Planning Particles -Part 1 (Plan to Execute, Execute to Plan)
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Project Budget = 100.000.000 $
Duration : 42 days
?Preface --?In STO Realities Issue?#11?we introduced the idea that understanding our actual spend in terms of Dollars per Minute, and even Dollars per Second is a useful way to evaluate Turnaround Delay costs. Looking at the cost of delay in this way helps us evaluate the "value" of "investment spend" that reduces or eliminates delay.
Delay comes from a variety of sources as we have discussed in previous work, but the very basics of mitigation of Turnaround Event Delay is tied to our understanding of Planning, and the quality of our Job Plans and Work Packages. We are pleased to present a consolidated publishing of Progressive Plan's own Director of Operations,?Curtis Hermans MMP.
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This is STO Realities Issue?#12,?Planning Particles Part 1
Before we get into what planning is, it is important to understand what it is not.
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???????????????? ≠ ????????????????????
Planning and scheduling are not the same.?
While a good plan does allow for a cleaner schedule, they are separate functions in a much larger process and should never be lumped together as one generic process.?
It takes two different skillsets to plan vs schedule.
Planning is a left-brain activity while scheduling is a right-brain activity.
Note: We acknowledge that the left brain, right brain model is not as literal as once thought.
There is no such thing as a planner/scheduler, you are more apt to do one or the other.
This isn't to say that if you are an analytical, logical thinker that you can't schedule, it just means that you will have a much harder time than someone that is naturally more imaginative and creative in their thinking and approach.
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???????????????????? ≠ ????????????????
One very common misconception in the industry that planning is nothing more than estimation.?
This cannot be further from the truth!
As it turns out, estimating is a function of planning, and a very important one at that, but it is not the sole definition of planning.
When we estimate, we are gauging how long it is going to take and what it will cost us based on the materials and resources needed to complete the task.
Planning then uses this information to create the activities required to complete the task and create the logic between these activities which will help determine when these activities occur in relation to the overall task, and the larger project as a whole.
Planning is all about?????????.
To Simplify
Planning is the procurement, processing, and publishing of data related to a project or specific task.?
It doesn’t matter if we are talking about daily maintenance, projects or STO events, these three actions are at the core of any planning process.
The Basic Phases of Planning (the 4 P's)
?????????????????????? - This is the gathering of data related to the task or project at hand that is needed to produce a safe, sound, and logical plan.
???????????????????? - This is where we look at the data we have collected and ensure it is relevant and accurate.
???????????????????? - This is the stage where we build our execution work packages. Whether it be physically or digitally.
???????? ???????????? - This is probably the most important, yet most overlooked phase when it comes to planning. This is where we take all the feedback, we got from doing the job, then document and update so we have sound data for next time.
Phase 1 -???????????????????????
When we talk about procurement, we are strictly talking about the actual action of obtaining or procuring something.
Phase 1 of planning is designed to gather all information of an asset relevant to the work scope and put it in a central location for phase 2?(Processing).
What is Relevant?
Let's assume we have a vessel at ground level, and the scope of this vessel is an internal inspection of the shell.
Based on this scope, we would be gathering the following items:
?? Blinding Requirements - P&ID's, Process information
?? Entry requirements
?? Rescue Plans
?? Vessel Drawings - internal, external, insulation, etc.
?? Inspection Scope - ITP's, Past findings, etc.
?? Photos
?? Historic Plans related to vessel entry
We can leave out things like, price quotes, Shipping/Customs information, etc.
???????????? ?????????? ??We would absolutely gather this information if our scope of work included the potential replacement of the vessel, this the reason that the asset and scope matter.
It doesn't matter whether it is a STO event, maintenance job, or project, the information procured should be relevant to the scope.
As a planner, the information you gather is vital to the rest of the team and can reduce costs down the road.
You can tell in the execution if a company has a good Phase 1 strategy.
What does good data procurement look like?
??????:
?? No data collected or gathered - figure it out on the fly
?? Copy only the data from the last event, regardless of scope
?? Free-for-all access for everyone
????????????:
?? Gather all relevant data
?? Keep data in one location
?? Give everybody on the team read/write access but follow a policy on data handling
???????? ????????????????:
?? Gather all relevant data
?? Keep the data in one central location
?? Give Planners read/write access read access to those that need it
?? Implement a good policy and work flow regarding data
?? Organize the data using a well thought out file structure
Why Is This Important?
The Ripple effect --?Essentially, it's a multiplier effect.
Like dropping a pebble in the water, we see the ripples expand outward. It's the same principle when it comes to planning. One small pebble dropped in our calm; tranquil, planning pond can have disastrous effects in the future of our event/project/task. Simply put, this is a multiplier that shows us that one mistake or missed step in the procurement phase can have amplified effects later in the event.
