The Big Problem of Small Projects Practical Solutions for
Sustaining / Improving Production with Limited Resources for
Capital Projects ECC Future Leaders Group SESSION 1 Abbey King
Process Engineer BE&K Helen Mott Regional Inside Sales Mgr
Jacobs Engineering Byron Elliott Engineering Manager Shaw Energy
& Chemicals Jeff Dressel Manager of Business Development
KBR
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Contributors Hayley Brown Bentley Ron Feken - DuPont Julie
Lambert - ConocoPhillips Michelle McNichol Mustang Allison Miller
Drobniak- Mustang Jeff Pratt - Flowserve Mauricio Villegas - Worley
Parsons
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Outline What is a Small Project? with Interactive Questions
Survey results Problems with small projects Solutions for small
projects Outside the Box Ideas
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Audience Response Questions: Are you from an: Owner Contractor
Supplier Other What do you consider to be a small project ($TIC)?
$300 million
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Whats a Small Project: CII definition: $100,000-$2 million ECC
FL Survey (May 2008) Daratech Survey (May 2008) < $1 million
$1-10 million $10-300 million >$300 million
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Small Projects Definition Differs company to company Relative
to the size of the company Fewer project controls Shifts based on
total industry work-load Generally, no technical specialists
Schedule may be shorter
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Large Projects vs. Small Projects Large Project Adherence to
standardization Supports specialists Multiple company interface
Difficult Communication Dedicated staff Big sticks Potentially
large bonuses or penalties Small Project Flexible and
fit-to-purpose More diverse skill-sets needed Single source Easier
Communication (fewer parties) Part-time staff- High turn-over
Little or no sticks Potentially small bonuses (if any) or
penalties
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Audience Response Questions: Do you use employees with less
than 5 years experience to manage jobs? Yes No What percentage of
these employees manage multiple projects? 0-20% 20-40% 40-60%
60-80% 80-100%
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Small Project Survey Highlights 50% of companies use employees
< 5 yrs experience to manage 88% of employees manage multiple
projects. 43% of those manage 5 or more at a time. Does your
company have a separate small projects Group: Owners: Yes 50% No
50% Contractors Yes 42% No 58%
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Audience Response Question: What is your Small Project
Attitude? Necessary Evil? Bread and Butter? Foot in the Door of a
client? Ignored? Overlooked? Strategic Priority?
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The Cost of Not Caring Small projects typically make up 25%-50%
of your budgets / backlog (Higher for Operators - Lower for
Contractors) Training ground for large projects Poorly executed
small project today could mean loss of a large project tomorrow
Risk to Company Reputation Impact on Company, Culture, and
Morale
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Problems Project prioritization and adequate basic data Limited
budgets vs. fast schedules People: experience and retention issues
Managing multiple projects Gaining the attention of key
stakeholders when required to ensure projects are properly scoped
and executed with minimal rework. Flexibility of engineering and
design resources to work multiple projects effectively. If
resources are loaded full time on small projects, they become less
cost effective and productivity actually declines because more
hours are spent against limited budgets.
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Current Small Project Techniques* Preventing Staff Turnover
Bundling Projects (Leverage knowledge and experience) Mentoring /
Career development Multi-skilled Staff Defined roles /
responsibilities / dedicated team Good Communication and Teamwork
Recognition of value vs. cost of right staff Competitive
compensation / bonuses / rewards Top management visibility and
emphasis *taken from CII Small Projects Toolkit
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FL Survey Results: What tool / procedure has had the greatest
positive impact on small projects in your industry? Six Sigma
Project Controls (cost, schedule, material control) Integrated
Project controls and execution software FEL Process Small project
delivery model. This process will allow small projects to gain the
discipline and rigor of large project delivery without being too
onerous. Globalization of work methods, modern communication tools,
cost estimating spreadsheets, archived lessons learned & client
feedback
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Out-of-the-Box Ideas Virtual Office (Simulated work-place) Flee
the cube nation! Engineering without the overhead Culture change
for next generation Training opportunities for young leaders
Empower decision-makers at each location (Project Management
burn-out) Small projects to build teams for large projects
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Out-of-the-Box Ideas Small Projects as Innovators Training
ground for new tools, methods and ideas Ideas moved to large
projects with people Management to encourage and reward new ideas
Other ideas Get young engineers out in the field early Provide
alternate work location, making project harder to poach Collaborate
with academia to start a small project training ground Hire
students part-time during school year
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Future Small Project Compressor Revamp Brazil Late decision for
award TIC $20MM Tight schedule to meet shutdown date
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World-Wide Engineering
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World-Wide Recruiting and Staffing Staffing Requirements 1 PM 2
PE 12 eng 20 designers Flexible Locations Recruiting Tools
Facebook,MySpace, Second Life, Linked In You-tube videos Web Cams
Video conferencing Virtual recruiting is anywhere, anytime without
relocation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcXF1YirPrQ
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Heres our staff Virtual Hub PM USA India China Germany PE South
Africa PE Australia JOBSITE Brazil
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How do we Communicate? Common Platforms Common Spaces Flexible
Interfaces Web Based Tools (i.e. Skype) Real Time Documentation and
Communication Common IT space, VPNs Messenger / Communicator
Standardized Software Tools Web-based Common Spaces Translator
Programs
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WORLD-WIDE COMMUNICATION Virtual project team Shared
applications editing documents. Face-to-face meetings. Minimal
office space. No travel. HP Halo Telepresence Solutions (Video
Presentation 1 min.) Cisco WebEx Meeting Center (Video Presentation
2 min.)
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A Day in the Life of the Project 7:00 AM10:00 AM4:00 PM Virtual
Meeting - USA, Brazil, and Germany Establish activities and confirm
scope
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A Day in the Life of the Project Virtual Meeting between USA
and China Document Transfer USA to China 5:00 PM7:00 AM
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A Day in the Life of the Project Problem in China PM still
awake? Skype PE in Australia Problem Solved Proceed with work 5:00
PM 6:00 PM Zzzz..
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A Day in the Life of the Project 2:30 PM5:00 PM Mark-up
Conference Call between China and India Transfer Drawings to
India
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A Day in the Life of the Project Mark-up 6:00 AM6:30 PM
Transfer Document from India to USA
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A Day in the Life of the Project 11:00 AM
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Q & A GUIDE What problems did you have that our great
solutions would help.