Recap – AWP xChange: Building a Foundation for AWP
The first session of a three-part miniseries
Here’s a brief recap of our recent session from the AWP xChange. For the full presentation, you can watch here.
What Is Advanced Work Packaging?
The Construction Industry Institute named Advanced Work Packaging a best practice in 2015. Since then, it has been growing globally, and more and more companies are implementing it into projects. There is a lot of information and material available to help organizations learn about AWP, but there is no single, complete, walk-through for how to do AWP on a project, that is based on a sample project and considers technology.
The Solution: AWP Implementation Toolkit
We want to help companies that are starting on their AWP journey to understand a systematic, step-by-step approach for implementing AWP, using a sample project. We want to step away from the abstract and theory by providing something real, using actual models, real-world examples, and project-specific content. Our goal is to make the deliverables relatable and easy to understand for project professionals.
Why would you listen to us?
We may not have all the answers but O3 is the first and only software solution dedicated to supporting AWP across all project phases. We know what is needed to make AWP work.
If you are responsible for making AWP work for your organization, we can relate. We will share this experience, coupled with the most advanced AWP software on the market.
Why are we giving this away for free?
We want to help the AWP community to grow and move the industry forward. The best way to do that is to spread the message to as wide an audience as possible.
One of the things we want to tackle here is a simplification. There is a lot of information about AWP, and it’s easy to get flooded with detail. But, for all the detail, the message sometimes lacks a headline.
Some tools, like the AWP Primer from CII, try to distill AWP down to its basic components, which is a great start. But we want to provide this whole toolkit in a way that doesn’t scare people off and make them think they need a PHD in astrophysics to understand it. We want to make the project situations relatable, and the detail appropriate for the audience.
What Will the Toolkit Include?
LEARN
1. Preamble – learning about AWP
2. Return On Investment (ROI), culminating in the approval of the business case
3. AWP Selection Criteria (applied to choosing a pilot and the category of AWP)
PLAN
1. Procedure
2. Workflows
3. Technology Selection
FEL2 – PART A – INITIAL PLANNING
1. CWAs – marked up a plot plan
2. PoC (Written document and diagram) – FEL2
3. WBS / Work Package Numbering
4. AWP Plan
FEL2 – PART B – END OF PHASE DELIVERABLES
1. EWP/CWP Master Index – FEL2
2. Schedule (FEL2)
3. Estimate (FEL2)
FEL3 – PART A – REFINED PLANNING
1. PoC (Written document and diagram) – FEL3
2. EWP/CWP Master Index – FEL3
3. 3D Model – data requirements
FEL3 – PART B – END OF PHASE DELIVERABLES
1. Estimate (FEL3)
2. Schedule (FEL3)
3. Contract Language
DETAILED DESIGN
1. KPIs – Engineering
2. EWPs
3. CWPs
4. Constraint Management – EWPs/CWPs
CONSTRUCTION – PART A – BEFORE MOBILIZATION
1. Construction Contractor WFP Plan
2. KPIs – WFP
3. Dashboards – WFP
CONSTRUCTION – PART B – WORK PACKAGING
1. Graphical Work Packaging – Make IWPs
2. Non-Graphical Work Packaging – Make IWPs
3. Constraint Management – IWPs
CONSTRUCTION – PART C – PROGRESS AND CLOSEOUT
1. Progress and Reporting (incl Stat Viz)
2. TWPs
3. System Turnover
4. Lessons Learned / Continuous Improvement
Calculating Your ROI
Implementing AWP will cost money, but if done properly, the return will far outweigh the cost.
So let’s use the O3 ROI tool to get a sense of what the costs and savings could be on our project.
In this case, we have a project that is $100M TIC. By inputting basic project data into the O3 ROI tool, we can see a significant return on investment. For a cost of just over $400,000 associated with implementing and managing AWP, we are projecting to save over $12 MILLION! If we choose to implement AWP manually, without the aid of a purpose-built software like O3, the savings drop to $6.7 million.
There is a lot more data and detail behind this tool. What you are seeing here is just a brief snippet. This tool can show all the various areas of saving, and how they will be a benefit to the project. And, critically, we acknowledge the cost, which is often the largest stumbling block for new companies in making the decision to implement AWP.
Selecting an AWP Pilot Project
There are several external factors that might influence your choice of an AWP Pilot Project:
• For Contractors, AWP requirements might be specified by the Owner for a particular project and should be considered.
• You may have the project selected for you. Management may target a critical project, to help mitigate the project risk.
• Some joint ventures may have requirements specified depending on your role within the project.
When selecting a pilot project, be sure to select a strong project team. Build a team that:
• Can embrace change
• Is eager to learn new processes
• Quickly understands the value that AWP delivers
• Includes a leadership team that is adaptable
These characteristics will help your pilot project have the best chance of success and will help avoid resistance to change.
Other Resources
There are other excellent sources for AWP information and training:
Construction Owner’s Association of Alberta (Canada) –
http://www.coaa.ab.ca/library/advanced-work-packaging-summary/
Library of AWP / WFP resources. Available at no cost. No membership is required.
AWP Institute –
http://www.workpackaging.org
Library of AWP / WFP resources. Available at no cost. No membership is required.
Concord Academy –
https://academy.tconglobal.com/
Self-paced training for AWP / WFP. Variety of courses available.
Join us for our next session in the series on Wednesday, November 10 at 10AM by registering for free here.
