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How confident are you in meeting your timelines ? If you haven ’ t thought of an operational readiness plan , you ’ ve missed the mark . There ’ s a reason why only a handful of new plants succeed in their ability to build on time , on budget , and meet target production goals . A recent article published by PwC ’ s strategy + business magazine says that ‘ a staggering 91.5 percent of projects go over budget , over schedule , or both .’

For them , the finish line is cutting the ribbon in front of the new facility . They ’ re embodying the ‘ if you build it , they will come ’ mentality . But the project isn ’ t ready for operation if people , processes , and technology aren ’ t also prepared .

Early decisions around managing risk and asset reliability are crucial . Are you ready to beat the odds and build a plant that can withstand future economic and supply chain challenges ?

Best practices to ensure your plant starts effectively and efficiently

Resources and budget for addressing a plant ’ s operational readiness are often an afterthought – project and operations managers then struggle to fill gaps in the later stages of the project . Think about the longstanding benefits of hiring workers with the right knowledge and skill set from the start . Or having a holistic asset management plan that includes operating and maintenance strategies , and documented procedures .

Many new plants fail to do this – and the consequences are real . Last year , a microchip manufacturing plant in Phoenix , Arizona , announced it would push its opening date from 2024 to 2025 – citing skilled labor shortages along with other disorganization and safety concerns . A year or more of lost productivity is not a place anyone wants to be .

It ’ s a given that every plant wants to operate on time , at peak performance with the lowest risk and minimize the total cost of ownership , but if you don ’ t implement best practices early on , it ’ s unlikely you ’ ll achieve this . This early stage is the ideal time to work with a consulting firm that can help develop the integrated master plan and work with your team to implement and execute .

Assess your risk and develop a plan

Here ’ s a common scenario : $ 400 million invested to build a new plant . Commitments made to the board of directors that the facility is going to operate effectively and start turning a profit by a certain date . How can you be confident your project is going to come up to speed and deliver the business returns it ’ s supposed to ? Building a riskbased asset management plan during your plant ’ s design phase and deploying those asset management plans during commissioning and start are crucial .

This means understanding your risks early on – there could be thousands at any given time , all changing throughout the life cycle of the project . A risk plan can help prioritize investment ( and spending ) on new assets by first identifying the most critical assets and the risk they pose to the bottom line in the event of a major failure .

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