Information-Enabling Our Work Processes

By Joe Morray

“Successful information and knowledge management is about getting the right information to the right people at the right time so they can make the best life cycle decisions for their company.” — Gordon Petrash, The Dow Chemical Company

Dramatic reports on improvements in the asset development process have been coming from consultants and vendors such as Intergraph during the last five years. These assertions, when true, herald a significant step-change in the asset development process that cannot be ignored. A company that fails to take advantage of these opportunities could quickly find itself at a serious competitive disadvantage in a tight marketplace. However, this situation begs a fundamental question: “If I procure these new information management (IM) products, will I attain the benefits claimed, simply by installing them on the desktops of our engineering personnel?”

The answer to this question is clearly “no”. The fact that you know how to drive a car does not make you a successful Formula 1 driver when we put you behind the wheel of a Formula 1 racecar. In fact, when you are forced into that racecar, you will more likely cause damage to yourself and others due to your lack of knowledge and understanding about how that tool should work for you. An experiential knowledge base is required to make you successful in any field, regardless of the tools you have at your disposal. Furthermore, the use of revolutionary toolsets may require a revolutionary change of mind and habits so one can take advantage of the benefits new tools offer.

Historically, information management has been handled by the tools that create information. In parallel, the work processes designed to create the information have focused on the deliverables required for a particular stage of an asset’s development. Functional ownership of data was a key consideration. A holistic, life cycle approach to data was never considered. How a particular piece of data was managed and used was limited to the requirements posed by the next deliverable required in this serialized process. Information retention was aimed at documenting the basis for the next decision. Consequently, information lost its value when the succeeding deliverable was complete.

The Future: an IM “enabled” work process

A business analyst sits at her desktop and reviews the results of a query. The query she reviews was processed by powerful, integrated software backed by a comprehensive knowledge engine. The query results include cost, schedule, and operability information framed by “exception” factors that show potential risks of the investment. The knowledge engine she uses is based on actual data from the last four plants her business area has funded. An array of industry information supplements the data about her own plants. Prior to her analysis, this information was reviewed and verified by the key information “gatekeepers” in her company. She reviews the options for building at an existing site, creating a new domestic site, or building overseas. She is able to develop a risk assessment plan for executing a project at any one of the sites. She has a detailed cost estimate, a detailed, linked schedule, process flow sheets, a 3-D model, and integrated P&IDs. She calls a meeting of the project team and discusses the findings. The team reviews the information and recommends an appropriate solution. They complete this work for a $220 million plant in two weeks.

Sound familiar? Not likely. Industry studies show that for a large, greenfield plant, two years are required to complete this assessment. The vision we have just outlined requires many technological evolutions before this dream is real.

For software vendors such as Intergraph, this new world puts innovation AND integration as the key drivers for software purchases. With a renewed focus on innovation, vendors will stay acutely in touch with owners and contractors to develop next versions of software. Communications between vendors and owners will center onquick assessments of the work process requirements and information synthesis. For owners and contractors, technology decisions will be focused on the packages that best serve their work process needs for collecting, synthesizing, and managing plant life cycle data. Collaboration between industry-leading application providers will produce more robust solutions to problems faster than ever imagined. The improvement in data management and data reuse will, in turn, free up resources within owner/contractor groups to look to the next generation of efficiencies for the overall project lifecycle.

The 21st Century “Engineer”

The Lean Enterprise Institute reports that the average worker spends 15% of his time daily doing value-added work. The inevitable question arises, “What happens with the other 85%?” As an exercise, add up the time you spend daily in the following activities:

Do you find this number alarming? The only way to change this figure is to to create a new working paradigm. Focusing every activity around understanding and mapping how information flows is key to this paradigm. We need to recognize that work processes developed outside of this paradigm run the risk of adding work that provides no value to the final product and often take resources away from value-added work. Yet we see that as a whole, the industry is not ready to trust automated solutions or reused databecause it puts too much trust in tools and the work of others. Consequently, our productivity will continue to be limited by our faith in technology and teamwork.

To ascend to the next generation of productivity, we must change the value-to-work ratio. We need to reduce the hours associated with creating information and increase the hours associated with “optimizing” information by using VIPs. VIPs are exercises to 1) ensure that the “rules” or parameters are clearly and properly set for appropriate decision-making and 2) challenge the selected set of rules. In the new IM-driven organization, much of an individual’s time will be spent setting up and modifying a complex set of rules which software programs will then use to create the information needed to develop and execute capital projects. Consequently, work processes will focus on the types of information that must be developed, the roles and responsibilities of the parties developing it, and the methods that companies will use to keep the information accurate and current. Workers will essentially become consultants and reviewers responsible for gathering and applying the vast amount of experience in their company and the industry.

EMC/Documentum

choose text size Normal Text Size Larger Text Size