EPC-STO-LTSA-MRO Projects "Site/Yard Field Operations" - Temporary, Interim, Fractional Project Management-Control Services

Through a long-term partnership with an external EPC-STO-LTSA-MRO project & service management (temporary-interim-fractional) professional, Studio Carminati is also specializing in supporting foreign and Italian (small-sized) OEMs/subcontractors (in charge at domestic-foreign sites/yards [strong experience in India EPC plant engineering markets] of lifecycle and asset management after-sales/field service operations on industrial capital "software-intensive" equipment (strong focus on discrete production machinery, automated production lines, based on electric drives, motors and actuators applications) in the below office/site/plant floor/field-based activities:

Planning, programming, scheduling, tracking-reporting tasks, and "project-based" management of commercial, contractual, technical-economic, organizational-executive-operational, logistics, travel, mobilization-demobilization, HSE, and claims/disputes-resolution aspects during:

a) pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up, test runs, completion, handover, and training (lifecycle-asset management guidance)

b) maintenance, repair operations (MRO)

c) long-term service agreements (LTSA)

d) minor-major shutdowns, turnarounds, outages (STO)

e) modernization projects (revamping, replacement, expansion)

Planning & Controlling (only on SAP R/3 PMIS ERP. Our skills are not deployable with unsuitable tools like basic-simple ERPs without project-based cost management modules, or project & service management financial processes based only on the use of Office 365/MS Project Desktop tools)

- manages the project (contract/agreement) within the contractually defined quality framework (time, budget, functionality) from kick-off to final acceptance

- chair the kick-off and define with the support of the lead project engineer, production manager, and buyers the project schedules, milestones, WBS, CBS, technical staff, and the sub-project handover to main contract partners, subsidiaries, and interplant units 

handles the forecast costs allocations, all relevant planning elements (materials, equipment, services, resources), and milestone work results, according to the defined programs/projects portfolio

- sets up and maintains the internal project management plan 

- defines procedures and requirements concerning quality management (audits, system tests, acceptance checks) according to internal/customer quality management standards

- monitors continuously the project status (taking into account financial target), early identification of discrepancies, and initiates targeted correction actions

- holds regular project status meetings, prepares progress reports, and organizes acceptance of milestone work results

- manages the acceptance of delivery units and services, performing quality controls and internal/external expediting/correction actions

Engineering Management

- collaborate (integrating project and system engineering domains) with the lead project engineer on the management of the engineering team (control engineers, automation engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, systems engineers, systems integrators, developers, networking engineers, and cybersecurity professionals) ensuring that staff has an appropriate project understanding

- takes leadership of and provides directions and communications to the engineering team, internal/external suppliers/developers partners, subsidiaries, and interplant units 

- participates together with the lead project engineer in meetings and surveys with internal suppliers/developers partners, customers, consultant engineers, third-party agencies, quality assurers, IP specialists, and subcontractors regarding project activities

- reviews engineering and technical drawings, documentation, procedures, and studies in compliance with stipulated, requirements, guidelines, and technical standards

- reviews all required engineering standards and regulations

- monitor systems engineering procedures, engineering deliverables progress, software release schedules, and expedite design/workflow

during field service operations, support the field service coordinators to promptly involves the relevant engineering specialists to guide the field engineers team and participate in the conference call or customers meeting

Customers Management

- operates as the main project interface actively gathers information on the customer and the customer’s requirements/targets

- involves the customer in decision-making, provides regular information and feedback

- manages customer expectations and concludes the project to the satisfaction of the customer

- identifies cross-division business opportunities

- creates additional business opportunities out of the ongoing project

- devises and implements strategies for strengthening market and customer commitment

- negotiates and mitigates with the customers all the critical project issues

 Proposal/Contract Management

- participate in the bid preparation for projects and spare parts (SPIR FORM) offers

- analyzes customer requirements, clarify and examines their technical feasibility and transferability into a bid

- ensures that the technical and commercial approval process with all risk assessments (including compliance) is followed

- examines the bid costing in terms of financial efficiency

- ensures that incoming order specifications (scope, requirements) and costing are done and documented

- involves the relevant partners in the bid phase

- ensures that all planning elements (e.g. system structure, work breakdown structure) are included in the bid phase

- influences formulation of the constraints of contracts

- ensures that the results of risk assessments and compliance risk assessments are appropriately addressed in contracts and in costing

Site Management and HSE

- promoting QHSE compliance at every opportunity, escalating any integrity issues

- collaborate with the field service coordinators on the management of the field service team ensuring that staff has an appropriate project understanding and all the required tools/instrumentations are available to perform the planned activities

- collaborate with the HSE and field service coordinators for all HSE processes, documentation, training, and equipment.

