the future of oilsands projects – productivity improvement & the role of communication

Powered by AlEx™ - Aligning Expectations

The Future of Oilsands Projects –Productivity Improvement & the Role of Communication


My Track

• Top 10 Productivity Improvement Areas & the Role of Communication

• The Project Management Technology Sword

• Tracking & Aligning Expectations - AlEx Methodology

• Case Study – Large Construction Project

• ROI for Oilsands

Powered by AlEx™ - Aligning Expectations 3

Top 10 Improvement Areas

1. Labour Management2. Project Planning & Work Face Planning3. Construction Management & Support4. Engineering Management 5. Supervision & Leadership6. Communication 7. Contractual Strategy and Contractor

Selection8. Constructability in Engineering Design9. Modularization, Prefab, Pre-build


“In summary, future oil sands projects are going to be more complex due to both a set of external and internal factors interacting dynamically with each other. This means that the industry’s ability to manage sociopolitical, economic and technological fluctuations over a project’s life will be critical. This is not an advocacy for throwing out the tried and true project management disciplines but learning how to use them in far more fluid circumstances”


PM’s Two edged Technology Sword

Efficient

Overwhelming


Cliff & Tom Are Not On The Same Page!!

What Cliff Thinks Tom Expects of

Him

Tom’s Expectations

of Cliff

What Tom Thinks Cliff Expects of

Him

Cliff’s Expectations

of Tom

22 12

4 13


Expectations GapsAre like Pot Holes


You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure….

• How can we align peoples’ expectationsto produce:– Clearer criteria to measure individuals/groups

performance – Removing expectations

that are redundant & non strategic– Identifying roadblocks to project advancement– Creating an accountability framework – Greater focus & less self serving actions


Originator provides agreed help & support

Expectation’s Originator Starts

Originator & Receiver Decide – Agree, Discard, Disagree

Receiver details what will & will not be delivered

Originator assesses Receiver’s need for help & support

The Alignment Process


AlEx™ Expectation Alignment Tracking

Identifies:• Distractions that impact workloads• Misaligned expectations which reduce flexibility, risk

rework and cost overruns• Factors that reduce cross functional competitiveness• Misalignment with organizational principles and

strategies• Productivity issues between managers and their

staff• Quality of interpersonal communication• Integrate New Team Members • Performance Tracking & Management • Recruitment & Talent Management


Epoxy

• How do you respond to those that say, “ This is why we have all this technology available so that all those involved have access to what everyone else is doing?

• But, somebody has to feed the technology. More reporting what’s been done comes at a price. Time and declining utility Unfortunately technology has become a two-edged sword….efficient yet overwhelming. It produces so much data that it dilutes information and makes sense making difficult.

• • This then hobbles a team’s ability to cope with problems, delays and

change and what they need to do.• Teams are most productive when they are bonded by the following curing

process:• Sustainable Trust leads to• Healthy Conflict which leads to• Solid Commitment which builds• Owning Accountability which enables• Keeping Focused under the pressure of delays and problems


What do you get from better alignment?

• What is actually expected of me

• How my performance is really measured

• What I can stop doing

• What I need to focus on

• What information and resources I can use to achieve my goals

• How I am going to be supported and coached


How AlEx™ Works

AlEx™ Cross-Hairs Alignment Tool™ • Provides targeted data pictures of groups and

one-on-one relationships • Enables Users to “rifle-in” on priority alignment

meetings to decide which expectations are:DiscardedUnresolvedAgreed

• Focuses on key issues before they cause entrenched discord, like “clash identification” in BIM

” AlEx™ is the “human cousin to BIM”

Dick OrtegaPresident, Alternative Mechanical


Insurance

•Against Project Delays

Speed

•Faster Project Execution

Productiv

ity

•Better Productivity

Competiti

ve

•Improved Employee Retention

Replicabili

ty

•Attracting Better Aligned People

Uses & Benefits of Aligning Expectations


Competency Development - Priorities

Tension Rating Coaching/TrgRating

#Expectations

5 4 425 3 1075 2 54

5 1 384 4 544 3 114

Total 318

96 Critical Expectations to get

lower level managers taking on more responsibility


Large Construction Project – Case Study

Symptoms Escalating change orders, RFI’s (Requests for Information) and building decisions awaiting government regulatory agency approval had pushed a $500 million hospital project into crisis.



