Promoting the Use of Advanced Work Packaging: Phase 2
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) is a construction-driven process that adopts the philosophy of beginning a project with the end in mind. In 2015, AWP was established as a CII Best Practice; subsequent case studies have demonstrated its benefits at improving capital project performance. Nevertheless, AWP’s use is still limited among owners and contractors.
The objective of RT-365 was to promote the use of AWP at the industry level. To meet this objective, it was necessary for the team to understand the industry’s challenges and needs. The team’s approach to promoting the use of AWP was twofold:
- First, it aimed to identify AWP implementation barriers and provide solutions to overcome them.
- Second, it aimed to facilitate access to AWP implementation resources, such as reports, case studies, and presentations.
The research was accomplished in four phases:
- Preparation – delineating the research objectives and methods
- Data Collection – conducting a literature review and interviews with experts
- Qualitative Analysis – analyzing data gathered during the second phase revealed potential solutions to overcome AWP implementation barriers
- Research Findings and Implementation Resources – synthesizing the team’s findings and developing an implementation resource
To address the 78 AWP implementation barriers it had identified and analyzed, the team recommended more than 500 potential solutions. It grouped the most significant barriers into four categories:
- The company is not convinced of the benefits of AWP
- Limited understanding of AWP concepts, processes, and tools
- Lack of organizational alignment during AWP implementation
- Poor integration of AWP and engineering processes
The team’s deliverable, the AWP Concierge (SP365-1), included solutions to the identified AWP implementation barriers. It classified the barriers by phase, starting with the pre-implementation phase and proceeding to commissioning and startup. The AWP Concierge also included links to more than 50 supporting documents that provided additional details on the potential solutions, directly addressing each AWP implementation barrier and providing opportunities to mitigate it.
The RT-365 research identified issues that prevent proper integration between AWP and engineering. These issues relate to company culture, company buy-in, AWP resources, contracting strategies, and AWP processes and procedures (FR-365, p. 15).
The RT-365 research presented recommendations to improve the implementation of AWP in engineering. The team mapped its recommendations to previously identified issues. These recommendations are based on extensive literature review and interviews with industry experts procedures (FR-365, in press).
