Plug in your project successfully

The moment of project handover is the moment of truth for any project manager. The proof is in going live and getting the project operational on time. When it is finally ready for "installation", are operations actually ready to receive the project, plug it in to the existing business and start working with it effectively to reap the new benefits? Or have you built a square plug for a round socket?

The answer will depend largely on your operational readiness (OR), according to Gary Gosling, Head of Operational Readiness and Project Manager at CoLAB Project Implementation.

"Many organisations, when they green-light a project, have an idea of how the project will affect the business: it will speed up operations, improve the bottom line or cut lead times in half. But, few fully consider the changes that might occur within a business as a result of the project. Is the operations team suitably trained to operate the new asset? Do they know what is required to maintain the asset? Are the operational responsibilities defined and clear?"

These are all critical questions that are too often overlooked during project management and this is where the value that the project should offer the business is destroyed.

Costly oversight

Handover problems such as skills shortage, start-up delays, equipment and maintenance failures, scope clarification and systems readiness can damage the value that a project should be offering. Additionally, changes at this late stage of a project become a costly exercise.

"History has proven that many projects destroy significant value by not planning appropriately for this transition phase from project to operations, resulting in a slow ramp-up," says Gosling.

A slow ramp-up can quickly add up to staggering numbers. "On a recent mining project, CoLAB was mandated with ensuring operational readiness, and we managed to avoid several potential start-up delays," Gosling points out. "As part of the process, we identified OR shortcomings, developed a plan to address these challenges and implement the plan successfully to avoid delays. This ultimately meant start-up happened on time as scheduled. One week's delay on this large-scale mining project would have cost the mine R35 million."

How does operational readiness help?

Operational readiness aims to integrate projects seamlessly into the business. It does this by ensuring the project solution fits the existing operational requirements, while ensuring the operational team is fully prepared and equipped to receive and operate the solution. The result? A good fit between the project and the existing business means your project is plugged in on time and working well.

For the business to realise the value of the investment, the project, its transition and operations need to be successful. Operational readiness will give exco confidence that these three areas are properly aligned.

Why is operational readiness overlooked?

If the state of operational readiness has such a dramatic and direct effect on the value of a project, it begs the question, why it is so easily overlooked?

Gosling believes the answer lies in who drives the operational readiness on a project. "Experience has proven that the 'driver' of the OR plan should ideally be independent. The reason for this is that, on the one hand, operations typically have their own burning platform issues to deal with and can't handle future problems now. On the other hand, the project manager is focused on delivering the scope of the project and can't also be plagued with operational preparedness."

Six tips for ensuring operational readiness

* Appoint an OR manager: Projects are often set up incorrectly from the outset. An independent driver is needed to provide a different focus. For large projects, an OR manager should be appointed to ensure the head of every department affected by the project is represented.
* Start on day one: Consider operational readiness from the beginning of every project, it starts on day one.
* Consult operations: The operations team should be intrinsically involved during the project planning phase to ensure alignment between the business need and the solution - planning with the end in mind.
* Don't stop with the plan: Once the OR plan is established and there is alignment between the project and operations, it is not the time to back off. Rather, this plan needs to be driven to conclusion.
* Assess the impact: Every decision that is made on the project needs to be assessed in terms of how it will impact operations.
* Check it at the gate: Review operational readiness at every gate of the project.

Value of operational readiness

The value of operational readiness can be quantified by calculating what a delay in ramp-up will cost when the entire project budget is spent and the asset is not producing as planned. A good way to look at the value is this: it will have to be done anyway, but you get to choose whether to do it in a structured or chaotic fashion. Universal plug adaptor, anyone?

If you would like to know more about integrating operational readiness into your project planning, please call or e-mail Gary Gosling, who will be happy to send you more information: (+27) 86 111 4576 or e-mail garyg@trustcolab.com.