Advanced Work Packaging (AWP): An Illustration of the Mortar Concept(c)

An Introduction To A New Framework For Successful Construction Project Delivery
Olfa Hamdi, MSc Eng, MSc Res
Founder, The Advanced Work Packaging Institute
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP)
Achieving Higher Project
Productivity And Predictability
1

Today’s talking points
2
• The Construction Industry Productivity Dilemma
• Elements of a Successful Project Delivery
• Advanced Work Packaging (AWP)
² Structure
² Deliverables
² Practice Model
Ø A vision for our Industry

Note about the webinar
• I hope this webinar provides you with new elements of
discussion that you may use to re-think and re-assess
your organizations project delivery maturity and identify
areas of improvements
• Although the primary research focus is on industrial
construction, many elements of this presentation could
very well be applied to other conventional construction
sectors
3

Let's get started...
4

How productive is our industry?
5
A percentage point increase in productivity is worth $7
billion to the industry as a whole.
The industry is leaving big money on the table!

A Labor-Intensive Business...
6
Facing an increasingly challenging global market, the construction industry
has remained a labor-intensive business, struggling to achieve higher
capital effectiveness.
• Increased TechnicalComplexity
• Remote GeographicalLocations
• increasingly congested areas
• More Stringent Regulatory Requirements
• Higher Political Risk; more difficult to insure
• Shortage in skilled labor
• Workforce availability
• Unbalanced supply and demand in terms of engineering,procurement and
project managementservices
• Unstable commodity pricing

What are we trying to do to cut costs?
7
Gorgon Project, Australia
(source: Chevron.com)

More so than ever, Business and
Projects/Engineering concerns are aligned
• Many of these factors are out of control of
individual companies and project teams. It
is, therefore, more compelling to enhance
one's project delivery effectiveness through
executing projects the "right way"
• That encompasses mastering project and
business risk identification, sharing and
management within a project delivery
system capable of delivering the promised
business value, in a predictable fashion
8

Doing the right projects...
AND doing projects right!
9

10
How to deliver profitable capital projects?
Field Labor
Productivity
Engineering Quality &
Timeliness
Procurement Quality
& Effectiveness
Doing the right project
Alignment of Business Case, Scope and Project Objectives
Contracting Strategies In
Line with Stakeholders
Capabilities
Strong Project
Management
Capabilities
Reliable
Constructability
Strategy
Cost Schedule Safety Operability
Project’s
Economic
Output
Exhibit 1
© www.workpackaging.org,2016

11
I - Project Outcomes
Field Labor
Productivity
Timeliness
Procurement Quality
& Effectiveness
Capabilities
Strong Project
Management
Capabilities
Reliable
Constructability
Strategy
Project’s
Economic
Output
Exhibit 1. a

12
II - Project Critical Conditions
Field Labor
Productivity
Timeliness
Procurement Quality
& Effectiveness
Capabilities
Strong Project
Management
Capabilities
Reliable
Constructability
Strategy
Project’s
Economic
Output
Exhibit 1. b

13
III - Project Execution Success Indicators
Field Labor
Productivity
Timeliness
Procurement Quality
& Effectiveness
Capabilities
Strong Project
Management
Capabilities
Reliable
Constructability
Strategy
Project’s
Economic
Output
Exhibit 1. c

14
Delivering profitable capital projects requires thinking with the end in mind
Field Labor
Productivity
Timeliness
Procurement Quality
& Effectiveness
Capabilities
Strong Project
Management
Capabilities
Reliable
Constructability
Strategy
Project’s
Economic
Output
Exhibit 1

Reliable and effective
constructability strategy
Definition:
Constructability Reviews (CR) are “ the optimum use of
construction knowledge in planning, design, procurement, and
field operations to achieve overall project objectives". (CII)
A Constructability Review (CR) constitutes an analysis of the
plant design (usually performed by experienced construction,
maintenance, & operations personnel) intended to reduce costs,
save time, ensure quality and safety, as well as enhance the
management of risk in the construction phase, during plant
operation, and during subsequent maintenance of the facility.
15

How effective is your company's
CR process?
q Do you start you CR early in definition? (timing)
q Do you have multiple CR sessions throughout the definition phase?
(frequency)
q Does your primary Construction Manager (CM) participate in the
review? Will you have a new CM at execution? (continuity of strategy
ownership and accountability)
q Do you document your CR? (traceability)
q Do you provide enough information as input to your CR (such as
models, site reviews, technology considerations)? (quality)
q Do you use corporate project knowledge in your CR? (lessons
learned & continuous improvement)
q How involved is your project sponsor in the CR? (alignment with
business)
16

17
Field Labor ProductivityEngineering Quality & Timeliness
Procurement Quality &
Effectiveness
Contracting Strategies In Line with
Stakeholders Capabilities
Strong Project Management
Capabilities Reliable Constructability Strategy
Project’s Economic
Output

The Mortar Concept©
(MC Concept)
18
MC

Linking Together Project Delivery Components:
" The Mortar Concept© "
• To enable the holistic effectiveness of all
these project delivery components, a project
needs to operate within a framework
capable of ensuring both the right timing and
the optimum quality of information used
• This framework is defined based on two
structural features:
1. It needs to support timeliness of decisions
through a Project Decision Support
System (PDSS©)
2. It needs to ensure accurate project
information flow through a workable
Project Information Flow Protocol (PIFP©)
19
© Hamdi, The Mortar Concept in Project Management, 2015