- collaborate with field service coordinators for all VISA, travel, personnel Oil&Gas certifications, BOSIET, gate pass, and logistics issues of the sites/yards/vessels

Risk & Opportunity, Issue Management

- throughout the project life cycle, identifies and assess all risk factors utilizing available information and risk measurement tools

- devises suitable strategies for risk mitigation (elimination, reduction)

- implement the procedure for solving issues and problems (identification, analysis, actions, and controlling) with all necessary internal and external partners/stakeholders

- identify and minimizes non-conformance costs

- manage and minimizes back charge requests

- ensures risk monitoring and communications in all project phases

- throughout the project life cycle identifies, assesses, and implements all opportunities for improving results

- negotiates with stakeholders on change requests and incorporates them into contracts

- assesses risks in terms of effects on the business units, defines measures/actions to be taken, and ensures early escalation

- deploy “all risks” insurance plans and contracts

Claims Management

- involves the project team in the identification of claims

- assesses contracts in terms of claim-relevant significance, ensures examination by a legal expert

- puts the strategy for making/mitigating claims rigorously into practice

- at an early stage, inform the customer, management, and project team of scope deviations

- at an early stage, identifies and mitigates external claims

- conducts (jointly with procurement and sales) negotiations on making/mitigating claims

- devises (with business coordinators) the strategy for making/mitigating claims

- enforces legitimate claims and fends off unjustified claims/back charges

Subcontractors/Partner Management

- involves qualified subcontractors/partners in a timely manner

- selects subcontractors/partners according to defined criteria (strategic, technical, and budget)

- define contracts/frame agreements structure, scope, and budget

- rigorously monitors the performance of the subcontractors/partners, conducts timely escalation (in the event of qualitative shortfalls and problems in cooperation), and where there are any discrepancies, initiates timely suitable actions (expediting, escalation, back-charge, claim)

- identifies further opportunities for business with the partners

- review all subcontractors/partners’ proforma invoices prior to their acceptance

Procurement and Logistics

- involves procurement at an early stage according to valid corporate procurement rules

- ensures that all procurement activities comply with the valid processes and regulations

- negotiates based on defined requirements with subcontractors/partners and enters into back-to-back agreements in alignment with the customer contract

- plans the procurement strategy with the procurement officer

- plan and submit the necessary purchase order requests

- check that buyers are sourcing and expediting the suppliers according to the contractually defined lead-time

- support the shipment/custom operations operated and managed by a professional freight/shipping forwarder

Financial Management (only on SAP R/3 PMIS ERP. our skills are not deployable with unsuitable tools like basic-simple ERPs without project-based cost management modules, or project & service management financial processes based only on the use of Office 365 tools)

We work with the (Client) Cost Control Manager and the Project Control Team in controlling the projects, envisioning and promptly suggesting corrective and improving actions in line with corporate procedures and working instructions.
Moreover, We’ve been involved in the following activities:

- support the cost control manager and other functions as a business partner

- prepare together with the cost control manager & project control team for new projects, the setting of cost control system: order Intake, project work breakdown structure, execution budget

- prepare and present project control reports together with cost control manager to senior management, following project review cycle and ensuring deadlines are met

- check the progress of financials of the projects (in terms of actual and committed costs) and, based on the physical progress status of the job and considering the updated time schedule to completion, the risk, and opportunities, the technical performance aspects of the project

- prepare with the cost control manager & the project control team the best estimation to complete about costs, reserves, billing, cash-in, guarantees, hedges

- control and have at all times full knowledge of all projects-contract’s financial movements within the project scope, ensuring they are correctly and accurately reported

