General Contractor Safety and Quality Performance Improvement Program

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Overview 

Company – General Contractor 

Industry – Electrical Generation 

Category – Construction 

Project Budget – Master Services Agreement 

Goal – Recovery plan to improve safety and quality performance for every project, monitoring KPI’s for each site including NLTI rate, safety opportunities, and inspections with summaries. 

Obstacles – Safety and quality are dynamic processes that require constant maintenance to uphold high standards on construction sites 

Solutions – Subject Matter Expert conducted Gap Analysis of Safety and Quality Programs. Development and implementation of the safety and quality manuals re-shaping the organizations culture, processes and procedures. 

Results – Improved safety and quality statistics that are measured and monitored year over year and from site to site. 

Goals 

Achieve COR Certification 

COR certification, and looking to build and improve our safety culture and statistics through the programs governed by the Contractors Safety Program and continually improve a safe workplace 

Successfully implementation of the program and training to be instructed for all Contractor staff 

Develop system to measure KPI’s including NLTI rate, safety opportunities, and inspections with summary reports provided to Owner upon request 

Creation of a robust subcontract prequalification process 

Implementation of a revised quality manual to better suit Owner projects, including inspection and test planning 

Obstacles 

Management of Change to improve safety and quality performance 

Challenges to meeting the goals of the project: 

  • Safety and quality are dynamic processes that require constant maintenance to uphold high standards on construction sites 
  • Replacement of subcontracts with poor records and identify a need for additional controls with all subcontractors 
  • Revised processes and procedures required to achieve safety and quality improvements would require a culture change across the organization 
  • Workers and subcontractors at site required training and ongoing awareness of the program requirements
  • Program needed long-term monitoring of KPI’s and reporting to ensure continual improvement  

Solution

PTAG’s Team of Subject Matter Experts Delivered and Implemented the Program 

Contractor MSA was suspended in Q2 of 2016 due to an increased number of safety and quality issues. PTAG’s Team were engaged on the project in Aug. 2016 to provide a complete assessment of the existing safety and quality programs to determine gaps and the remediation effort that would be needed to improve these programs 

The Team developed and implemented the processes and procedural changes required for improving transparency to the contractor’s supervision performance. Identified areas for improved training opportunities and created a program for improving supervisor safety awareness. 

Created a program of increased supervision awareness through training for the evaluation of supervisors’ safety competence 

Identified the need for increased management communication and the reinforcement documentation for improving communication 

Providing additional safety audits for contractor’s safety team to coach supervisors and workers through challenges and the planning of these techniques. 

Revised and directed the implementation of the revised quality manual including inspection and test plans – E.g. CWB welding standards 

Implementation of the NCR program with communication plan   

PTAG PROCESS 

SMEs Delivered, Implemented, Administered and Monitored the Program 

  1. Review and Assess 
  2. Report Results 
  3. Develop Program and Training 
  4. Implement and Administer 
  5. Monitor for Results 
  6. Transition for Ongoing Support 

PROCESS RESULT 

SMEs Delivered and Implemented the Program 

PTAG’s TEAM of 2 SMEs delivered the expertise needed for safety and quality performance improvement which resulted in achieving COR Certification on first attempt and re-engagement of the existing Construction MSA. 

It was recognized by both Contractor and Owner the benefits of a robust safety and quality program and the need for monitoring and continuous improvement 

RESULTS SUCCESS 

Since the implementation of the revised Safety and Quality programs, the organization’s culture continues to improve with the goal of zero safety incidents and zero Non Conformance Reports 

Through additional controls, procedures and guidelines have demonstrated significantly improved statistics 

Goals are 0 LTI’s & 10% reduction for NLTI’s on a yearly basis 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

52% reduction in NLTI rate since 2016 

No Orders to Comply  

Fulltime QA advisor 

“Creating a work environment in which the absence of incidents and injuries is a reality” 

PTAG – General Contractor – Safety and Quality Improvement – Case StudyDownload

PTAG provides leading firms in the Power, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Mining, and Capital Infrastructure markets with qualified People, efficient Business Processes, and Information Management Systems that ensure consistently successful delivery and efficient operation of major capital projects. 