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We have a 16-year-old exchanger that at some point had a modification done.
During the procurement phase, as per the planning ?????????????????? ????????????????????, the planner was to copy over the most recent plan which happened to be from 4 years ago.?The plan looked solid, with no red flags, and the bill of materials was complete.?During the outage, when it was time to put the exchanger back together, it was discovered that the wrong gaskets were ordered.??Looking into it further, it was noted?that the identical scenario happened at the last time this equipment was worked on, 4 years prior!??
?????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ????????????:
The crew assembling the exchanger, their foreperson, operations, QA/QC personnel, resources already set-up and scheduled for this job?(bundle puller, crane, etc.).??Other crews that could have been working in the area were all disrupted to varying degrees. This is in addition to the rush order and expedited charges to get the new gaskets made and delivered. It was determined that 2 hours of time spent by the planner reviewing could have eliminated this problem altogether. It took 3 hours to get the resources relocated, and for the crew to be permitted for another job. So not spending those initial 2 hours has multiplied the initial costs exponentially. This is the ripple effect in a nutshell.
???? ???????? ???? ???????? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????????, ?????? ????????'?? ???????? ?????????????????????????? ???????????? ???? ?????
There are ?????????? main reasons for this:
??.) The front-loaded costs of planning are easy pickings when it comes to a TA budget, because the value isn't seen until something goes wrong, or a thorough analysis is performed.
??.) There is a poor planning process,?(Planning Operating Discipline),?or poor execution of the planning process.
??.)?There are overlapping and/or contradicting processes in place
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Phase 1 - Procurement - Part 3 -The Operating Discipline
So far, we have covered what good data gathering looks like, the ripple effect, and touched on 3 reasons why as organizations we tend to not be very good at Phase 1 of the planning flow.
One of those reasons leads us to call out –
Planning ODs?(Operating Disciplines)?or Planning Process.
???????? ???? ?? ???????????????? ?????
A ???????????????? ???? is essentially:
?? The steps we will follow
?? The planning medium we will use (SAP, P6, etc.)
?? The verbiage and codes we will use
?? How we will estimate
?? How we will apply logic
?? The process flow of the package
?? What is included in a package?
?? Digital Package?
?? Hard Copy Package?
?? How we will audit plans and packages?
?? Where we will store plans and packages?
?? How we will distribute plans and packages?
?? How to we plan daily maintenance?
?? How do we plan STO events?
?? How do we plan projects?
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?????? ???? ???? ???????? ???? ?????
? ???? ???????? ?? ?????????????????? ???? ???????? ????:
Imagine if we dumped all the materials to build a house into a pile and told different people to build a house. The results would range from disastrous to potentially successful, and no two would be the same.
If we included a blueprint and detailed instructions, the only reason the houses would be different would be due to human interference.
? ???? ???????? ???????????????? ??????????????????????:
There are many components of a job package, and many packages in a STO event.
Having all the components consistently done will help your contractor be able to execute more effectively.? It may seem silly but?setting a standard of how-to markup pictures and drawings, then having?every planner follow the same standard, can save valuable time during execution.
Execution is when you want to be most efficient because that is when labor is at its most expensive.
Having a detailed planning OD is a time investment upfront, but it will pay dividends during the execution phase.? This document will serve as an instructional guide to bring on new planners into the fold, a reference guide for current planners to refer to, and a source of KPI's to measure the quality of our plans to.
??????-??????:
None of this is a new concept. What is new is following through with using it and adhering to its contents.
Far too many organizations have very well detailed planning ODs, but don't use them.
So how do we get buy in?
Well, that is different for each organization and a lot of it has to do with the culture. Here are some things we do know that can increase the chances of successful implementation.
o?? Include the planning team while developing the OD.
o?? Avoid contradictions.
o?? Keep the document up to date and ensure only the latest copy is being used.
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Phase 1 - Procurement - Part 4 - Where Planning Falls in the Bigger Picture of Turnarounds
Depending on your methodology or school of thought, Turnarounds will have anywhere from Four to Seven distinct Phases.
Where do our four Phases of Planning fall into The Turnaround Phases?
For this discussion we will use the five phases of Turnaround:
??.) ?????????????????? ????????????????
??.) ???????????????? ????????????????
??.) ????????????????????????
??.) ??????????????????
??.) ????????????????
*These phases are separated for clarity, but the reality is they overlap.
? The Four Planning Phases when layered on top of the Five Phases of Turnaround will span the entirety of the event. The Planning discipline?(4phases of planning)?should overlap all five to a certain degree but will be most prominent in three of them:
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1.)????????????????? ????????????????
