Industrial Commissioning Association’s Post

I would like to recognize Paul Turner, P.Eng, PMP and his work at Industrial Commissioning Association. Commissioning is the cornerstone of successfully completing industrial projects and setting up Operations for success. At that final stage of the game, the commissioning team must finish with quality and safety - usually under high stress. Issues must be resolved and can no longer linger or get passed to the next team. The latest report by the Industrial Commissioning Association (ICxA) highlights the critical need for early commissioning involvement to enhance project outcomes. With 92.5% of projects failing to meet cost and schedule objectives, ICxA advocates for: Starting with the end in mind: Integrating commissioning planning alongside design and construction phases. Global commissioning standards: Establishing standardized best practices to ensure consistency and efficiency. Certified Competency: Building a pipeline of skilled Commissioning Project Managers (CxPMs) for early engagement. Collaborative efforts: Partnering with industry stakeholders to drive systemic improvements. Commissioning as a priority in project execution can bring clarity and certainty. Visit the ICxA to learn more. Paul Turner, P.Eng, PMP and Industrial Commissioning Association are doing good things.

Let me tell you about my framework to get buy-in for commissioning from management. I'm sure you've heard it all: - "Commissioning is only at the end of projects" - "Commissioning costs money, it doesn't save money" - "Standardized commissioning takes too much time, too much paperwork that will slow things down" - "We'll just get the contractor to test equipment at the end" Management doesn't want to hear anything technical about commissioning: - What takes place during pre-commissioning and during commissioning - The challenges with construction completions and disputes that are caused - How you do your loop checks As soon as you talk about anything technical, it's like water off a ducks back - in one ear and out the other - they don't care about this. And they'll always cut costs when you frame your discussions like this. The only thing they want to hear about is time and money - how will commissioning save time, and how will commissioning save money. So how do you get management buy-in for early commissioning involvement and a new standardized approach to commissioning? I follow my Efficiency-ROI guideline to frame these discussions: - Time - give them case studies of how advance commissioning planning saves time, and the resultant benefit to projects - Money - show management the resulting cost savings at the end of projects by following standardized commissioning processes - ROI - explain the measurable ROI achieved on projects when a standardized approach to commissioning is implemented It's not as difficult as you might think to get management buy-in for commissioning when you frame discussions using the Efficiency-ROI guide. All supporting evidence, case studies, and everything you need to use this framework and prepare for your management discussions is in the Member's Area of the Industrial Commissioning Association. Get access here: https://lnkd.in/gmCzr6Fw So you're prepared for discussions to get management on board with a structured approach to commissioning, to successfully complete projects. #commissioning

All supporting evidence, case studies, and everything you need to use this framework and prepare for your management discussions is in the Member's Area of the Industrial Commissioning Association.

All supporting evidence, case studies, and everything you need to use this framework and prepare for your management discussions is in the Member's Area of the Industrial Commissioning Association.

Getting management buy-in for commissioning can be challenging. I regularly hear stories of management cutting commissioning, asking why projects need commissioning, asking if they can skip pre-commissioning, or suggesting to just turn it on and see what happens... Which is why the Industrial Commissioning Association has created a Management Buy-In Package to help you get buy-in for early commissioning on projects and implement a methodical approach to commissioning to save time and money. This Management Buy-In Package is available in the ICxA Member's Area, for free, and contains video presentations, slide decks, case studies, and sample questions, to help you prepare for discussions. The Management Buy-In Package is available now in the Member's Area. If you're not already an ICxA member, you can join for free at the "visit my website" link above. #commissioning

The two most challenging aspects of commissioning are: - The transition from construction to commissioning - Getting management buy-in for commissioning The transition from construction to commissioning is a solved-problem, when you implement a structured approach earlier in projects to manage this complex transition. When planned in advance, this transition goes smoothly. But the reality is, at the beginning of projects, if you can't get your management to buy-in on commissioning and early commissioning involvement, and their decision is to cut costs and defer commissioning to the end, then you're dead in the water - you don't even get the chance to properly plan for commissioning. But it's not as difficult as you might think to get management buy-in for commissioning early in projects, when you frame discussions in the right way. We've prepared a Management Buy-In Package for you - all the support resources you need to make these discussions go smoothly - from slide decks, to supporting videos, to case studies, and more supporting material - everything you need to show your management the importance of commissioning on projects, to help overcome some of their false beliefs about commissioning, and how early commissioning involvement saves time and money on projects. With this info to back you up, your discussions with management (and clients) are much easier, and you can get buy-in for improved commissioning efforts on projects. You can get access to this Management Buy-In Package at the "visit my website" link above, as a member of the Industrial Commissioning Association. Join now and get access, to get the management buy-in you need for commissioning. #commissioning

The most crucial aspect for commissioning execution is contract negotiation, and yet commissioning is rarely asked to participate. This is how lessons are learned on projects - by having the folks involved at the end participate in the beginning of the next project - right from the start during procurement and contract negotiation of EPC contracts. Some might say that commissioning personnel are busy on other projects, and are not available to provide input at the beginning. But I know several wise commissioning experts with decades of experience, who have retired to start their own consulting services, and would be more than happy to help. Projects are great at documenting lessons learned, but are usually not that great at applying lessons learned on next projects. Do your projects include commissioning input right from the start, to start with the end in mind? --- Get your free Industrial Commissioning Association membership at the "Visit My Website" link above this post. As a member, you get access to global commissioning standards, procurement specifications, commissioning training, and many more specialized resources to help you with commissioning of your industrial plant process/energy system projects. Click above for instant access. #commissioning

Often at issue is the erroneous, wishful thinking by project management and/or corporate leadership that the project is "plug and play", and that commissioning will be smooth and executed by people whose task is simply to blindly apply supposedly well-thought-out method statements and commissioning procedures, without having to think too much and ask too many questions... So why bother getting input from them upfront?

Starting each new project feels like having to re-invent the wheel when it comes to commissioning. Not everyone understands commissioning, and even those that do use different terminology or have different methodologies for commissioning. What the industry needs is a global commissioning standard to reference, a standardized approach to commissioning best-practices starting at the beginning of projects. This would really help project owners include upfront requirements for commissioning in contracts before they are signed, and give everyone a clearer picture of what success looks like during commissioning. Not everyone will want to use a global commissioning standard - many companies have developed their own commissioning standards, and have processes that work well. Some other individuals have perfected their methods over the years, and this is working well to complete projects. But the majority of projects have no point of reference to start with for commissioning. And it's this reason that the commissioning industry is very fragmented and disjointed - there is no standard approach to commissioning, with a new approach each project. What do you think? Would a global standard for commissioning help standardize the industry and achieve a little bit more cohesiveness? #commissioning

It's a shame that stakeholders and commercial folks more often than not completely overlook #commissioning. So focused on short-term costs, they miss the big picture. But let's be real, commissioning is like investing in a solid foundation for your #development or project. #Commissionability review is like that solid foundation. It ensures that everything can at all work together as it should, so you avoid costly problems later on. So, how can we convince stakeholders and commercial decision-makers to see the light?