Improvement Program to 900 MW Generation Station to an effective MOL/CSA Z460 Lockout Compliant Construction Site

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Overview 

Company – Energy company 

Industry – Electrical Generation 

Category – Construction 

Project Budget – $1.2B 

Goal – As part of a Commissioning Recovery Plan on an active construction site implemented Lockout Program to meet MOL/CSA Z460 compliance. 

Obstacles – Large Construction Site, Numerous Contractors, up to 1800 employee’s, need to develop, implement, ad administer revised program before Commissioning starts and while construction continues. 

Solutions – PTAG Subject Matter Experts assessed and developed compliant processes, procedures, and implemented supporting software. Additional staff assigned for administration and transition into commissioning support. 

Results – Seamless transition to an effective MOL/CSA Z460 compliant program. All work programs completed with no orders to comply and no lost time. 

Goals 

Transition to an effective MOL/CSA Z460 Compliant Program 

To maintain a safe workplace and to ensure continued operation without work stoppage or orders to comply, the 900 MW Generating Station site needed to transition from its non-compliant  lockout/tagout program to a Ministry of Labour (MOL) and Canadian Safety Association (CSA) Z460 compliant program. 

Successfully transitioning to the program required revision to existing Client processes and procedures. Tailored to the specific requirements of the work site, the solution once implemented was able to effectively manage all aspects of the sites commissioning needs while ensuring the safety of over 1800 staff. 

Obstacles 

Management of Change to Achieve Compliance 

Challenges to meeting the goals of the project: 

  • Large construction site, with complex work processes, multiple contractors 
  • Commissioning was starting while the plant was still under construction 
  • Revised processes and procedures required to achieve compliance would require a culture change across the site 
  • Workers at site required training and ongoing awareness of the program requirements 
  • The LOTO program was monitored and actively to ensure adherence

Solution 

PTAG’s Team of On-Site Subject Matter Experts Delivered and Implemented the Program 

PTAG’s Team was engaged on the project in May 2017 to provide a complete assessment of the existing program to determine gaps and the steps that would need to be taken to achieve a compliant program, and developed a plan for how to make it work on the specific site. 

The Team developed and implemented the processes and procedure changes required to ensure compliance with Z460 standards and worked with on-site client and construction contractor personnel to ensure training, adoption, and ongoing adherence to the program. 

The needs assessment determined that one key to success would be implementing a tailored software system to automate and manage the Master Equipment List (MEL) with a consistent, standardized nomenclature, printed Danger Tags and supporting Lockout Clearance forms so that the workers could ensure Equipment lock-out accuracy and status was effectively tracked during work execution. 

A monitoring and reporting system on level of compliance was implemented to ensure seamless transition to Operations post-project. 

PTAG PROCESS 

SMEs Delivered, Implemented, Administered and Monitored the Program 

  1. Review and Assess 
  2. Report Results 
  3. Develop Program and Training 
  4. Implement and Administer 
  5. Monitor for Results 
  6. Transition for Ongoing Support 

PROCESS RESULT 

SMEs Delivered and Implemented the Program 

PTAG’s TEAM of seven SMEs delivered the expertise and the process models and implemented a compliant program designed to meet the needs of the MOL/CSA-Z460-13 Standard.  The Program was tailored to work within site constraints and implemented successfully with the personnel on site. 

RESULTS SUCCESS 

  • Seamless transition to an effective MOL/CSA Z460 Compliant Program 
  • No Lost Time Accidents 
  • No Orders to Comply – a huge achievement for Hazardous Energy LOTO programs 
  • Software system turned over to Operations at project completion will ensure long-term adherence and success 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

“Any chance we can get you to go to some other sites?” 

MOL INSPECTORS

PTAG provides leading firms in the Power, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Mining, and Capital Infrastructure markets with qualified People, efficient Business Processes, and Information Management Systems that ensure consistently successful delivery and efficient operation of major capital projects. 