Some Reasons•Drawing quality•Owner groups changing specifications •Contractual Changes.

Consequently• Depleting contingencies rapidly• Relationships strained • OAC meetings ineffective• Professionals/consultants fees rising



Diagnosis

• Developed consensus of six alignment “components” across all 7 groups (35 people/7 companies)

•Coached key players to generate expectations for each component(within and between groups)

•Providing analysis & feedback isolating several key initiatives.


Cliff & Tom Are Not On The Same Page!!

What Cliff Thinks Tom Expects of

Him

Tom’s Expectations

of Cliff

What Tom Thinks Cliff Expects of

Him

Cliff’s Expectations

of Tom

22 12

4 13


Team Type Cliff Dan Grant Larry Mike Tom TotalCliff MEO 6 3 3 22 34

OEM 7 1 1 4 4 17Dan MEO 14 10 15 1 25 65

OEM 7 2 2 6 17Grant MEO 7 3 9 3 16 38

OEM 1 8 3 5 5 22Larry MEO 2 4 1 3 6 16

OEM 4 7 2 5 5 23Mike MEO 11 4 5 12 17 49

OEM 4 1 3 8Tom MEO 13 13 7 7 7 47

OEM 12 9 4 5 6 36

Total 75 61 30 58 39 109 372

Under & Over Channeling


Alignment Tracking: Progressive DIs

Alignment; 51; 78%

Distraction; 14; 22%

Distraction/Alignment Index – Core Team - August

Alignment; 210; 97%

Distraction; 6; 3%

Distraction/Alignment Index – Core Team - January


Initial Component Alignment Indices

Project Leadership Team Integration Respectful Communications Project Finances Project Quality Value Innovation0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

82%75%

51%

66% 64%70%

18%25%

49%

34% 36%30%

Alignment & Distraction - Percent

DI%AI%


Current Component Alignment Indexes

Project Leadership Team Integration Project Quality Respectful Communications Project Finances Value Innovation0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

84%80%

97%

79% 79%

93%

16%20%

3%

21% 21%

7%

Alignment & Distraction - Percent

DI%AI%


Architects & Owners: Tension Ratings

Projec

t Finan

ces

Projec

t Lea

dership

Projec

t Quali

ty

Respectf

ul Communica

tions

Team

Integ

ration

Value I

nnovation

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

ArchitectEngineer/ConsultantSubcontractorSutterTurner


Expectations Status after 9 mths

Project Finances

Project Leadership

Project Quality

Respectful Communications

Team Integration

Value Innovation

0

500

AgreedCompleteDiscardTBDUnresolved


General Contractors & Subs TBDs

Project Finances

Project Leadership

Project Quality

Respectful Communications

Team Integration

Value Innovation

0

100

200

Filters1. Tension = All2. Group Focus = Inter3. Acc Grp = Same4. Expect. Type = MEO & OEM5. Decision = TBD

General ContractorSub Contractor


Turner - Subcontractors

Filters1. Tension = 5 & 4 ONLY2. Group Focus = Inter3. Acc Grp = Same4. Expect. Type = MEO & OEM5. Decision = TBD Project Finances

Project Leadership

Project QualityRespectful Communications

Team Integration

0

10

20

General ContractorSub Contractor


Cross Hairs - Targeting on what counts

• OAC’s as a percentage of total expectations – 11:2489=.44%

• RFI’s /design issues expectations as a total percentage of total expectations 116:2489=4.6%

• CO’s as a total percentage of total expectations 128:2489=5.1%



Therapy

• Aligning OAC representatives to focus on key initiatives in each of the three projects

•Setting up structured alignment sessions within owner, general contractor and architectural firms

•Aligning the change order process across the three projects

•Accelerating the decision to replace the incumbent architects and help integrate their replacement •Aligning three architectural firms on fostering better

co-ordination and common design policies



Outcomes

Cost hemorrhaging was stopped.

