detailed Design, lock it down and let the Engineers do their work.

What to Include for Early Project Planning Success

The best way to ensure that this early planning gets done is to include AWP deliverables like the Path of Construction in your Stage-Gate process. Including these deliverables is crucial for a successful project, as it ensures that all necessary planning steps are completed. If your project teams can’t proceed to the next stage without a good plan, you have a much better chance of getting buy-in.

Project objectives, such as cost, time, and quality, help in defining the deliverables and serve as a more detailed definition of the project goals.

If you would like to see how O3 can help to digitize these early project deliverables, reach out to me and I will happily walk you through it.

To learn more, contact us at info@o3.solutions or visit our website at www.o3.solutions