The EEM Landscape
Projects which limp along after the planned beneficial operation start date has passed are like a car which can be driven but is not firing on all cylinders. It needs a lot more care and attention and costs more to run.
One organisation estimated that improving capital project start contributed an additional 5% operating efficiency per year over the life of the asset. Enough to pay for the original capital investment.
Analysis of the reasons why some projects do not achieve their full potential suggests a number of common causes.
Analysis of the reasons why some projects do not achieve their full potential suggests a number of common causes.
Generally these are not due to technical problems but to people issues including knowledge gaps, poor communication and collaboration.The goals of Early Equipment Management (EEM) are to achieve “Flawless operation from production day 1” and consistently low Life s Cycle Costs (LCC) for the lifetime of the installation.
Flawless operation from day one means simple zero unplanned stoppages/sporadic failures from the planned operating date. Then during the first few months of operation the performance can be improved as the route to process optimisation becomes clear.
EEM extends the traditional project focus of delivering a new asset or engineering platform to that of delivering Operational Excellence. The difference is the humanisation of projects to incorporate not just what will be done but how it is done. This is characterised by increased collaboration between commercial, operations and technical personnel at all project steps.
The core of the EEM process is the use of systematic analysis around key decision points or milestones. Activities to deliver each milestone are coordinated by design standards and checklists to avoid omissions and assure objective decision making.
Each milestone incorporates an improvement theme to drive the innovation process and align the efforts of the project team. This also provides a framework for management to review progress, the injection of knowledge from other projects and the capture of lessons learned from the current project
Getting the Right Specification
Weaknesses in the early stages of a project have a cumulative impact on the rest of the project. The most important factor in the early stages of a project is getting the right scope of the project. Starting with a broad outline of what you want to achieve and explore a number of options before deciding on the preferred option.
Weaknesses in the early stages of a project have a cumulative impact on the rest of the project. The most important factor in the early stages of a project is getting the right scope of the project.
Starting with a broad outline of what you want to achieve and explore a number of options before deciding on the preferred option. The building blocks of success at the stage are characterised by processes to exclude inappropriate options.
Common weaknesses at this stage are set out in the tables below.
| Problem |
Design Revisions |
| Description |
Changes to design or priorities after sign off stage |
| Why is it bad? |
Wasted effort and additional costs. |
| What are the causes |
Indicates that the original specification was under developed, gaps in knowledge or a lack of understanding. |
| How to reduce it |
Formal investigation of current weaknesses will provide increase understanding of the assessment of a wide range of options |
| Problem |
Knowledge gaps |
| Description |
Lack of understanding of operational reality/constraints or best practice design. |
| Why is it Bad |
Risk of missing or inappropriate design elements |
| What are the causes |
Not involving the right skills/capabilities within the team or vendor/project partner |
| How to reduce it |
Cross functional project team profile, clear design standards/targets and systematic option generation/evaluation process. |
Developing Effective Designs
Once the specification scope is defined and a suitable vendor/partner is selected this step concerns adding detail to the specification in a way which avoids application weaknesses and enhances project value.Successful projects at this step are characterised by activities to improve project life cycle costs. That surfaces accepted weaknesses in work design and maintenance standards.
The gains include reduction in project life cycle costs and higher than expected return on investment.
Two common weaknesses at this stage relate to the setting of standards and poor design of work routines. This is something that needs attention to detail by users because vendors do have the product knowledge to be able to define effective work routines. Naturally they can assist with this but the quality of work routines deepnd on the engagement of users. They are the only ones who can integrate the new practices within the existing routine and develop the skill sets needed to secure stable operation.
| Problem |
Gaps in work standards and technical understanding can result in avoidable failures due to human error, knowledge and skill gaps. |
| Description |
Latent specification weaknesses that surface at installation and commissioning. |
| Why is it bad? |
Avoidable problems are ignored until later in the project |
| What are the causes |
Limited understanding of design performance under operational conditions. Lack of design guidance/standards by operational users |
| How to reduce it |
Establish EEM design standards for new and related operating methods to support the systematic evaluation design features. |
| Problem |
Project delays |
| Description |
Predictable yet unforeseen project delays and vendor disputes |
| Why is it Bad |
Extended project delivery times/increased costs |
| What are the causes |
Unclear work specification, poor collaboration with vendors, cost driven contractual arrangements, incomplete factory readiness planning. |
| How to reduce it |
Structured engagement of users pre vendor selection, focus on problem prevention during detailed design, work routine design prior to installation, learning plans for core, intermediate and specialist skill levels applied as part of commissionining and production ramp up. |
Problems with Installation
Problems at this step are often due to weaknesses earlier in the project. Key success factors here are to focus on problem prevention to minimise the impact of design weaknesses and reduce the potential for human error.
Problems at this stage are often due to weakness's earlier on in the project. Key succcess factors here are to focus on factory readiness and problem provention to minimise the impact of design weaknesss and reduce the potential for human error.
Two common weakness at this stage are gaps in the definition of standard work and unclear accountabilities/skill development for core, intermediate and specialst task completion.
| Problem |
Weak design/installation |
| Description |
Operability, maintainability, safety/reliability problems surface during installation/commissioning |
| Why is it bad? |
Delayed project start up, increased costs/resources |
| What are the causes |
Poor stage gate review process, weaknesses in work practice design and training. |
| How to reduce it |
Assess project criticality and risks to delivery of flawless operation from day 1. Develop best practice routines to minimise operational risks/human error. |
| Problem |
Long project hand over duration |
| Description |
Time taken debugging during full operation stage |
| Why is it Bad |
Changes at this stage will be expensive and time consuming. |
| What are the causes |
Reactive project process, incomplete operational routines and working methods. |
| How to reduce it |
Improved operational understanding, address design weaknesses, improve/maintain equipment basic conditions. |
EEM Implementation Steps
The importance of EEM is often underestimated. Not only does it improve return on investment, it also facilitates cross functional learning to deliver a measurable increase in competitive capability (ie reduce NPD time to market).
The EEM Implementation route involves.
- Review of recent project and design management performance against EEM benchmarks to identify strengths and weakness (gap analysis)
- Use EEM process on pilot projects to formalise detailed process and standards
- Formalise training/induction programmes for prject managers and project team members
- Sytematically extend the use of EEM tools to all projects.
