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General Contractor Safety and Quality Performance Improvement Program

Overview 

Company – General Contractor 

Industry – Electrical Generation 

Category – Construction 

Project Budget – Master Services Agreement 

Goal – Recovery plan to improve safety and quality performance for every project, monitoring KPI’s for each site including NLTI rate, safety opportunities, and inspections with summaries. 

Obstacles – Safety and quality are dynamic processes that require constant maintenance to uphold high standards on construction sites 

Solutions – Subject Matter Expert conducted Gap Analysis of Safety and Quality Programs. Development and implementation of the safety and quality manuals re-shaping the organizations culture, processes and procedures. 

Results – Improved safety and quality statistics that are measured and monitored year over year and from site to site. 

Goals 

Achieve COR Certification 

COR certification, and looking to build and improve our safety culture and statistics through the programs governed by the Contractors Safety Program and continually improve a safe workplace 

Successfully implementation of the program and training to be instructed for all Contractor staff 

Develop system to measure KPI’s including NLTI rate, safety opportunities, and inspections with summary reports provided to Owner upon request 

Creation of a robust subcontract prequalification process 

Implementation of a revised quality manual to better suit Owner projects, including inspection and test planning 

Obstacles 

Management of Change to improve safety and quality performance 

Challenges to meeting the goals of the project: 

  • Safety and quality are dynamic processes that require constant maintenance to uphold high standards on construction sites 
  • Replacement of subcontracts with poor records and identify a need for additional controls with all subcontractors 
  • Revised processes and procedures required to achieve safety and quality improvements would require a culture change across the organization 
  • Workers and subcontractors at site required training and ongoing awareness of the program requirements
  • Program needed long-term monitoring of KPI’s and reporting to ensure continual improvement  

Solution

PTAG’s Team of Subject Matter Experts Delivered and Implemented the Program 

Contractor MSA was suspended in Q2 of 2016 due to an increased number of safety and quality issues. PTAG’s Team were engaged on the project in Aug. 2016 to provide a complete assessment of the existing safety and quality programs to determine gaps and the remediation effort that would be needed to improve these programs 

The Team developed and implemented the processes and procedural changes required for improving transparency to the contractor’s supervision performance. Identified areas for improved training opportunities and created a program for improving supervisor safety awareness. 

Created a program of increased supervision awareness through training for the evaluation of supervisors’ safety competence 

Identified the need for increased management communication and the reinforcement documentation for improving communication 

Providing additional safety audits for contractor’s safety team to coach supervisors and workers through challenges and the planning of these techniques. 

Revised and directed the implementation of the revised quality manual including inspection and test plans – E.g. CWB welding standards 

Implementation of the NCR program with communication plan   

PTAG PROCESS 

SMEs Delivered, Implemented, Administered and Monitored the Program 

  1. Review and Assess 
  2. Report Results 
  3. Develop Program and Training 
  4. Implement and Administer 
  5. Monitor for Results 
  6. Transition for Ongoing Support 

PROCESS RESULT 

SMEs Delivered and Implemented the Program 

PTAG’s TEAM of 2 SMEs delivered the expertise needed for safety and quality performance improvement which resulted in achieving COR Certification on first attempt and re-engagement of the existing Construction MSA. 

It was recognized by both Contractor and Owner the benefits of a robust safety and quality program and the need for monitoring and continuous improvement 

RESULTS SUCCESS 

Since the implementation of the revised Safety and Quality programs, the organization’s culture continues to improve with the goal of zero safety incidents and zero Non Conformance Reports 

Through additional controls, procedures and guidelines have demonstrated significantly improved statistics 

Goals are 0 LTI’s & 10% reduction for NLTI’s on a yearly basis 

ACHIEVEMENTS 

52% reduction in NLTI rate since 2016 

No Orders to Comply  

Fulltime QA advisor 

“Creating a work environment in which the absence of incidents and injuries is a reality” 

PTAG provides leading firms in the Power, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Mining, and Capital Infrastructure markets with qualified People, efficient Business Processes, and Information Management Systems that ensure consistently successful delivery and efficient operation of major capital projects. 

Original Equipment Manufacturer Quality Performance Improvement Program

Company – Original Equipment Manufacturer – OEM

Industry – Electrical Generation

Category – Equipment Supply and Installation

Project Budget – Multiple Projects

Goal – Recovery action plan to improve quality performance to re-assure Owner that the OEM can be trusted to provide a reliable and warranted product

Obstacles – Global company with manufacturing facilities in numerous countries supplying equipment

Solutions – Conducted an internal analysis of both historical and active projects and audited their Quality Program. Recommended and supported the implementation of accepted actions items to address gaps in their Quality and Training programs.