PTAG – Craft – Lock Out Tag Out Improvement – Case StudyDownload

Owner Construction Management Performance Improvement Program

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Overview 

Company – Joint Venture, Oil Producer and Chemical Company 

Industry – Advanced Chemical Refining 

Category – Construction Management 

Project Budget – $215M 

Goal – Recover Schedule, Minimize Cost Over Runs, Improve Safety and Quality, Improve QA/QC, Develop Risk Mitigation Plans. 

Obstacles – Existing supplier contracts lacked appropriate incentives and disincentives. Full craft employment issues in the region. Site construction culture not contusive to injury prevention, inexperienced and understaffed JV project management. Undersized steam plant to accommodate new capacity. 

Solutions – Added Construction management teams between JV team and suppliers. Implements new Safety Plan, Re-Baseline of Schedule and Cost, Implementation of Project Controls including Cost/Schedule curves, comprehensive Dashboard and weekly reporting. 

Results – Improved Safety results to lower than industry averages. Recovery of Schedule by two months, Reduced RFI’s and NCR’s, Improved craft productivity, Daily Progressing Accurate Cost Forecasting. 

Goals

Improve all aspects of Construction Management to Deliver Project 

  • Establish and expand an experienced construction management team to replace seconded JV staff 
  • Improve JV decision making timeliness 
  • Establish reliable budget and schedule with a goal to recover as much schedule as possible 
  • Improve procurement and project controls 
  • Work with suppliers to develop Integrated QA/QC to reduce NCRs 
  • Improve engineering timeliness, quality and construction reviews to reduce the number of RFI’s and impact on quality, schedule and cost 
  • Establish and maintain a safe construction site reducing safety incidents for the 190 craft and CM personnel 

Obstacles

Management of Change to Achieve Compliance 

Challenges to meeting the goals of the project: 

  • Joint Venture structure impeded decision making and clarity on roles and responsibilities  
  • Brown field construction site, with complex work processes, multiple contractors and limited room 
  • Poorly drafted Supplier contracts with no incentives or disincentives  
  • Tight craft labour market 
  • Late engineering and procurement 
  • A culture change was required across the site to improved safety 

Solution

PTAG’s Team of On-Site Subject Matter Experts Delivered and Implemented the Program 

Reorganized the Joint Venture project management approach, establishing an experienced and expanded construction management team to replace supplement/replace personnel from the JV members. Six-person CM Team included Senior CM, Planner, Cost Engineer, Quality Manager, Safety Manager, Contracts/Procurement Manager 

Reorganized the reporting, planning and meeting structures for Site, E&P, GC and Subcontractors to report to and integrate with the new CM Team to improve construction planning, execution, quality and safety. 

Implemented a new GC led safety program based on “Beyond Zero Accident Techniques” with full site training.  New experienced CM Team Safety Manager integrated Site and GC safety teams into a single team. JV and GC senior management attended weekly safety meetings. Improved the focus on behavior, hazard awareness, safety planning and supervision as key areas for continual improvement. Increased safety supervision. 

Developed new manpower plan to attract additional craft including adding a second shift to help recover schedule 

Using progress to date, updated engineering and procurement schedules, established a new baseline for project schedule and budget.  

Developed a weekly reporting structure based on a one-page Dashboard that provides at a glance information on Highlights, Safety, Milestones, Construction, Engineering, Project Services, Quality, Risk and Commissioning/Start-up Readiness. Details for each Key Result Area contained in eight-page attachment. Trained all site management and supervision on new processes and required reporting 

Established Risk Register with weekly updates included in the weekly Dashboard and Report 

PTAG PROCESS

SMEs Delivered, Implemented, Administered and Monitored the Program 

  1. Review and Assess 
  2. Report Results 
  3. Develop Program and Training 
  4. Implement and Administer 
  5. Monitor for Results 
  6. Transition for Ongoing Support 

PROCESS RESULT

SMEs Delivered and Implemented the Program 

PTAG’s Advisory TEAM performed a two-week assessed reviewing contract documents, execution plans, supplier agreements, procurement schedules project, organization structure, estimates, budgets, schedules, craft productivity and safety plans and performance. We established that root cause to the poor safety, quality, schedule and cost adherence was an understaffed and inexperienced owners team, combined with weak supplier agreements, poorly developed scope, estimate and schedule with the Engineers and GC along with immature project procurement and project controls. 