Reduced schedule blocks and re-work;

Project now back on track for 2012 completion

Litigation among the 17 organizations was avoided

Reduced conflicts by improving the way we

communicate with each other

Openness and trust helped eliminate profit erosion



“In this “design-build” environment which included a government owner, we were able to resolve several

major potential conflicts using AlEx™ to expose hidden & unspoken expectations in “real time.”

(Arlen Arnold, Project Executive, Turner Construction)

Building came in OTIF & with no legal hangover


The ROI for Oilsands Projects

• Better definition of stakeholder expectations –especially of external stakeholders can yield big paybacks

• Managing scope changes – Early definition of all stakeholder expectations can avoid expensive surprises

• Change in environment – methodical and efficient way to incorporate new and discard old project expectations can mitigate costs by:– Improving response time, – Discarding activities quickly – Refocusing project teams to the new realities


The ROI for Oilsands Projects

• Improved resource use & better support – Early definition of resource expectations all the way down the chain of command can avoid costly delays and expenditures.

• Improved communications –Identifies managers and other stakeholders who are especially strong or weak at communicating with their teams.

• Poor project processes and controls – Expectation Alignment tools also make accountability for task execution highly visible. Expectation Tension Ratings may also reveal important tasks that are not necessarily on the critical path but can have huge ramifications to project schedules or budgets.

• Develop Cohesive teams –Expectation Alignment addresses these issues by facilitating the alignment conversations that reveal experience gaps early enough to develop people and avoid later termination.

• Develop pragmatic contracting strategies – Reveals owner expectations and other stakeholders are not captured in specifications and contracts yet play a significant part in them being effective


Summary

…….where delays are millions of dollars per day, the alignment & tracking expectations can make the thousands of daily decisions more accurate, is strongly beneficial and has been shown to result in very tangible savings.


Thank you

The Line of Sight to Success

AlEx™


AlEx™

Sales

Employees

Business Partners

Executive Team

Owner

Research

Customer Relations

Marketing

Increased sales 10%-15% in 30 weeks

Increased Customer Sat.

Ratings(4th – 1st)

Increase Revenue14% in 6 months

Prevented Restructuring

Failures

Gross Revenues Up from $20m to $30m

Closing RateImproved by 66%

Delivered Building OTIF & No Legal IssuesIsolated Hi

Performing TeamsFactors


VP’s Change of Strategy

Business Development

Delegation

Leadership

Management

Performance AssessmentPhased Competency Development

Risk Management & Planning

Team Working

Value Delivery

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

y

VP Managers


AlEx™Priorities Content

Over Channeling

Under Channeling

Managers

Direct Reports

Inside Groups

Between Groups

Who do you need To BeOn The Same Page?


Key Component Prioritization

& Implications

Use CrossHairs Reports to

develop problem definitions

6

AlEx

DevelopStrategic

Components

Select Key Players &/or

Focus Groups

2 3

Coach Participants &Collect Their Expectations

5

AlEx™ Alignment Process

Mission & Strategy

1Introduce

Components & Process

4

Integration &Transfer

CapabilityKnowledge

SkillsCapacity

9Alignment ProcessBrief, Train, Coach

Rapid Improvement Cycles(Based on Tracking TBDs,

Discards, Complete & Unresolved Expectations)

7

Develop Metrics & Rewards perComponent

8


The biggest culprits are ambiguous expectations lacking specificity and that leads to disappointment, failure and bad feelings; like

• “Soon…….”• ASAP• “Right Away….”• “I’ll Try To Get To It………”• “Later….”• “By The End Of Next Week• “We should…”

Language of failure

“The three most important rules in creating accountability cultures are

Specificity,

Specificity,

Specificity!


Aligning Expectations is a Two Way Street

Your Expectations

of Me

What You Think I

Expect of You

What I Think You Expect

of Me

My Expectations

of You


BackwardLooking

ForwardLooking

Managing Effective

Transition

Leading Metrics

Lagging Metrics

Measuring Transition

OpinionBased

Evidence Based


AlEx™

Sales

Employees

Business Partners

Executive Team

Owner

Research

Customer Relations

Marketing

Increased sales 10%-15% in 30 weeks

Increased Customer Sat.