Results – Improved quality results to assure Owner that the company can be trusted to reliably deliver on its commitments and jointly develop an “owner specific” approach aimed at improving customer satisfaction.

Goals

Improve Quality and Restore Owners Confidence

  • Implement corrective actions to remain equipment supplier of choice
  • Continuously improve equipment design and reliability
  • Implementation of modern design tools and methods into the Quality program and training to targeted OEM organizational staff
  • Develop QA/QC metrics used at different phases of the project and application of a more rigorous in-house inspection program
  • Implementation of a revised quality manual to better suit Owner projects, including inspection and test planning early in the project lifecycle
  • Minimize financial loss attributed to rework and deficiencies

Obstacles

Management of Change to improve quality performance

Challenges to meeting the goals of the project:

  • Differing international interpretations of testing standards
  • Compliance with published standards
  • OEM Commercial position impacts on technical requirements and discussions
  • Fully understanding the root cause in determining the needed corrective actions prior to revisions of the Quality program and supporting documentation
  • Demographics associated with the coordination of training on and off site globally and ongoing refresher programs
  • Program needed long-term monitoring of Non-Conformances and reporting to ensure continual improvement

Solution

PTAG’s Team of Subject Matter Experts Delivered and Implemented the Program

Original Equipment Supplier (OEM) was constrained from participating in any proposal submissions due to performance related issues until it was demonstrated to the Owner that existing technical deficiencies were addressed, and Quality program was enhanced.

The team developed and implemented the processes and procedural changes required for Quality improvement to their existing QA/QC program and identified areas for improved training opportunities. QA/QC Best Practices were deployed throughout the organization.

Mitigation plan was developed to limit the schedule impact of some of the on-going projects and to meet delivery requirements of future projects.

Identified the need for increased communication and provided a solution plan for a better communication structure to be applied at all levels of the OEM organization

Enhanced risk identification and control process were executed during the detail design, through manufacturing and installation phases

Constructed an internal audit process identifying findings and KPI measurements for improvement throughout all global facilities and on-site project locations. Team coached OEM project staff to identify and understand the planning techniques to mitigate the impacts of Non-Conformances

PTAG PROCESS

SMEs Delivered, Implemented, Administered and Monitored the Program

  1. Review and Assess
  2. Report Results
  3. Develop Program and Training
  4. Implement and Administer
  5. Monitor for Results
  6. Transition for Ongoing Support

PROCESS RESULT

SMEs Delivered and Implemented the Program

PTAG’s TEAM of 3 SMEs identified Quality Management Best Practices, delivered the expertise needed to modernize the organizations Quality Management program which resulted in a significant reductions in NCR’s and restored the CONFIDENCE of the Owner and its representatives

Owner was presented the OEMs action plan to enhance performance, improve quality, productivity, safety and eliminate rework occurrences

OEM welcomed suggested corrective actions from both the PTAG SME’s and Owner representatives to ensure the OEM remained the supplier of choice

Step 1: Define and Implement Your QMS

Step 2: Assess the Maturity of Your QMS

Step 3: Improve Your QMS

RESULTS SUCCESS

  • OEM enhanced Owners satisfaction with a modernized Quality Management Program
  • Business priorities are now linked in the Quality Management Program when developing and or supplying a piece of equipment
  • Since the implementation of the revised Quality program, the organization’s culture continues to improve with the goal of zero Non-Conformance Reports
  • Quality Program includes long range business planning objectives and ongoing performance assessments
  • Quality program implements ongoing organizational learning, continuous improvement, sustainable work processes, productivity improvements, failure prevention, and conformance to requirements

ACHIEVEMENTS

  • In house organization resources trained for assessing and improving the implementation of Quality Management Best Practices
  • Performance metrics now embedded in the Quality Management Program
  • Organization delivers products that meets Owners and Regulatory requirements
  • Organization recognizes the importance of open and collaborative discussions in recognizing Owners requirements and expectations when interpreting technical specifications
  • Significant reduction in projects that experienced over budget issues, late start-up, financial losses and unhappy board of directors and shareholders
  • Recognized the need to define, identify and continuously improve in order to maintain Owners confidence

PTAG provides leading firms in the Power, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Mining, and Capital Infrastructure markets with qualified People, efficient Business Processes, and Information Management Systems that ensure consistently successful delivery and efficient operation of major capital projects.