Arthur Davidson
Most are familiar with the century-old term "boondoggle." What was coined to describe politically motivated projects high in price and low in value is now used humorously to describe conferences and "check-the-box" activities such as turnaround peer reviews. Unfortunately, many peer reviews have become buddy reviews that make for nice getaways and opportunities to return peer favors. The effective turnaround manager will insist his peer reviewers be as objective, comprehensive and tough as possible.
While peer reviews should reveal the positive as well as the negative, no feelings should be spared. If these reviews are to be effective, they must be conducted by seasoned professionals with good knowledge of the turnaround industry and its various disciplines. Prudence must be given to providing interviewers with as much pre-read data as possible. Since peer reviews are of very limited duration, it is important the reviewers are informed in advance and can hit the ground running.
During the review, detailed focus should be given to at least the following 12 areas:
- Milestones review. It is important to consider not only planned and actual milestones but milestones still in the future forecast to uncover potential bottlenecks and exploit potential opportunities.
- Job functions. Do key individuals have complete clarity regarding their roles and deliverables? How effective have they been in meeting their deliverables? Do they have a clear understanding of how they can help other team members be successful?
- Systems. What is the status of hardware, software and related technology? How do they impact the readiness of the turnaround? Will any recent or upcoming changes impact the turnaround?
- Processes. Have relevant processes been reviewed and optimized (mainstream processes such as scope development processes, project controls processes, contracting processes, control of work processes, procurement processes, etc.)? Has recent training been provided?
- Metrics. Has it been established what metrics will be tracked, how data will be collected, who will produce which reports, who will be the recipients of the reports at what intervals, etc.?
- Team alignment. Do all team members feel included in all important communications? Do they understand the turnaround drivers and success factors? Do they know how they can help achieve the deliverables?
- Site support. Is plant management at the highest level actively and visibly engaged in the preparation of the turnaround? Are direct reports assigned key responsibilities regarding the turnaround? Does every department feel ownership for the success of the turnaround?
- Team confidence/morale. Turnaround success requires high energy and emotional presence. The mood of the team is important. Does the mood of the team match the status of the metrics? If the metrics are upbeat and the team is downbeat, there is likely a significant issue waiting to be uncovered.
- Resources. Have adequate personnel resources been assigned to turnaround preparation activities? Are assigned personnel physically embedded in the turnaround group? Do they feel incentivized and accountable for the success of the turnaround? Do they have the correct knowledge, experience and influence? Are they unhindered by competing assignments in their normal roles?
- Lessons learned. Were lessons learned from previous turnarounds gathered, conveyed forward, disseminated widely and studied carefully? The most important question regarding lessons learned is: "What was the net gain to this turnaround?"
- Risk mitigation. Has all risk been identified? Has a risk ranking been assigned and challenged by multi-disciplined panels of knowledgeable personnel, including the contractors who will be involved in the work? Have mitigation plans been developed and implemented? Have probabilities been adjusted based on the mitigation plans?
- Miscellaneous. Beyond the follow-up questions to clarify findings and validate assumptions, there should always be room for the unasked questions. Interviewers are often mining for gold when they pose questions such as, "What have we not discussed that is still on your mind?" or "What other concerns or really big opportunities can you think of?"
For more information, contact Onpoint at (281) 461-9340, email sales@onpoint-us.com or visit www.Onpoint-us.com.
