Innovators have turned around and delivered projects that had overrun their budgets or allocated delivery timing.  This is an example:

Background

A programme involved the removal of existing electro-mechanical control systems from a power station, completely re-cabling and testing 60,000 I/O points, 18,000 main components and installing nine electronic control desks over a 3-year timescale in three phases.

What the team found

Innovation was appointed as Programme Delivery Architects and Strategic Planners to carry-out completion of an urgent ‘open, positive audit’ on Phase 1 of this business-critical programme, which had ‘faltered’ and was threatening to delay return to service of 25% of one of Europe’s largest power stations during a peak loading period. The audit report identified that:

• The client’s Programme Manager was untrained in this discipline.
• The Programme was 14 days late
• The supplier was selected for their quality of equipment but did not have experience of integration.
• Communication inaccuracies had led to incorrect installation of kilometres of cable .
• The contract and the contractual approach were inappropriate for the client’s requirements.
• Some of the technological approach (control software) was unproven and impractical.
• A legal issue was developing between the main supplier and the client.

The Outcomes

Led by an Innovation Programme Delivery Architect, an Innovation team were able to:

• Negotiate a compromise interim working agreement between the client and the main supplier.　
• Assist in appointing a new ‘Technical Architect’ and correct the technical implementation.
• Rapidly re-organise the existing workforce of over 780 (24/7 working) people and introduce our accelerated ‘A, B, C’ work order system, with timeboxed prioritisations, plus define and design a set of multiple, integrated plans.
• Deliver Phase 1 of the Programme on a new delivery date (1 day later than the original baseline) saving large commercial losses on a 13-day overrun and out of service generation unit
• Facilitate a final settlement between the client and the supplier.
• Deliver Phases 2 & 3, precisely to the agreed schedule and budget over a further 2-year period.