- enter and maintain project budgets/forecasts/actuals in the ERP system

- in case of interplant-intercompany projects, coordinate with other costs & project controllers to build the consolidated view

- update the project lifespan forecast, on a quarterly basis, together with the costs control manager, and interact with the controlling & sales area for budget and quarterly forecast preparation

- manages the project within the defined financial targets (budget, target costing, target profit)

- ensures compliance with internal finance and reporting standards (ex. SOX)

- optimizes project profitability and ensures business success

- lives P/L responsibility for the project as defined in the agreed forecast target

- initiates invoicing according to project progress

- ensures regular financial control and reporting

- takes strategic viewpoints into account when managing the finances of the project

- support the financial team to recover foreign withholding tax credit retention 

- develops targeted financing models in agreement with controllers/credit management team

- define international payments methods, plan and due dates, mitigating credit and foreign currency exchange risk

Networking

- communicates on a cross-sector/division or cluster/region level with internal contacts on opportunities for doing further business

- cooperates with line experts on business development knowledge management

- seeks and actively utilizes sources of information, knowledge, and experience

- analyzes information, knowledge, and experience, and makes project learning available

- conducts a project closure meeting and lessons learned workshop

- seizes opportunities to learn from others and to exchange experience

- coaches/mentors new project team members according to requirements

Leadership, Communication, Project Interface Management, and Soft Skills

- ensures efficient communication with all relevant stakeholders and project interfaces

- ensures targeted and full communication within the project team

- agrees targets with project staff and delegates defined responsibilities and authority

- monitors the motivation of the project team

- coaches and controls the team/individual members of the staff

- holds feedback sessions with each directly assigned member of the staff

- seeks active feedback (e.g. from members of staff, managers, and customers)

- provides input in the context of the performance management process

- consults manager of staff members concerning their individual training and development

- develops and trains actively newly engaged staff members in close coordination with the resource manager

- provides know-how in the context of project management and thus serves actively to secure the quality standards

Business Integrity

- seeks and actively utilizes information on current compliance with relevant policies and regulations within the organization: mainly business conduct/tax/financial regulations/EHS (environment, health, and safety)

- involves the respective compliance officer

- forwards all relevant information to the project team members and partners

- sets up a framework to ensure regular checks of the compliance in the project, e.g. by conducting compliance risk assessments at the appropriate milestones/quality checks

Modernization Project Delivery & Commissioning Management:

- review supply agreements and extract service obligations by the OEM (our own client), the customer/end-user, and any relevant party into a project achievable list

- negotiate and manage project commissioning & delivery obligations by working with customers, OEM (our own client) team members (field service manager, account/sales manager, application engineer, logistics), and relevant external stakeholders to ensure successful and timely execution of these obligations

- develop the project Gantt chart, define the project budget, and keep track of all expenses and manpower, and field instrumentations for each project. Ensure projects are completed within scheduled timeframes and budget

- manage customer relationships and expectations. Resolve issues and negotiate resolutions to issues causing delays in the delivery of products commissioning-functionalities

- work collaboratively with internal and external resources in various (engineering, logistics. HSE, etc.) disciplines to determine project priorities and work plans

- keep the management team and project managers informed of the project status via weekly, monthly reports and the field operations log (useful in case of escalations/disputes)

- identify project risks and propose solutions and preventative measures to manage the risk

- meeting objectives with project management skills. Scheduling and planning resources and coordinating plant commissioning resources to provide effective early-stage project development support

- ensure commissioning and modernization projects are efficiently, effectively, and safely implemented in accordance with (OEM) department procedures and policies

- scope management – identify any discrepancies and variations in the scope of work

- manage to walk down of planned work, validate acceptance of completed work to design requirements, and validate, approve contractor reports and invoices. Verify procedures, equipment, and resource allocations to avoid conflicts and resolve issues as needed. Leads project meetings with customers (and internally) during the installation and commissioning phase (risk tracker and contingency allocations)

- determine site-specific requirements: including labor, local safety requirements, utility, and work permit costs

- work with product management, sales management, and application engineers to generate all the field information required for systems integration in the field. Review drawings and set up execution plans with third parties and field service groups