Ratings(4th – 1st)

Increase Revenue14% in 6 months

Prevented Restructuring

Failures

Gross Revenues Up from $20m to $30m

Closing RateImproved by 66%

Delivered Building OTIF & No Legal IssuesIsolated Hi

Performing TeamsFactors


Key Components Example

Business Development

Competency Developm

ent Le

ader

ship

Performance Assessment

Management

DelegatingTeam Working

Value Delivery Risk Management & Planning


Component Definition: Respectful Communication

• Using all available resources to accurately and effectively relate ideas and positions to associates and colleagues.

• Manage the tensions created by the conditions, people and conflicting objectives.

• Respectfully listen to others’ contributions, allowing them to engage and own their contributions.

• Respond with thoughtfulness, taking into consideration the contributions of others.

16


Component Definition: Team Integration

• This is the effective working between one of more team’s so that a team‘s effort adds to the impact of another teams effort. So optimizing resources and maximizing outcomes is a natural outcome. It is based on every one recognizing that "we are all in this together."

• Welcome the talents and contributions of all members into the team environment. Manage communication, decisions and actions so all are committed to agreements. - Raise the bar by consistently sharing knowledge, advising, mentoring and developing associates and colleagues.


Real Alignment

OriginatorInitiates

Discussion

Originator &Receiver Decide:

AgreeDiscard

Unresolved

Receiver Agrees Evidence

Originator Rates

Performance

OriginatorCoachesReceiver


• This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value too us.- Western Union internal memo 1876


How to avoid being crushed?

• 10 No major project is completed on time, within budget, with the same staff that started it, nor does the project do what it is supposed to. It is highly unlikely yours will be first. --- scope definition, estimating and project control

• 9 What is not on paper has not been said. --- management of change• 8 Conditional promises are forgotten, and only the promise is remembered. ----

understand the estimates and get the charter right• 7 Project purpose statements will be seen differently by everyone ---- role clarity and

communication• 6 Carelessly plan and it will take three times longer than expected. Carefully plan and

it will only take twice as long. --- pay as much attention to schedule as cost • 5 If Users don’t believe in the system, a parallel system will emerge. Neither will work

very well. --- Get operations and construction involvement early and consistently

• 4 Measurable benefits are real. Intangible benefits are not --- business rationale and KPI’s

• 3 Weekly project reporting is detested because it vividly exposes people’s lack of progress. --- impose structure, procedures and management of change

• 2 The least used and most valuable word in a project manager’s vocabulary is “No”. ---- scope definition and progressive resistance to change

• 1 Diplomacy is the art of letting other people have your way. --- Command and control, and communicate, communicate, communicate


Doing different things

– Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) 1 day’s delay @ 40,000 bb/day = ≈ $3.6 million dollars.

• What can we do to improve on-time and in-full performance? (OTIF)

– Steam to Oil Ratio(S.O.R)• How do we build-in agility to project planning

and execution to take advantage of innovations in mid-project?


Four Blocker Problem

2 People

4 People

8 People

20 People

20 People =380 Channels to

Manage


“If everything is going according to plan……

• First. • Team Glue consists of compounds like trust, constructive criticism and

holding each other accountable. And like glue needs “curing”. It needs controlled heat, and a blend of team members to initiate and harden commitments, just like using high-performance adhesives when you need strong bonding.

• The second factor compounds the problems of over-reliance on traditional project management processes. It’s the number of lines communications and deciding which are needed under pressured dynamics. Just take a 100 person project, potentially you could have 9,900 possible communication links. Regardless of matrix, project or siloed command structures, you still need a way of managing the myriad number of cross functional, organizational and contractor expectations. And if not surfaced and managed will negatively impact project execution.

• How do you respond to those that say, “ This is why we have all this technology available so that all those involved have access to what everyone else is doing?


AlEx™Distracting Not Embedded

Over Channeling

Under Channeling

Controlling

Poor Delegating

Intra GroupProblems

Inter Group Issues

What indications of misalignment do you need to test?