???????????????? ?????????????????????? ?????????? & ???????????????? ???????????????????? ??????????
? This is where we streamline our packages and organize our information
? Verify and Order Long Lead Items - These items should be already identified
? Build, Vet, and Review Job steps and materials
? Having well organized information in this phase can save time and costs during execution.
Remember the ripple effect!
???? Simply making an ISO or P&ID easy to find in this phase can mean your crew of Pipefitters is not standing around while you try to frantically to find the drawing????
??.) ??????????????????
???????????????? ?????????????????????? ?????????? (??????-????/?????????? ???????? ????????????????)
???????????????? ???????????????????? ?????????? (??????-????/?????????? ???????? ????????????????)
? Even if we don't plan on executing found work this event, having the planner gather information such as drawings and pictures will give the next planner a head start.
??.) ????????????????
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Planning is an integral part of the overall success of a STO event, yet is often underbudgeted because it is?perceived?as low hanging fruit.
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Phase 2 - Processing - Part 1 - Introduction
Now that we have gathered all the information on our asset in Phase 1, we need to process it.
? This is the most familiar Phase of planning.
? This is where the plan is built and vetted.
? Essentially, processing is where we make sense of all the data we have collected.
? This phase is dependent on a well detailed scope.
**Lack of a well detailed scope is the most common issue faced in this phase, and it is where a large portion of cost and time is wasted.
Here are some of the key steps that take place during this phase:
? Markup drawings
? Markup photos
? Build a plan based on scope
? Organize data into files for quick recall
? Estimating cost and durations
? Ordering materials
? Detailed field visits
? Plan reviews
? Collaborate with Operations, Schedulers, and other Planners
Phase 2 - Processing - Part 2 - How to Organize Data
One of the biggest issues we have left over from phase one is
???????? ???? ???? ???? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ???????????????????
Simply put, we organize it in such a way that it will be:
? ???????? ???? ???????????? ?
??-We should be able to find a raw picture of our asset quickly without searching multiple folders.
? ???????? ???? ?????????? ?
??- We should be able to know where to store a specific piece of data from the file structure layout
? ???????? ???? ???????????????? ?
??- We should be able to see which rev we are working off of at a glance
??-We should have a way to track who has made changes
In order to accomplish this we require these ?? ????????????:
??.) ?? ???????????? ???????? ?????????????????? ?
??.) ?? ???????????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ?
??.) ?? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????? ?????????????? ?
Lets look at them in a bit more detail.
???????? ?????????????????? ?????????????? ??????????????:
??<Main Folder>Asset Name_Job#
└??<_FINISHED DIGITAL PACKAGE>
▏└??cover page
▏└??Scope
▏└??BOM
▏└?? Plan Steps/Schedule Overview
▏└??Marked up Drawings
▏└??Marked up Pictures
▏└??Spec Summary - Bolt up/Gaskets/etc.
▏└?? Permitting and Safety Requirements
▏└?? Additional Procedures
▏└??Feedback Forms
└??<Communications>
└??<Drawings>
└??<Scope>
└??<Specs>
└??<Raw Pictures>
??*???????????????? ?????????? ?????????? ???? ?????????????? ?????????????????? ???????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????? ?????? ???????????? ???????????? ????????????????*??
??*???????????????? ?????????????? ?????????? ?????????????????? ???? .?????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ??????????????????????, ?????? ???????????????????? ?????????????????????????? ??????????*??
?? ???????????? ???????????????????? ??????????????:
?? <doc title>_<doc status eg. Raw/Marked up>_<current rev>
??- Best practice is to come up with a convention that is simple and straight forward. You should be able to know what the document is just by reading the name.
?? ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????? ??????????????:
? This is key to successful data management ?
? This should define how things stored, in what format and who will have access. ?
? When documents are to be updated and how this is to be done. ?
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Phase 2 - Processing - Part 3 - The Power of Consistency
When it comes to Planning there are many reasons to keep it consistent.
Here are the ?????? ??:
??.) ????'?? ???????????? ???? ?????????? ?????????????? ?????? ???? ??????????
? The cost of onboarding and orientating a new person is extremely high, it gets even higher when there is no consistent standard to train to.
??.) ?????????? ?? ???????????????? ?????????????? ???? ???? ??????????????????
? Having a standardized product, e.g. A Job package, and a standardized method of making one, e.g. A Procedure, can save time and improve quality for the end user AKA your contractor performing the work!
??.) ???????????????? ???????????????????????? ?????????????? ?????? ????????
