Bridge the gap with offshore project and interface management
On complex EPCI projects consisting of various subcontractors, consultants and stakeholders, miscommunication can easily sink the project. To bridge the gap between all parties involved and to ensure that information and expectations are clearly communicated, proper offshore project management and interface management is required.
Interface management in the project lifecycle
To ensure successful completion of the projects, it’s important to provide interface management between parties, particularly from the start-up until the commissioning phase.
By focusing on the overall goal from a holistic perspective and not just the objectives of the specific elements of the project, you can provide for efficient and effective delivery of the project, and continuity into the operations phase which serves to enhance reputation.
It is important for your Interface Management Program and offshore project management team to understand all the stages in the Value Chain to ensure common purpose when transferring responsibility, care and custody.
The project management lifecycle is depicted below:
• Initiation
• Planning
• Execution
• Monitoring
• Close Out
Benefits of interface management and offshore project management
In understanding the value chain and the overall goals, your offshore project management team and the interface management program can determine battery limits or any gaps in the scope of work. This allows you to establish an action plan that considers the cost, influence, stakeholders and interested parties.
As change is inevitable, we recommend reducing your risk and mitigating any circumstances that should arise from change. This is especially important when you manage changing relationships. With a proper interface management program, you can manage relationship changes and agree on the implementation of the program with stakeholders.
As a project gradually develops, there are often different factors that may affect the project at the start-up phase. The project management strategy should streamline all the deliverables, the start and completion dates, all milestones and responsible persons to give clarity to all parties when the project has achieved its goals. It may be required to go through the loop of planning and executing through project monitoring and the controlling process group before it entirely progresses into project delivery.
Your offshore project management team should review and validate the proposed schedule and perform assigned activities once the plan is approved before facilitating the work package definition, sequencing, and estimating duration and resources with the project team and service specialists.
For best results, choose project managers that are Certified Project Management Professionals (PMP Certified) and are working in conjunction with international standard practices and qualifications. Looking for a qualified offshore project management team that understands the big picture? Get in touch.
Offshore Project Management Institutes (PMI)
The purpose of offshore project management qualifications and regulations is to provide a foundation for offshore project management knowledge and represent the four areas of the profession, namely:
- Project
- Program
- Portfolio
- The organisational approach to project management.
They are the foundation on which practice standards and industry-specific extensions are built.
It is important to ensure that your project delivery covers activities after mobilisation through the execution of the plans and acceptance of the product at the site or the transfer to another project phase.
MARSOL’s approach to offshore interface management
MARSOL strives for stakeholders’ satisfaction through facility protection at the lowest possible cost. Our capabilities and approach are tailored to maintain the intrinsic value of the asset and uphold warranty protection. We ensure all stakeholders agree on the preservation plan and there is smooth handover to the operator or O&M Contractor.
Our interface management envisions the “Missing Man” concept. It aligns the operational, design and maintenance philosophies and fulfils the workability by design and suitable local environment and conditions. It ensures that the terminal is fit for purpose, and optimises OPEX for continuity and long-term involvement (i.e. completion, reputation, and warranty protection).
MARSOL’s interface management ensures that all aspects are understood, and the gaps are identified, thus eliminating a snowball or risk, and avoiding a shift in liability.
Conclusion
Choosing the right offshore project management or interface management team is a difficult decision given all the factors involved, but the decision to include proper project management and interface management is a no-brainer. Find out if we are the right team for you. Get in touch.
Minimise marine asset breakdowns with an offshore maintenance plan
As a specialist in offshore SPM / MBM terminals and related infrastructure, MARSOL offers various services aimed at the optimization of offshore terminals, including Terminal Inspection Repair and Maintenance. While both asset repair and maintenance require dedicated OpEx, there is a definite difference in the way they are approached and the risk that they pose.
Marine asset repair implies failure of components or assets. This type of breakdown can cause downtime, pose safety risks and threat reputational damage in case of negative environmental impact or the like.
On the other hand, to us at MARSOL, Offshore maintenance means to maintain our clients’ marine assets in a good working order to avoid breakage and prevent worst-case scenarios. As such, regular maintenance not only mitigates risk, but it also ensures efficiency and reliability.
In most cases, it is highly plausible that there will be a risk of downtime if the marine asset does not undergo adequate offshore maintenance. These concerns are unnoticeable in the first few years, but later the component experiences an accelerated rate of deterioration, due to incorrect and inadequate preservation practices before the system is fully operational.
MARSOL’s preservation practices ensure that the performance of the whole system is consistent throughout its working life.
Choosing an offshore maintenance partner
When taking a holistic approach, it is important to choose a partner that understands your terminal as a whole. This knowledge and understanding will allow your offshore terminal maintenance partner to address root causes and not simply treat symptoms in isolation.
As a commercial and technical marine service solutions provider, MARSOL covers Engineering, Project Management, Operations & Maintenance, Inspection Repair & Maintenance (IRM) and Integrity management among other subsea and maritime services. This means that all influencing factors are taken into account when offshore maintenance is done.
Terminal maintenance and design
In order to maintain an offshore terminal or to repair assets, it is important to understand its environment and its design. Our Engineering Services Division offers a comprehensive package for all Mooring and Hose Analysis for SPM terminals, including validation of third-party analysis from terminal designers. We use our operational and practical onsite experience for model validation to ensure the model output is aligned with the specific requirements of the terminal.
Through applying integrity-based Inspection Repair and Maintenance (IRM) and creating a marine asset history, MARSOL can modify operations and maintenance philosophies and associated work programmes periodically to reflect changes brought about by any influencing factors and unusual events. By finding the perfect balance between efficiency, risk and operational expenditure, we greatly reduce risk to the system and encourage sustainability and longevity.
These changes create the opportunity for us to review the current programme, identify areas of improvement and design changes on the system components to safely and economically optimise future activities and schedules and related OPEX costs all the while ensuring all updated IRM philosophies are agreed by the OEM/ CLASS as needed.
Whether greenfield or brownfield, every optimization starts with the perfect plan.
Terminal Maintenance and marine asset lifespan extension
Increasing an asset’s lifespan through offshore maintenance instead of periodic asset repair means saving money in the long run, limiting downtime and reducing risk, but only if it is done properly. Our highly qualified team manages local partners to deliver these ongoing programmes, always focusing on international safety and quality standards to ensure that the client and its stakeholders’ reputations are protected.
We draw on our experience to validate and modify the requirements as outlined by the OEM for an operational facility. Through data capture, we create a strategy to perform the offshore maintenance on the most suitable techno-commercial manner and get the necessary approvals for the same before execution from the Contractor, CLASS and OEM as needed.
This strategy lets us achieve the following objectives:
- Protection of the facility
- Retention of the intrinsic value of the marine assets
- Continuity of service
- Maintenance of warranty
- Maintenance of Class
- Avoidance of incidents and resultant pollution
- Compliance with statutory / permit requirements and international operating OCIMF, ISGOT, IMCA, and IMO guidelines
- Protection of 3rd party customers/transporters
- Protection of the buoy and constantly maintaining it in an “as new” condition
- Ensuring Company Reputation is upheld and built upon
Conclusion
In every scenario, prevention is better than cure. Finding the right terminal maintenance partner can save you time, money, risk and reputational damage. Consult with MARSOL to find the right long-term offshore maintenance plan for your terminal.