The solution proposed and accepted was an experienced 6-person CM team located at the project site with direct links to the JV Team for timely decision making to develop and implement a recovery plan. The CM Team implemented a recover plan starting with a new baseline for project budget and schedule, established a safe working environment, focused on engineering deliverables, procurement, quality and improving craft productivity.   

RESULTS SUCCESS 

  • Resolved JV construction management deficiencies  
  • Developed and delivered construction execution plan 
  • Finalized Scope 
  • Established and maintained adherence to new baseline for Schedule and Budget 
  • Improved Safety performance 
  • Improved Quality performance 
  • Eliminated gaps in communication between Owners, Project, Site and key suppliers (E&P and GC) 
  • Improved Management of supplier contracts
  • Implemented project controls with daily progress reporting, weekly reporting, earned value and control    
  • Improved Risk and Opportunity identification and management 

“We now have visibility and confidence in the project’s schedule and budget”  

Owner Senior Executive
PTAG – Owner – Construction Management Improvement – Case StudyDownload

PTAG provides leading firms in the Power, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Mining, and Capital Infrastructure markets with qualified People, efficient Business Processes, and Information Management Systems that ensure consistently successful delivery and efficient operation of major capital projects. 

Outage Improvement Program on Mining Project

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Overview 

Company – Iron Ore Client 

Industry – Mining – and Pellet Preparation 

Category – Shutdown Planning and Construction 

Project Budget – $35 million 

Goal – Improved Detailed Planning, Shutdown Preparation, Outage Management, and Construction Productivity while meeting all safety requirements. 

Obstacles – Brown field site, Old plant, Machine Rebuild in a tight fifty-seven-day shutdown (with 3 rounds the clock shifts) with Commissioning going on simultaneously while constructions continues. 

Solutions – Subject Matter Expert assigned, assessed, and developed a compliant PCO processes, procedures, and supporting software. Additional staff assigned for implementation, administration, and transition for long-term support. 

Results – Project Completed on time and budget vs 30% cost over-run and 2 weeks of delay costing the company significant lost production. Safety was good with no lost time. 

Goals 

To complete the Machine Rebuild within budget and time with no safety incidents 

  • Carry out the Outage for Machine Rebuild in a safe environment and to ensure start-up and operation after 57 days of shutdown.  
  • Improve site communication on a shift by shift basis 
  • Improve timely decision making  
  • Ensure Materials and Spares availability to avoid schedule slippage risk. 
  • Improve contractor performance 
  • Implement Lessons Learned procedures to ensure continuous improvement on future Outages 

Obstacles

Management of Change and Implementation of Best Practices and Lessons Learned to Achieve the goals of the project 

  • Tight brown field site, with complex work processes 
  • Lots of vertical construction, pre-com, and commissioning starting within a week of shutdown.  All while the machine rebuild, and other modifications were under construction 
  • Revised processes and procedures required to mitigate risk and  achieve safety compliance that would require a culture change across the site 
  • Over 200 workers at site in tight conditions working three shifts 24/7 
  • Historic Project Execution planning practices 

Solution

Developed and Implemented streamed lined processes for Project Controls and Contracts Admin Program to minimize and correct for Outage delays on a shift by shift basis to eliminate Outage schedule delays and cost overruns 

PTAG’s Advisory Team was engaged in May 2017 to provide a complete assessment of past Outage programs to determine gaps and the develop improvements to achieve more reliable and certain cost and schedule outcomes. The team developed an improved execution plan with real-time project controls to execute the project on budget and time with no lost time accidents. 