? It is hard to get feedback or identify flaws in your planning process if you don't have defined KPIs
? How are you going to define your KPIs without a standardized metric to do so?
??.) ????'?? ???????????? ???? ???????? ?????????????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????????????? ????????????????????.
? If you had an emergency, or vacation and couldn't finish the plan, someone can slot in without skipping a beat if the way we do things is consistent.
? Another discipline can come in and seamlessly add their input.
??.) ???????????????? ???????? ????????????!
? When everybody is following the same game plan the morale of the team is strong, when members of the team are doing their own thing, it brings morale down.
? In my younger years of planning, one thing I could count on was that every single planner at a new job would do things different from one another.
? Everything from the verbiage they used in the plan, to how they physically marked up drawings and pictures to the content and construction of their packages.
? This made it difficult to transition as everybody had their own way of doing things, so which way is the right way?
???? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????????????????
???????? ?????????? ?????? ??????:
??.) ?????????????? ?? ?????????????? ?????????????????????? ?????????(There are some great tools available)
? This will at least make your final product consistent.
??.) ?? ?????????? ???????????????? ??.??., ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????????, ?????? ?? ???????????????????? ?????comply with the O.D.
? If a package development tool does not exist in your organization, this should be the only other acceptable method!
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Phase 2 - Processing - Part 4 - Estimating
Estimating is one of the most common ways planners differ.
This is usually due to:
??Past experience from previous sites worked.
??Differing methodologies.
Let’s look at some wrong ways to estimate compared to Best Practice.
?????? ?????????? ??????:
?? ???????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????????????? ????????
This rarely works for the following reason:
1.) The time/cost billed is rarely accurate.
Let's say for example, that the previous event, the foreman was delayed on several fronts, and no delay WO was provided.
That time will typically end up on the first available single WO.
So, the 2" 150# valve that needed to be replaced now shows 6 guys for 10hrs.
?? ?????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??????
This is typically what will happen, but this is very inconsistent, especially with multiple planners.
1.) What I could do the job in is different from what somebody else would.
2.) What I consider a reasonable amount of time for permitting, collecting tools can be vastly different from someone else.
?? ?????? ?????? ?????????????????????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ??????????/????????????????????
While this is probably the least problematic out of the bunch, the issue arises due to the fact that the maintenance tech is basing this off of his daily maintenance experience.
He knows where everything is, he knows who to talk to expedite materials and tools, while a new contractor to the site will not have this knowledge and something that would take the maintenance tech 2 -3 hours may be 4 -6 for a new contractor.
???? ???????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????????????????
??? ???????? ?????? ??????????????/?????????????????? ???????????????? ???? ?????? ???????????????? ????/?????????? ???? ????????????????/ ???? ?????????????? ????????????????
***???????? ???????????? ???????????????? ?????????????? ?????***
??? ???????????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ??????????.??????????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ?????????????????? ?????? ?????? ???????????????????? ???????? ???? ??????????.
??? ?????????????? ?? ???????????????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????????????? ???????????????????? ?????????????? ???? ?????????????? ???????????????? ??????????????????????.?
???????? ???????? ???????? ??????????????????????
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Phase 2 - Processing - Part 5 - Thinking outside of the box ??
?? As planners, the general expectation is that we are competent and subject matter experts within our fields.
?? What this means, is that we are on the front lines when it comes to saving cost, doing the job safer, or adding efficiency.
??A good example is to look at a job like replacing furnace tubes.
??We can look at previous events and see that we have had quality issues that have resulted in large amounts of rework.
??This would be a perfect opportunity to bring in an automated welding process.
Why?
The bigger picture!
??Any upfront increases in cost,?(which is typically minor if any),?will be over shadowed by the savings of not having massive amounts of rework.?(In general we can expect re-work correction in the field to cost twelve times the original cost.)
??What about using rope access contractors vs traditional ones?
??When it comes to thinking outside the box we should be asking the following questions and likely in this order:
??Does it improve safety?
??Does it improve quality?
??Does it improve efficiency?
??Does it save cost?
??If the answer to any of these is yes and it doesn't seriously contradict any of the others....
Example: It saves cost but is more dangerous
??Then we should consider and investigate the alternatives.
??The caveat to the above being that saving cost should not be the deciding factor.
??So if it improves safety, quality and efficiency, but increases the cost it should still be considered.
Why?
You get what you pay for!
??We should be paying for safety, quality and efficiency instead of injuries, inefficiency and general mismanagement.
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Be sure to hit the subscribe button so you do not miss the second half of Curtis Hermans' discussion.?
Plan to Execute, Execute to Plan.?
That is an excellent idea, but it works best when we understand how to arrive at the Plan.
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