Making Capital Project Management More Transparent and Less Complex

BCG works across diverse sectors to create better systems for large capex projects, systems that change the way owners and contractors work together to improve outcomes and resolve complexity. By applying proprietary methodologies, we help to provide digitally enhanced visibility into schedule and quality issues, coaching teams on ways to quickly align, solve problems, and advance projects.

Our Capital Project Management Services Pair Innovation with People

The risk types and complexity of large capital projects vary widely. Many are government-sponsored initiatives of vital importance to society. Our depth of experience in applying digital innovation to organize the vision and effort of stakeholders has solved complex problems and instilled new ways of working that make all the difference.

Our work includes:

• Identifying the specific behavioral and organizational dynamics that are dragging down performance
• Setting up improved project management routines and scheduling practices for greater predictability and faster decision making
• Designing fit-for-purpose execution and contracting strategies and enacting portfolio governance that diminishes bureaucracy, increases ownership, and improves investment allocation

Our most common consulting scenarios address:

We leverage a variety of tools and solutions to turn around, solidify, or transform major capital projects. Applications include:

• Schedule and Cost Risk Assessment. This strategic overview of the schedule estimates the likelihood of reaching key milestones by identifying the most critical risk types. Using our simulation tool, we produce probability distributions for the completion dates of those milestones, spotlighting the activities that contribute most to potential variances to those dates. By linking output with identified risks, we can better understand which individual risks or risk types will likely cause the longest delays.
• Digital Lean Planning. Lean planning ensures plan stability at the work site—and keeps plans on time and on budget—by creating an effective problem-solving dialogue among contractors, engineers, and the owner’s organization. To improve productivity, we apply digital tools that enable the foreperson, subcontractors, and support staff in the field to more easily communicate, receive task assignments, check documents, and report progress through their mobile devices.
• Digital Situation Room. BCG’s proprietary solution enables stakeholders to share a common situational view of a project’s priorities and current activity. With visibility into the real remaining work, and with built-in communication forums for stakeholders, decision making becomes more timely and better informed. This visibility also allows risk to be managed in real time to keep project milestones on track.

OPTIMIZED CAPEX INITIATIVES FOR SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS

We worked with a major global oil company on a capital project to design, engineer, and build a large-scale offshore drilling program to be deployed over a period of 20 to 30 years, with capex of more than $200 billion. Our analysis led to the implementation of several capex optimization initiatives for offshore fields, such as project management offices, that reduced program costs by 15% to 20%.

ESTABLISHED MORE-EFFECTIVE CAPITAL PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TO DETECT EARLY RISKS

For a European EPC contractor focused on contracts in power and utilities, as well as oil and gas, our work resulted in a 30% reduction in use of overall contingencies. We partnered with our client to deploy a new capital program management toolkit that allowed for early detection and management of risks.

ACCELERATED COMPLETION OF A SEVERELY DELAYED PUBLIC-TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT

At the time we were engaged, there were fewer than 100 days left until the announced delivery date of this €1 billion–plus public-transit project. We immediately set up a war room to get a clear view of the overall schedule and the remaining work. To accelerate project completion, we quickly formed individual command centers for each subproject; there we assessed risks and optimization opportunities. Our work led to an eight-month reduction in time to project completion and more than €15 million in cost savings.