Advanced Work Packaging: The Promise of an
Industry Transformation
Olfa Hamdi
Olfa Hamdi
CEO of Concord Project Technologies
Fecha de publicación: 17 dic 2018
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Article first published at the CII/CURT Magazine: The Voice. Article co-authored with Eric
Crivella, co-chair of the CII AWP Community of Business Advancement.
More than ever, we need a disciplined capital project execution
system ensuring predictable outcomes. AWP can be that system.
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) is a construction-driven planning and collaboration system for
building capital projects that is sharply focused on creating a constraint-free work environment in the
field.
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) has become an industry best-practice because it works. Through
AWP, the construction-driven definition, preparation, and organization of capital project work and
teams have allowed companies to make great strides in integrating engineering, procurement and
construction. Early evidence suggests incredible benefits, including the ability to boost field
productivity by a staggering 25 percent. Projects and organizations who have implemented AWP
have also been able to bring down the total installed cost of a project by up to 10 percent, with
increased savings for Owners and increased profitability for contractors. They’ve also been able to:
● Deliver projects on schedule, with improved schedule performance;
● Improve safety performance, with zero lost time accident reports;
● Get better quality construction, with less rework; and
● Enjoy increased outcome predictability, in terms of cost and schedule.
In an industry where the of majority of projects, across all segments and geographies, are facing
delays and/or cost escalations, those gains are significant.
These findings came out of the Construction Industry Institute’s Research Team 272, a research joint
venture with the Construction Owners Association of Alberta (CII/COAA RT 272). That team was
the industry coalition that first proposed a recommended practice model for advanced work
packaging, building upon years of research on workface planning methodologies and front-end
definition best practices.
The fact is that ,when AWP is implemented properly, it drives remarkable improvements in the
industrial construction sector. But, how did we get here? What’s the secret implementation formula?
And what is the future of AWP in our industry? We’ve got some answers for you below as an
introduction to AWP but we are keen to hear about your individual AWP experiences and see what
many of you can add to our industry’s exciting journey in defining and developing AWP.
What is Advanced Work Packaging?
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) is a construction-driven planning and collaboration system for
building capital projects that is sharply focused on creating a constraint-free work environment in the
field. AWP requires that detailed work packages be created early in the project lifecycle; i.e., in
advance. These work packages must be informed by a Project Execution Plan (PEP) and a detailed
Path of Construction (POC) and supported by a comprehensive and disciplined stakeholder
integration.
Removing field constraints -- ensuring that people have the equipment, materials and instructions to
complete their work -- reduces labor idle time, increases labour productivity in terms of on-tool time,
increases field supervision rates thus, improving project outcomes. For these reasons, AWP is
currently considered a best practice in the field of capital construction.
How is AWP different from standard work packaging?
Standard work packaging is not construction-driven. Standard systems bring in construction leaders
just before the shovels go into the ground, whereas AWP requires that construction leaders be
involved in planning from the outset. Standard systems organize work packages around engineering,
design or a myriad of other drivers, whereas AWP requires that work packages be organized solely
around the Path of Construction. Today, many owner companies acknowledge that the most efficient
project delivery systems are driven by the demands of construction, which translate into the Path of
Construction as a formal deliverable of the AWP system.
In a presentation by the CII AWP Community of Business Advancement (CBA) last year, industry
experts put the Path of Construction at the epicenter of all work package planning, from engineering
to procurement and beyond.
“The key to successful advanced work packaging implementation is to have engineering and
procurement provide complete and on time information to support the Path of Construction on your
project,” they said. “The entire AWP strategy is dependent on engineering and procurement
providing their deliverables in a fashion that meets the path of construction.” How can you start
implementing AWP?
How to implement AWP?
AWP is still in its industry early stages, but we already have a good idea of what needs to be in place
in order for it to be successful. A subsequent Construction Industry Institute report published by
Research Team 319 (RT319), suggests that AWP implementation depends heavily on key
prerequisites – we’ll go over them one-by-one:
Start early and invest in your Path of Construction.