The Team developed and implemented the PCO processes and procedure (see slide 6) and developed a detailed list of deliverables and milestones to monitor and track the progress and state of preparedness of the Project before the shutdown. 

There were 3 critical areas (1) list of items that needed to be addressed as shown in slide # 3 under “ Goals” (2) overall work flow processes were developed including RACI charts to ensure that everyone was aligned (3) implement a Field Management system so that daily progress data could be compiled, reviewed and analyzed on real time basis, allowing for corrective and timely actions to be taken on a shift-by-shift basis as opposed to typical weekly project reviews. 

Improved timely decision making using detailed Organization RACI charts communicating who is responsible for change management and scope management, amongst other project functions. 

Improved site communication and overcame the requirement for full face masks and a work environment with high-ambient noise levels by providing 2 positive pressure shacks located on each floor where masks could be removed, and where issues could be easily and openly discussed 

To improve Contractor performance and acceptance of new control processes and feed back loops – A “Great Save” program that identified weekly the “best safety behavior” was implemented with rewards to the contractor for the best save. 

A real-time QA/QC application was implemented to ensure seamless transition from construction to pre-com to commissioning to operation on a system by system basis. 

PTAG PROCESS

SMEs Delivered, Implemented, Administered and Monitored the Program 

  1. Review, Assess and Plan 
  2. Report Results on Near – Real basis 
  3. Develop Field Management Admin Program and FM Training 
  4. Implement and Administer 
  5. Monitor and Report the Results 
  6. Plan for Next Machine Rebuild 

PROCESS RESULT 

Project Controls (PCO) and Contract Admin(CA) team members Delivered and Implemented the Project based on the overall process as shown below: 

PTAG TEAM of SMEs developed and implemented new streamlined Project Control and Contract Admin processes from May 2019 to completion of the Project Dec 2019 to improve contractor feedback, corrective action, decision making and scheduling.  The Program was tailored to work within site constraints and training over 200 workers in a congested area at site. 

RESULTS SUCCESS 

  • Completed the 8-month project with 57 days of shutdown within budget and time  
  • No Lost Time Accidents 
  • No cost-overruns and claims as compared to previous 2 similar machine projects which were delayed by 2-3 weeks and 30- 40% of cost over-runs 
  • Past lessons learned and best practices were identified and implemented by Joint Client/PTAG team 
  • Implemented real time progressing at each work face of the round-the-clock shift work allowing timely corrective actions to be take on a shift- by- shift basis to maintain schedule vs typical daily or weekly review meetings. 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

“At the end of every shift we knew where we stood … and we could take timely and necessary corrective steps?” 

Client Project Manager and Construction Coordinators

PTAG provides leading firms in the Power, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Mining, and Capital Infrastructure markets with qualified People, efficient Business Processes, and Information Management Systems that ensure consistently successful delivery and efficient operation of major capital projects. 

PTAG – Owner Project Controls – Outage Improvement – Case StudyDownload

Original Equipment Manufacturer Quality Performance Improvement Program

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Company – Original Equipment Manufacturer – OEM

Industry – Electrical Generation

Category – Equipment Supply and Installation

Project Budget – Multiple Projects

Goal – Recovery action plan to improve quality performance to re-assure Owner that the OEM can be trusted to provide a reliable and warranted product

Obstacles – Global company with manufacturing facilities in numerous countries supplying equipment

Solutions – Conducted an internal analysis of both historical and active projects and audited their Quality Program. Recommended and supported the implementation of accepted actions items to address gaps in their Quality and Training programs.

Results – Improved quality results to assure Owner that the company can be trusted to reliably deliver on its commitments and jointly develop an “owner specific” approach aimed at improving customer satisfaction.

