Optimizing your software environment for a competitive advantage in 2024

Are you #readyfor2024?

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Written by Thomas Schubbach

Posted on December 08, 2023

Staying ahead in the competitive EPC landscape is more crucial than ever. This blog delves into key questions and strategies to ensure your software environment will not just keep up in 2024 but will actively drive your business forward. We explore the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and overall competitiveness of your software systems, laying the foundation for sustained success.

Some key questions about your software ecosystem include:

  • How do you know that your software environment is competitive?
  • What are your daily bottlenecks and annoyances?
  • Are your software costs going down or up?

You only know the answer to these questions if you stay informed and challenge your environment regularly. Cadmatic can help you analyze your status and discuss the complete engineering setup from FEED to construction. Most importantly, we are a software company, but our main differentiator is that we don´t want to compete with other solutions. Our aim is to make your company and your process better. How do we do that?

"Before we start, I want to emphasize our strong confidence in our products and services. This confidence extends to the trust we place in our customers and business relationships. We keep it simple: we take what's already there, use it, and show what we do out of the box. We believe in simplicity and action – we just do it.

Initially, having a common discussion about goals and strategy is mandatory. Having a conversation about site orientation supports this discussion. To do that, Cadmatic can check your data, solution landscape, and competitiveness.

A man in front of a process plant

Example of Cadmatic's comprehensive software assessment approach

Imagine you are a project manager who uses project management tools daily. Cadmatic can do a DCMA's 14-Point Assessment for you, which contains checks according to the rules listed below. We not only check vulnerabilities, but we can also fix them. Have you ever checked your projects against this assessment? More important: This does not only work for your own project schedule but also for the project schedules you receive from partners and suppliers.

1. Checking the Logic: Is your logic complete? Are there missing links?
2. Looking for Leads: Eliminate negative lags to prevent confusion and potential issues.
3. Looking for Lags: Minimize positive lags, aiming for no more than 5% of relationships.
4. The Right Relationship Types: Emphasize Finish-Start relationships, with a recommendation of 90% usage.
5. Hard Constraints: Limit hard constraints to less than 5% of all constrained activities.
6. Rein-in your Total Float: Keep Total Float values under 44 days for less than 5% of activities.
7. Negative Float is Never Good: Avoid negative float and document plans to mitigate delays.
8. Break Down Long Durations: Limit activities longer than 2 months to 5% or break them down for more detail.
9. Check for Invalid Dates: Ensure no future actual dates beyond the Data Date and no past forecast dates.
10. Load it up with Resources and Costs: Include workable activities and milestones in resource and cost-loaded schedules.
11. Subvert Activity Slippage: Monitor activities finishing late compared to the baseline for timely project delivery.
12. Critical Path Integrity: Test the Critical Path's integrity, ensuring delays result in an equally delayed finish date.
13. Critical Path Length Index (CPLI): Gauge the realism of completing the project on time, aiming for a target number of 1.0.
14. Baseline Execution Index (BEI): Assess performance against the project baseline, with a BEI of less than 0.95 as a warning.

We can do the assessment, and you can give us the plan while we provide you with feedback in the meeting by discussing every single point. This is a free service we offer to check your PM planning, where we also discuss how you do a Level-5 schedule to map the detailed tasks needed to coordinate day-to-day work in a specific area.

Beyond just evaluating, Cadmatic also addresses methodology for scheduling and overseeing EPC projects. Its functionalities, such as Level-5 reporting, deliver an unparalleled depth of information, allowing project managers to monitor progress in a granular fashion. Moreover, its 4D visualization capability allows stakeholders to view the complete project status in real-time, enabling better decision-making. Integration with established solutions like Oracle© Primavera™ P6 and Microsoft© Project™ is seamless with CADMATIC Projects, ensuring a smooth and trouble-free transition.

A man is holding an tablet at a construction site

Strategies for cost-effective software management

As we approach 2024, it is a good time for a quick check-up on your business processes. Let's keep it simple and look at two critical aspects: your workflow and software. Are they efficient, cost-effective, and ready for the challenges of the coming year?

1. Workflow Check

Take some time to review things you got done in business:

  • What are the slow points like loading time or unnecessary steps like data conversion?
  • Can tasks be automated and monitored for a smoother process?
  • Is everyone collaborating effectively?

2. Software Check for 2024

Now, let's talk about your “engineering & project software”:

Is it updated with the latest features and security measures?

  • Does it work well with other tools you use – How does it interoperate with other tools and disciplines?
  • Can your environment handle the tech demands of 2024? Is it easy to use and to administrate?
  • Technology must save money in the long run – are your cost going down or up?

Conclusion

In a nutshell, a quick check-up on your workflow and software ensures that your business is on the right track for #getready2024. Keep it simple, make improvements where needed, and stick with existing technology to avoid losing time. An aligned workflow and updated software set the foundation for your successful and efficient engineering in the years to come. BUT: You need to start today.

For more information pop me an email or visit our website. If you enjoyed reading this blog text, stay tuned for next one titled “Reduce to the max”.