The implementation of AWP has to start early. Begin with sufficient construction planning and lay
out the sequence of construction, also called your Path of Construction (POC), so that it can be
communicated early in the project. This way, you can ensure that engineering, procurement and
other aspects of the project support the overall plan. The realization that construction should be the
key driver to all disciplines and stakeholders has prompted many Owner and EPC companies to
embrace practices that support construction-driven delivery. Many continue to refine the Path of
Construction efforts by honing the sequence of construction work areas and packages with improved
construction execution logic and smarter installation planning.
Use AWP to drive alignment from the office to the field.
Construction Work Packages (CWPs) can successfully established shared nomenclatures between
engineers and construction leaders, and can also establish strong execution sequences. CWPs have to
remain fairly stable throughout the project lifecycle, even as adjustments are made. The key element
is “really knowing where you’re at, and what you’ve packaged, and what you’ve completed,”
Make sure your existing processes adhere to prescribed AWP
guidelines.
If you want to succeed, start by clearly defining procedures and guidelines to regulate every stage of
the project, from preliminary planning to commissioning and start-up. Use the recommended AWP
flowcharts from the CII knowledge library to establish specific execution procedures, and make sure
all of it lines up with the contract. You need two things to meaningfully define these procedures and
guidelines: the ability to ensure consistent implementation, and the ability to collect feedback.
Make sure the project management team understands AWP
deliverables.
It is critical to get people working together from the outset. Alignment across project discipline
requirements – particularly among engineering, procurement, and construction teams – is a
fundamental driver of successful AWP implementation.
Start by defining how information will flow between disciplines throughout the different project
phases. Define a coordinated and integrated plan and ensure that all team members understand how it
works. You will also want to define and implement both formal and informal dispute resolution
processes, so you always know when and where things are breaking down as well as establish project
training and support for your team to help develop their project execution competencies from an
AWP perspective.
Make sure your contracts integrate AWP procedures between key
project participants.
Begin by identifying who is responsible for what, not only at the company level, but also at the
individual level. This should be done as early as possible in your preliminary planning, so these
responsibilities can be included in key participants’ contracts.
Then, define your payment schedules and control processes in such a way that they line up with your
AWP deliverables. Project planning and completion should be monitored by Installation Work
Packages (IWPs), which provides a focus on tracking the project through physical progress, rather
than through accounting metrics. Finally, develop an ad hoc project responsibility matrix for AWP
implementation, so you can effectively prevent responsibility and skill gaps.
AWP Research and development: A Promising Journey...
“The complexity of the modern construction site has made it very easy to get away from good
management practice. This is in part due to silos and the difficulty of aligning all the stakeholders
and processes needed to accomplish a project.” Dr. William O’Brien, a pioneer researcher at the
University of Texas at Austin, told Velocity Magazine in a recent interview. “In response” he says,
“AWP is a holistic program that enforces good fundamentals by bringing all the project pieces
together in one place, so you can make effective decisions and engage in effective planning all the
way from the front end through execution.”
AWP is one step in the right direction...by going back to the basics, advocating for fundamental
project execution principles and supporting the use of technology for automated execution, we
believe that our industry is on the right track to reversing the current project failure trends.
We’ve advocated relentlessly for industry-wide adoption of AWP. But we’re not done yet. AWP is
still a nascent approach to capital project management, with countless opportunities for
improvement. A key to achieving these improvement comes through these collaborative industry
R&D efforts that is taking place in multiple forums and venues including CII’s Communities of
Business Advancement (CBA). The Advanced Work Packaging Community for Business
Advancement (CBA) is a formal venue for the exchange of Advanced Work Packaging principles,
practices, and related knowledge to enhance the performance of capital facilities projects. Join the
CBA today to learn about AWP and embark on a journey to acquire the capital project competencies
of the future!
Learn more about AWP:
Link 1
Link 2
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