In-house and Customized Institute Programs
All IPA Institute standard project management programs and workshops can be delivered in-house or customized to meet an organization’s specific needs. Any of the seminars described in our catalog can be combined to build a session tailored to your interests. Sessions can also be customized to train executives, project managers, and team members on how to implement a companywide project delivery process.
We can also customize programs for project execution in various regions of the world. Regional customization addresses topics such as regional differences related to methods in project execution, project practices, contracting strategies and their use, labor productivity and its implications for project performance, and building megaprojects in remote locations.
The following are examples of past courses we have customized for our clients.
- Megaprojects Seminar (3 days)
- Shutdowns and Capital Project Excellence Course (5 days)
- Making Decisions for Improved Capital Effectiveness & Project Delivery Workshop (4 days)
- Contracting and Risk Mitigation Workshop (2 days)
- New Technology Workshop (2.5 days)
- Toward Capital Project Excellence Course(4.5 days)
- Capital Project Delivery Excellence Courses (2 days/month)
- Scheduling Seminar(2 days)
Megaprojects Seminar (3 days)
This seminar included a 2-day course customized for refinery megaprojects, 1 day to discuss specific deliverables of the early project stages (FEL 2 and FEL 3), and an evaluation of the company’s progress in using optimal practices. The program covered the following topics:
- Aligning project objectives
- Determining contracting approach
- Maximizing performance
- Understanding the performance and key drivers of megaprojects and complex projects
- Management of large, complex, and culturally diverse teams
- Defining and executing megaprojects
- Discussing risks for large, complex projects
Shutdowns and Capital Project Excellence Course (5 days)
This program presented Best Practices for defining and executing shutdowns and the capital projects executed during a major shutdown. The program was customized for the company and delivered in Spanish for its Latin American operations. The program included the following components:
- Practices for defining and executing shutdowns successfully
- Activities needed to integrate capital projects into the shutdown
- Practices found to drive excellence in projects estimated to cost less than US$10 million. Elements of team effectiveness, project definition, and contracting strategy were covered.
- Tools and techniques for establishing networked, resourced project schedules
- A set of project control practices that can aid in maintaining value through execution
- A roadmap for defining and resourcing shutdowns and projects, and an exercise to tailor this roadmap to the company’s project system
- Use of Value Improving Practices (VIPs). Definitions of VIPs, the value they add to specific types of projects, how to select appropriate VIPs for a given project, and practices for successful VIPs implementation were discussed
Making Decisions for Improved Capital Effectiveness
& Project Delivery Workshop
(4 days)
This workshop presented IPA research findings on the business role in capital projects and Best Practices for shaping and defining capital-effective investments. The goal of this seminar was to provide the business unit a better idea of what is needed to help capital projects achieve their objectives. The workshop was customized to address the specific issues related to the company’s energy investments. The material included examples from organizations and industries similar to the client company. Adequate time was allowed for participants to discuss how the material applied to their own experiences. In addition, IPA facilitated a Lessons Learned Session on Project Successes and Failures with the core project personnel. The seminar covered the following topics:
Overview of the Capital Project Process
- The effects of business actions on project execution success
- Defining capital effectiveness and the business stake
- It’s all about cost and schedule
- Translating business objectives into project objectives
The Gated Work Process
- Concept study phase
- Prefeasibility study phase
- Feasibility study phase
- Case Studies: Two case studies, based on recent BHPB Energy Coal experience, were discussed to understand the practices and decisions made in the early phases—Concept through Feasibility study phases.
Project Practices
- Value Improving Practices
- Team development
- Project controls
- Implementing improvement
Contracting and Risk Mitigation Workshop (2 days)
The objective of the workshop was to help the project team understand and quantify the risks associated with the project and its contracting strategy, and to help the project team develop plans to manage and mitigate the risks. The workshop covered the following topics:
- Understanding the outcomes and drivers of megaprojects
- Contracting strategies and their effect on projects
- Risk and perceived risk in the current environment
- Project execution planning
- Project controls
- Avoiding problems in execution
The customized workshop included discussions on a wide range of topics, including:
- Research findings on contracting strategies and approaches and their effects on project outcomes
- How to ensure that all key project risks associated with the project’s execution planning and delivery are managed as effectively as possible
- Improving teams’ understanding of the key risks to large, complex projects and the effects of contracting strategy on those risks
- Quantify how Front-End Loading and contracting influence project outcomes, which can help teams leverage Best Practices for reimbursable contracts
- A quantitative assessment of the current market for engineering and construction services. The workshop covered, at a high level, the premiums paid to transfer risks to the contractor, demonstrating that reducing the project risks transferred to contractors through modifying terms and conditions can result in cost savings
- A framework for understanding the importance of the owner project team, and the key positions that should be staffed by the owner
- Determining which risks and uncertainties can be mitigated before completing the invitations to bid, and understanding the risks associated with a change in contracting approach
- Conducting interactive discussion on project risks, understanding gaps, and developing an action plan.
