WIRELINE - Autumn 2017

Efficiency | Project Management

how we manage sub-suppliers to cost control.”

the leadership team to a set of principles and values, many of them based on teamwork and partnership. Ron continues: “We’d started without knowledge of the toolkit, but when we went back and assessed our phase 1 (creating a collaborative environment), it was clear we were pretty much aligned with its principles and we moved promptly onto phase 2 – setting up a project for collaboration – and carried out a gap analysis against the toolkit. “This shows that the toolkit is not asking you to do anything that goes against the grain, but gives you a valuable framework within which to work and a more structured quantitative way to see how to achieve further collaboration.”

one fit-for-purpose approach that we’ve developed together.”

“It was clear that to maximise our chances of success in delivery and to do it as efficiently as possible, a collaborative environment was the best way forward,” adds Shell’s Brent Bravo decommissioning project manager, Ron Themsen. “We did not want to waste time as a result of poor interface management and so moved away from the conventional client-contractor relationship that involves a great deal of effort around contract management.” Instead, they jointly produced a Project Behavioural and Safety Charter that was formally signed off by all three parties and several key sub-contractors at a dedicated offsite event. It committed

He believes this has meant the project hit the ground running. “It might typically take three months from signing the contract to starting the work. We were kicking things off within six weeks at almost full strength offshore.” The same principles are being applied offshore. The back-to-back offshore project engineer role, for example, is shared between Wood and Shell. Also, the outcomes of weekly project meetings onshore are cascaded and onshore project leaders are frequently offshore. “The feedback from offshore is positive,” notes Ron.

Senior contract delivery manager at Stork, Johan van Spronsen,

From early on, we adopted the principles of integration through co-location and a single, simple way of managing the project that covers everything from how we manage sub-suppliers to cost control. “

Out of the box The unified onshore project team of up to 30 people, featuring personnel from all three parties as well as sub-contractor representatives when required, is based at Wood's headquarters in Aberdeen. “Our team is about one-third smaller than the one we had for Brent Delta,” explains Ron. “That’s because there’s no need for man-marking or duplication of positions within client and contractor organisations. We have a shared plan – we own it together. We have one set of procedures and

adds that this new way of working encourages everyone involved to put forward ideas or possible solutions that might be outside of their strict area of expertise, but nevertheless contribute to solving an issue. As an example, he says, Stork came up with an alternative technical solution, applying a composite wrap to protect the live pipes that run through the concrete blocks being installed as part of the decommissioning process. “We’re not confining ourselves to solving problems within our scope, but looking to contribute to the >

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