- communicate with the HQ Engineering team to coordinate the troubleshooting process until it is resolved

- manage customer communication on a routine basis to ensure customer satisfaction

- develop and negotiate sub-contractor, consultant, or engineering agreements including safety plans, schedules, and scope-of-work necessary to fulfill project requirements

- manage all aspects of the project schedule from project kickoff to project close-out punch list items including project post-mortem meeting

- support the field service coordinators to promptly involves the relevant engineering specialists to guide the field engineers team and participate in the conference call or customers meeting

- compile project review report upon completion and offer proposals and suggestions for the organization to improve and deliver a better customer experience

- oversee and monitor processes, materials, safety, and quality, to detect or assess problems

- coordinate inspections and interconnections with the customer

- coordinate project commissioning and handoff to customer support and/or O&M team

- coordinate customer training and acceptance

Field Service Support:

- travel to the site during commissioning activities when required to lead the commissioning projects or manage meetings

- conduct site visits, coordinate experimental investigations and analyze engineering problems, propose solutions and alternatives, and provide recommendations

Day-by-Day Management of Service Office & Dept. Operations:

- oversees and performs a variety of tasks within the department or organizational unit, acting as the primary liaison with other departments and external parties to address day-to-day matters related to scheduling and administration of field services

- co-manages the field service schedule for a specific region, including handling customer correspondence and directing communication with field engineers. Exercises decision-making authority, in coordination with the regional field services coordinators-manager, when addressing customer issues such as discounts, premiums, and non-billable concessions

- assists in program/project planning, schedule development, and goal execution. Conducts research, compiles statistics, and prepares reports or responses to inquiries. Provides logistical support for field engineers, including organizing meetings, coordinating subcontractor resources, and arranging travel and permits

- performs additional duties as assigned, responds to change effectively, and ensures compliance with company safety policies and financial rules. Prepares proposals and interacts with customers to secure orders. Ensures accuracy of invoicing data and utilizes online planning tools for scheduling, forecasting, and invoicing. Maintains service contract records and schedules resources in consultation with customers

Studio Carminati is also able to provide project-based support (Temporary, Interim, Fractional Project Management-Control) for the below Service Management (main) interventions areas:

- FAT, system, string, performance tests
- precommissioning, commissioning, startup, handover
- long-term service agreements (LTSA), H24/365 availability services
- minor-major maintenance (shutdown, turnaround, outage, overhaul)
- modernization projects (upgrade, retrofit, revamping, replacement) to extend the life cycle of the installed base
- modernization projects (upgrade, retrofit, revamping, replacement) for Industry 4.0-Maintenance 4.0 plans (remote presence-assistance, condition monitoring, diagnostics, and predictive maintenance applications)
- short technical assistance interventions (planned/unplanned)
- short maintenance and repair, overhaul, and refurbishment operations
- preventive/predictive maintenance interventions with field instrumentations
- spare parts management
- e-mail, phone, and remote support services (remote assistance, condition monitoring, and diagnostics)
- energy savings/efficiency, maintenance, and reliability consultancy
- root cause analysis (RCA) and forensics engineering
- training
- field instrumentation rentals
- phase out management
- IT/OT convergence programs

OUR ORGANIZATION IS CONSULTANCY-BASED AND DOES NOT MANAGE/HANDLE/PURCHASE ANY MATERIALS OR PROVIDE TECHNICALDESIGN/CALCULATIONS/DRAWINGS/PROCUREMENT/EXPEDITING/DISPATCHING/SHIPMENT/LOGISTICS/IMPORT/EXPORT/PAYMENT/RECRUITMENT/AVAILABILITY/FIELD SERVICES FOR THE CLIENT'S ORGANIZATIONS 

Studio Carminati Mission: Our goal is to support "in the first person" the field service delivery and "after-sales/after-market/life-cycle" efforts of our clients, but also to achieve profitable and sustainable growth for them, providing specialized (interim-temporary-fractional) projects, contracts, and claims management consultancy specifically conceived for complex site/field/plant-floor after-sales service operations in the demanding EPC/industrial end-user markets.