Today I’ll talk about how a project management information system or PMIS can help EPC organisations manage their work packages more efficiently and with better outcomes.
First lets understand what a work package is and why it is important in project delivery.
In the context of EPC, infrastructure, or construction projects, a work package is one of the building blocks that make up project management. As the name suggests it is a ‘package’ of related work items or tasks, called deliverables, that must be finished before the package can be deemed complete. But let’s backtrack a little. Projects are extremely large and complex undertakings and work packages are the manageable smaller units the project is broken down into, almost a project-within-a-project or a microcosm of a project.
Usually a work package will be a grouping of related tasks leading to a specific outcome. You can think of it like a stream joining other streams and then a tributary and finally joining the main river itself or you can think of a work package as a stand-alone element that forms part of the larger element – either way work packages are the fundamental component of project management and managing them successfully is a key factor in successful project completion.
Now that we know how important work packages are, let’s define what they are. In most projects the breakdown is as follows: a group of tasks form a deliverable, a group of deliverables form a work package, and, roughly speaking, a group of packages contribute towards a milestone. Milestones are important because they are linked to payment ie they signify when one billable stretch of project progress has been accomplished and when the contractor can send in an invoice for that milestone and keep his cash flow healthy and work progressing smoothly. For that reason, adopting a project management information system or PMIS to make sure the work package is getting completed on time and on schedule can make a huge difference to the project manager’s ability to deliver his milestones and get paid.
Within a PMIS, it all starts with the Work Breakdown Structure or WBS. The WBS is an extremely detailed chart of all the tasks, resources, and timelines that comprise the project and these tasks can be grouped in different ways, ie by engineering discipline, by time, by location, by stakeholder, and managing this collection of inter-connected tasks is a key aspect of project management.
Let’s take the example of a work package in the engineering phase, an engineering work package or EWP. The EWP is a set of engineering deliverables like technical specifications, engineering drawings, and vendor documents, and these deliverables will later form a construction work package (CWP). Let’s also say you have invested in a project management information system or PMIS which allows you to import the engineering deliverables directly into the system and link it to the activity plan which spans all the project disciplines. Since all the disciplines are linked within the PMIS, you will have round-the-clock visibility into exactly how each deliverable is progressing and can easily track the status of each one in real time.
So, the PMIS lets you set up the EWP, which is the set of related engineering deliverables with a clear scope of work, including the specified budget, timeline, and completion measurement criteria and this allows you to compare planned to actual and measure progress accurately. The PMIS also lets you change or update any required details pertaining to the engineering work package (including any authorised approvals that are needed at each step) and following this it will help you automatically update the checklist’s status and the EWP with all its versions and revisions, after which the EWP usually passes on to the 3D visualisation stage.
Your PMIS lets you stay on top of any deviations or gaps in the engineering work package, like missing or late documents, and it does this for the entire cycle of the EWP, from its inception through all the loops of change management, up until it is released. Thus, the PMIS is a kind of ‘digital footprint’ across the entire work package which can be very useful later on in the project.
A PMIS also helps you with governance issues related to the EWP, like document timings, so that whether it was assigned to a single individual or to a group of people you will be able to track its status or drill down on a problem without delay or conflict.
In short, with a PMIS you will be able to accurately measure the performance of the project at the level of the work package and you will have a clear picture of the group and individual responsibilities across various roles and this makes project management much more efficient and effective.