Goals

Improve Quality and Restore Owners Confidence

  • Implement corrective actions to remain equipment supplier of choice
  • Continuously improve equipment design and reliability
  • Implementation of modern design tools and methods into the Quality program and training to targeted OEM organizational staff
  • Develop QA/QC metrics used at different phases of the project and application of a more rigorous in-house inspection program
  • Implementation of a revised quality manual to better suit Owner projects, including inspection and test planning early in the project lifecycle
  • Minimize financial loss attributed to rework and deficiencies

Obstacles

Management of Change to improve quality performance

Challenges to meeting the goals of the project:

  • Differing international interpretations of testing standards
  • Compliance with published standards
  • OEM Commercial position impacts on technical requirements and discussions
  • Fully understanding the root cause in determining the needed corrective actions prior to revisions of the Quality program and supporting documentation
  • Demographics associated with the coordination of training on and off site globally and ongoing refresher programs
  • Program needed long-term monitoring of Non-Conformances and reporting to ensure continual improvement

Solution

PTAG’s Team of Subject Matter Experts Delivered and Implemented the Program

Original Equipment Supplier (OEM) was constrained from participating in any proposal submissions due to performance related issues until it was demonstrated to the Owner that existing technical deficiencies were addressed, and Quality program was enhanced.

The team developed and implemented the processes and procedural changes required for Quality improvement to their existing QA/QC program and identified areas for improved training opportunities. QA/QC Best Practices were deployed throughout the organization.

Mitigation plan was developed to limit the schedule impact of some of the on-going projects and to meet delivery requirements of future projects.

Identified the need for increased communication and provided a solution plan for a better communication structure to be applied at all levels of the OEM organization

Enhanced risk identification and control process were executed during the detail design, through manufacturing and installation phases

Constructed an internal audit process identifying findings and KPI measurements for improvement throughout all global facilities and on-site project locations. Team coached OEM project staff to identify and understand the planning techniques to mitigate the impacts of Non-Conformances

PTAG PROCESS

SMEs Delivered, Implemented, Administered and Monitored the Program

  1. Review and Assess
  2. Report Results
  3. Develop Program and Training
  4. Implement and Administer
  5. Monitor for Results
  6. Transition for Ongoing Support

PROCESS RESULT

SMEs Delivered and Implemented the Program

PTAG’s TEAM of 3 SMEs identified Quality Management Best Practices, delivered the expertise needed to modernize the organizations Quality Management program which resulted in a significant reductions in NCR’s and restored the CONFIDENCE of the Owner and its representatives

Owner was presented the OEMs action plan to enhance performance, improve quality, productivity, safety and eliminate rework occurrences

OEM welcomed suggested corrective actions from both the PTAG SME’s and Owner representatives to ensure the OEM remained the supplier of choice

Step 1: Define and Implement Your QMS

Step 2: Assess the Maturity of Your QMS

Step 3: Improve Your QMS

RESULTS SUCCESS

  • OEM enhanced Owners satisfaction with a modernized Quality Management Program
  • Business priorities are now linked in the Quality Management Program when developing and or supplying a piece of equipment
  • Since the implementation of the revised Quality program, the organization’s culture continues to improve with the goal of zero Non-Conformance Reports
  • Quality Program includes long range business planning objectives and ongoing performance assessments
  • Quality program implements ongoing organizational learning, continuous improvement, sustainable work processes, productivity improvements, failure prevention, and conformance to requirements

ACHIEVEMENTS

  • In house organization resources trained for assessing and improving the implementation of Quality Management Best Practices
  • Performance metrics now embedded in the Quality Management Program
  • Organization delivers products that meets Owners and Regulatory requirements
  • Organization recognizes the importance of open and collaborative discussions in recognizing Owners requirements and expectations when interpreting technical specifications
  • Significant reduction in projects that experienced over budget issues, late start-up, financial losses and unhappy board of directors and shareholders
  • Recognized the need to define, identify and continuously improve in order to maintain Owners confidence

PTAG provides leading firms in the Power, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Mining, and Capital Infrastructure markets with qualified People, efficient Business Processes, and Information Management Systems that ensure consistently successful delivery and efficient operation of major capital projects.

PTAG – OEM – Quality Management Improvement – Case StudyDownload