New Technology Workshop (2.5 days)
This workshop was delivered to help a specific project that was being executed to:
- Assessment of risks of current research schedule
- Assessment of risks associated with current capital project schedule
- Develop a plan that optimizes schedule and risk
To meet the workshop goals and to allow in-depth discussion of issues specific to the project, a carefully selected and customized portion of the Successful Commercialization of New Technology program was shared. The topics covered included:
- Identifying new technology
- Outcomes and drivers of innovation
- Best Practices for commercializing new technology
- Resourcing innovative projects
- Conclusions and implementation strategies
Toward Capital Project Excellence Course (4.5 days)
This customized training program was delivered for current and potential project managers. The program was focused on projects estimated to cost less than US$10 million. The course material was a combination of two standard courses (Project Management Best Practices and Scheduling) and two workshops (FEL and VIPs). Components of the course included:
- Practices found to drive excellence in projects estimated to cost less than $10 million USD. Elements of team effectiveness, project definition, and contracting strategy were included.
- Tools and techniques for establishing networked, resourced project schedules. The material was designed to teach the basics of building a good project schedule during the definition phase, prior to project authorization.
- Discussion about the Business Value of FEL. FEL has been shown to be the most significant driver of project outcomes. The workshop began with a discussion of the relationship between FEL and superior cost results; this session discusses each FEL phase, including business planning, facility scoping, and project definition.
- FEL Roadmap. An important deliverable of the workshop was the FEL Roadmap, a precedence diagram for the project team to guide its activities as it proceeds through FEL. The roadmap includes the major activities and places them in relative order in terms of scheduling work. The participants used the roadmap to highlight the FEL process for their organization, including activities that need to be completed, identify who is responsible for these activities, and clarify interfaces between key project stakeholders.
- A set of project control practices that can aid in maintaining project value through execution. Material also covered the owner role in project execution and control and design, procurement, and construction management.
- The use Value Improving Practices (VIPs). Definition of VIPs, the value they add to specific types of projects, how to select appropriate VIPs for a given project, and practices for successful VIPs implementation.
Capital Project Delivery Excellence Courses (2 days/month)
Over a 5-month period, the Institute delivered four 2-day courses to complement this company’s Project Management training program. The training program curriculum included a theoretical part provided by a local university and a practical part provided by the Institute. The Institute used data from most of the programs available to complement the theory learned at the university. Five industry-specific cases studies were developed to provide hands-on applications of the IPA concepts. The material covered, by course, included the following topics.
Course I
- Owner organization project delivery system and the business stake
- Effective gate process
- Establishing cost and schedule strategy
- Portfolio management
- Business objectives
- Metrics discussion, measurement techniques and recent industry trends
- Case study 1
Course II
- Team effectiveness
- Front-End Loading
- FEL 0 and FEL 1
- FEL 2 and FEL 3
- Project shaping process
- Case Study 2
Course III
- Mining FEL
- Site definition
- Engineering definition
- Project execution planning
- Construction safety
- Case Study 3
Course IV
- Risk management
- Technology risk
- Contracting
- Project execution and control
- Value Improving Practices
- Case Study 4 and 5
Scheduling Seminar (2 days)
This session was tailored to provide participants with Best Practices for scheduling, and included analysis of the company’s project schedules. Topics included:
- The Scheduling Process
- Scope definition
- Defining activities
- Activity constraints and activity work calendars
- Schedule diagramming
- Basic scheduling computations
- Resource constraints and resource loading
- Building the base-line schedule
- Project schedule controls
- CEC downstream scheduling practice metric
- Scheduling FEL Index rating
- Company-specific scheduling analysis