Quality Performance Measurements of the EPC Process: The Blueprint

This is a report on phase two of a research project conducted by the Quality Performance Measurement Task Force (QPMTF). The task force’s objective was to develop a process to assist companies engaged in Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC) projects to measure quality performance.

Phase One of the project centered on measurements currently being used by leading EPC companies to measure project quality performance. The major product of Phase One was the Quality Measurement Matrix which catalogs examples of quality measurements in the Total Quality Management (TQM) categories of Customer Focus, Leadership, Delivery and Employee Empowerment.

Phase Two of the project dealt with developing and implementing a user-friendly process which could be used by EPC project teams to establish quality performance measurements on their projects. This was accomplished by combining lessons learned in Phase One with the results of numerous brainstorming sessions of the QPMTF to develop a prototype process called The Blueprint. This process was validated through discussions with teams made up of quality and project management personnel, and piloting on three active EPC projects.

The major product of Phase Two, The Blueprint: A Process for Measuring Project Quality (CII Special Publication 36-2), provides the methodology for a project-oriented process that the project team can integrate into its normal execution procedures. The process includes the design, production and analysis of measurements during project execution to identify areas for improvement and positively influence the outcome. The Blueprint can become an important part of the tool box a project team uses to create a win-win environment in the execution of a successful project.

Use of The Blueprint will accelerate industry’s continuous improvement thrust by:

• Sharing best practices for measuring project quality in a predictive manner.
• Serving as a starting point for companies just getting into quality management.
• Reducing cycle time of planning and monitoring of projects.
• Facilitating the quality measurement process in increasingly decentralized owner engineering organizations.
• Supporting the benchmarking effort.