Success in Operational Readiness
The deliverables for a capital project are transparent. There is a scope for equipment supply and construction, a schedule, and a budget. Each of these has well-understood metrics for tracking progress against the plan. However, delivering the physical assets on time and a budget is only one component of a successful project. Some projects are considered a failure because the commissioning and start-up of the facility didn’t go to plan. Often, this is because the less transparent deliverables of Operational Readiness were not planned and executed and the project’s capital components.
Operational Readiness is the term used to describe an organisation’s preparedness for operating and maintaining an asset. The success of a project hinges just as much on the Operations Team being Operational Ready as it does on building the physical assets as planned. The ideal scenario is that the Operations Team are pushing the Project Team out the door, saying, “thanks very much, love the plant, we’ll take it from here”. However, this will only happen if the Operations Team believes they have the right people, systems, and processes to succeed in ongoing operations.
Talk to someone that was part of a successful start-up, and they will proudly talk about the planning and preparation that led to that outcome. The client employed the Operations Team early enough to develop Operational Readiness plans and commence establishing the culture. In parallel with this work, they had input into plant design to be safely operated and maintained.
Whilst developing the schedules for delivering the asset, so to were the schedules to have the people, systems, processes and procedures in place on time.
Brownfield expansions’ leaders had been awarded the luxury of adopting many of the systems and processes from within their organisations.
The leaders of many greenfield start-ups are less fortunate, often developing and integrating the entire suite of systems and processes themselves. A structured approach to developing an Operations Readiness plan will deliver a much more successful outcome than an ad-hoc approach in either scenario. It will also create a culture from the on-set that values Operational Discipline.
At EnterpriseIS, we’ve developed an Operational Readiness Framework to assist leaders in identifying all the activities needed for a successful start-up. These activities form their readiness plan and are used to create a schedule of readiness work. For clients that have already commenced their Operational Readiness activities, we provide an audit service to ensure that all key activities are underway and on track. We also specialise in completing readiness activities for our clients, including developing business plans, organisational design, operating strategies, maintenance strategies and plans, selecting or developing systems and processes. We can also provide specialist on-site support to bolster their resources.
Starting up a new plant is one of the most complex and rewarding memories in anyone’s career. You will fondly remember the one’s that safely beat the ramp-up schedule and reflect on those that didn’t go to plan. The fond memories are created by developing a tremendous Operational Readiness Plan, executing according to that plan, and leaving the legacy of a culture that values Operational Discipline.