How digital transformation of engineering & design reduces cost, time and risk in capital projects

In the past few years, low oil prices had sanctioned almost every large energy projects in the oil and gas industry. Today, with the recent recovery of oil prices, most companies are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and preparing to ramp up their investments to either maintain or grow output. Yet, despite the increasing investment in projects, EPC companies are facing tougher contracting and more intense global competition. Any slight delay or budget overrun in a project can easily turn profit into loss.

According to an EY report, over 60% of the projects globally had cost overruns and schedule delays. To improve performance and reduce risk of cost overruns and schedule delays, companies have to leverage effective project management tools and best practices at the outset of a project.

Getting design “right first time” is an impossible task

Modern marketing rhetoric claims that, in order to cut out expensive costs and reduce risks during the design and construction phase of major capital projects, plant design has to be completed ‘right first time’. However, getting “right first time” is simply unrealistic and not achievable in most cases as this ideology does not have the flexibility needed to cope with client, legal, contractor and environmental changes which influence scope changes throughout the project. Evolutionary design, just as in nature, requires the design process to be adaptable to change, and allowed to cycle through alternatives as quickly as possible until its most ideal form is achieved. There are countless different influences over the project duration which will affect the selection of design such as design development, new or changed requirements initiated by clients, poorly specified contract, poorly co-ordinated parallel activities between design, fabrication and construction, miscommunication and others. With a long list of design influencing factors and still counting, is it possible for a design which is ‘right first time’ to weather these different influences? Therefore, the key to Engineering and Design for Lean Construction lies in effective management of the design spiral to reduce iterations and build better communications between designers and constructors.

Efficient Management of the Design Spiral is key to Project Performance

The ability to control and manage changes as the design iterates through progressive refinement and detailing requires a collaborative digital environment that enables all the engineering and design disciplines to respond to multi-discipline changes in an ordered and organized manner. As design information is created, it needs to be shared across other design disciplines and across contractual boundaries to make sure that the project progresses to schedule. This process is not a linear sequence by nature; design information does not simply pass to the next team until it is completed– progressing new designs through their phases of maturity to the constructed form.

Elements of a “truly” digitalized integrated Engineering & Design platform

The ability of the multi-disciplinary teams to control and manage the huge number of design changes efficiently during project execution is key to successful project execution; a ‘truly’ digitalized integrated platform must have the elements:

1. All disciplines take part – Integration of this design spiral as a common process across all design disciplines is essential.
2. Pervasive Integration – Efficient design practices demand that this integration must be at the design object level and universal across the authoring applications, rather than simple integration based around the transfer of drawings or model files between systems.
3. Common nomenclature for ‘status’ – Knowing where you are in the design spiral and knowing when the data you are working with is provisional or approved is a key element of design efficiency.
4. Each engineer must see changes quickly – All engineering information authors and review teams must be able to easily see design changes over time.
5. Each discipline must be able to compare and update – Changes which have been made to the design by another contractor must be easy to review before updating to maintain consistency across disciplines.
6. Access rights must be in place – The ability to manage access across a multi-contractor project is essential to protect one’s own IPR and maintain the correct separation across the design.

Benefits of an integrated Engineering and Design platform

Major EPCs have already been reaping significant benefits leveraging the integrated platform in their projects. The platform enables better collaboration and efficient management of change that reduces the number of iterative steps in the ‘design spiral’ and compresses the time needed to reach the final, optimized design. Up to 10% reduction in Total Installed Costs is achievable.

Are you ready to digitalize your Engineering and Design to boost Project Profitability today?

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