Large Utility Company Effectively Manages Construction Project Costs with Centralized System
The Client
- A utility company; one of the largest producers of electricity in the United States
- Will spend billions across the enterprise over the next seven to 10 years to upgrade various generating units in order to comply with environmental standards
- This frenzied pace was going to require tracking more than 100 projects at once, managing more than 100 contractors and thousands of their employees, and overseeing every cost detail
What the Client Wanted
- A fast, dependable and centralized system to effectively manage all construction related project costs—purchase orders, change controls, payments and much more
- Ability to track project cost components in a safe and secure environment
- Ability to generate reports, statistics and comparisons from the system as necessary for swift decision making
Challenges
- Data was constantly evolving in real-time environments
- Multiple sources of information were causing inaccuracies/unreliable data
- Needed a consistent mechanism for contractors and vendors to supply project information and status
LÛCRUM’s Solution
- Hosted a two-day Envisioning Workshop to facilitate communication between IT leaders and other internal stakeholders to determine the organization’s true business needs before applying a technology solution
- Designed a Project Cost Management System (PCMS) that:
- Provides budget management and contractor invoicing
- Centralizes project cost information in one database
- Standardizes the cost tracking process for all major projects
- Tracks all procured expenditures consistently
- Standardizes the process used to pay contractors/vendors
LÛCRUM’s Approach
- Focused on the needs of the people first—and then applied the technology to meet their unique business needs
- Created a neutral environment through the Envisioning Workshop where members of management and other employees felt free to express their ideas and concerns, gaining consensus
- Worked closely with key end users to ensure the proper solution had been identified and that the solution met all business requirements
Efforts
- Business process/requirements: 2 ½ months
- System development: six months
The Benefits
- Ability to track every aspect of utility plant construction
- Allows for “single source of truth” for consistent reporting
- Ability to generate real-time reports, statistics and comparisons of costs for simultaneous projects
- Standardizes the budgeting, cost tracking and payment processes
“We use our Envisioning Workshop to facilitate communication—open, free and honest discussion. It’s the best way to assure that all the requirements are identified, and to enroll all of the critical stakeholders into the project vision.”
-Eric Duell, Senior Business Solutions Architect and Envisioning Workshop Facilitator LÛCRUM