20
Linking Project Delivery Components

21
Linking Project Delivery Components

Advanced Work Packaging
(AWP)
22

Research & Development History
• 4 Year Academia-Industry
Research Collaboration (RT272)
• Industry Implementation
Resource – 3 volumes
• First Academic Publication on
AWP from The University of
Texas at Austin
• Implementation case studies &
Validation
23

Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) is a
project delivery system that emphasizes
construction as a primary planning driver
24

What is Advanced Work Packaging
(AWP)?
“Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) is a work process
framework fundamentally based on the idea of thinking with
the end in mind. It is designed to allow engineering
planning be driven by construction sequencing. Simply put,
this is achieved by breaking down the project scope into
Construction Work Packages that are fed with Engineering
Work Packages.”
25

How is that achieved?
1. Extending PEPs to the front-end planning phase; "bringing the field
to the office"
2. A focus on field work packages/installation work packages as
project information units
3. Work packaging structure becomes the skeleton of the project; a
workface planner is dedicated to the management of these
packages
4. The benefit of a common intuitive project language and tools
26

A quick look at the boundaries
defining each of the Advanced Work
Packaging (AWP) system
deliverables
Key Deliverables:
CWP- Construction Work Packages
IWP- Installation Work Packages
EWP- Engineering Work Packages
27

Overall Project
Exhibit of CII/COAA RT.272
28

Construction Work Package (CWP) Boundary
29

Engineering Work Package (EWP) boundary
30

Installation Work Package (IWP) boundary
31

Inside a CWP
CWP Content
• Scope description and
constructability strategy
• Safety Requirements
• Various EWPs (at least one)
• Schedule Requirements
• Budget (labor
hours/cost/plannedproductivity
rate)
• Quality Requirements
• Special Resource Requirements
(tools, equipments etc.)
CWP Features
• In line with the overall
construction plan
• Typically aligned with a bid
package / multiple CWPs
may form one larger bid
package
• In alignment with project
controls
• Measurable
• As independent as possible
32

Inside an EWP
EWP Content
• Scope of work with equipment
list
• Drawings (e.g. general
arrangement and equipment
installation)
• Installation and material
specifications
• Vendor data
• Bill of materials
• Additional needed information
such as permitting studies,
geotechnicalstudies etc.
• Connection Points
Considerations
EWP Features
• Release plan should be
aligned with the construction
sequence and priorities
• Content should satisfy various
stakeholders requirements
• Planning of EWPs requires
construction input!!
• EWPs are discipline and area-
driven; connections points
expected
• Interface management should
be accounted for
33

Inside an IWP
IWP Content
• Scope of Work
• Safety Requirements
• QA/QC Requirements
• Trade Coordination
• Material Take Offs & Locations
• Model Shots, Drawings and All
Other Necessary Engineering
Information
• Scaffold Requirements
• IWP Constraints
• Any Other Information Required to
Install the Work
IWP Features
• Reviewed and approved by the
supervisory team
34

AWP Recommended Practice Model
35

An Industry Momentum
• Multiple case studies of industrial projects (IR272-2 v3)
reported the achieved benefits of:
– 25% productivity improvement
– 10% decrease in total installed cost
• Documented the following benefits resulting from AWP
implementation:
– Greater schedule & cost predictability
– Improved safety performance
– Reduced engineering rework
– Improved quality & stakeholder alignment
– Improved contractor profitability
– Increased supervision time in the field
• Performance/maturity matrix established
36

ENR talking
about AWP
37

Call for action
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP)
constitutes a major competitive advantage
for companies that go through the process
of assessing and improving the maturity and
effectiveness of their own project delivery
capabilities.
38

O.H.'s AWP Implementation Roadmap
- Level 1
39
Update corporate program
Implement AWP
Plan AWP implementation
Obtain AWP capabilities
Establish corporate AWP program
Assess current project delivery system effectiveness
Commit to implementing AWP
© Olfa Hamdi, 2015

O.H. Vision for AWP
and the construction industry
• AWP is currently a strong experience based model; theoretical
validation pending
• Aiming for an industry-wide protocol; project information mapping is
a first step but it should be executed in parallel to other industry-
wide efforts
• The AWP system requires further design
– Mostly a human-powered decision making system
– Spatial representation of projects needs to be integrated with business
decisions
– More to do in terms of quantification, storage, communication of
information
– Integration and interoperability are key
• We are still far from automation but we are heading in the right direction
– Our industry needs to learn from other sectors and experiences
– We need to capitalize on those successful implementations cases
– We need to bring in the best talents from the IT sector to
revolutionize our industry
40

"We do well bricks...
It's high time we tackle
the mortar"
41

From Project Management to
Project Leadership
42

Thank You!
Contact:
Olfa Hamdi
The Advanced Work Packaging Institute
268 Bush Street #2926, San Francisco, CA, 94104
www.workpackaging.org
Email: ohamdi@workpackaging.org
43

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