Overview

An offshore optic cable project that included nine stakeholders, all of whom had to unanimously agree before any decision was rendered. Each decision was complex and labored, and the introductory engineering phase was a year behind schedule. The project was expected to be significantly over budget before construction was set to begin, and with the shareholders having no knowledge of the risks they were facing and the timeline of the project´s completion, PRC was brought in. PRC´s role was to manage risks and help contain costs.

Implementation

PRC implemented a Lifecycle Risk Management Program. The risks facing the project became concretely defined and reflected in project planning, such as a $500,000 a day idle deployment expense if permits were not granted. This information was distributed to all stakeholders in the project, and the identified risk helped reduce contingency.

A process was put in place that also identified, actively managed and mitigated risks daily. Using the PRC Risk Register, risk was being input daily and properly documented, leading to more informed choices and strategies in each day´s actions. PRC ended up managing a portfolio of projects to identify and mitigate programs and portfolio risks. The strategies helped gain the confidence of senior executives, leading to more trust with PRC´s real time dashboards and better project execution thanks to access to engineers in the field.

Results

The use of PRC´s Lifecycle Risk Management Program reduced the contingency $30M, and the PRC Risk Register software brought the budget from $405M to $375M. PRC´s solutions also reduced the time contingency schedule by 9 months. Evaluating and communicating the risks facing the project helped change the plan and culture of workflow, as everyone understood the challenges that delayed work and missed steps would ultimately cost the project, motivating improved proper execution and ultimately a better project.