Procurement Work Packaging: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the role of the Procurement Manager within an AWP-driven Organization?
The Procurement Manager will ensure that all of the procurement deliverables are provided to meet the Path of Construction and that materials/permanent equipment can be sorted and allocated to each EWP, CWP and IWP.
Such tasks have been traditionally been divided between the procurement specialist, project planner and materials manager. Under AWP guidelines, while the role of procurement manger should not be a new position on the organization chart, the person holding the role will likely require additional training to understand the additional scope of responsibilities required to implement AWP.
AWP is built around organizing every material, engineering and non-engineering deliverable around the path of construction. Thus, in terms of procurement, the main responsibility for the procurement manager is to ensure the Terms and Conditions (such as payment schedules) encourage the suppliers/vendors to provide Vendor Data to Engineering by dates aligned with the EWP release plan. Additionally, the goal is to ensure all materials and permanent equipment deliveries are aligned with the Path of Construction.
What is the content of a Procurement Work Package (PWP)?
A PWP is a complete list of all supplied material and equipment for an EWP/CWP.
The scope of a PWP can be specific to an engineered piece of equipment or to a group of bulks supply. A PWP enables the alignment of procurement sequences with the path of construction. Thus, the participation of the procurement manager in early planning phases is essential.
A PWP answers the following questions:
The link to the relevant EWPs and CWP
The scope of materials for the package
Roles and responsibilities related to who is requesting, buying, expediting and receiving the scope
All important target dates and an overview of the impact of any delays
List of associated POs
List of associated field information (tags, material management references etc.)
A risk register for the scope
Interfaces points/dependencies with other PWPs and/or material management
Field updates section: showing all actual data collected from stakeholders in the field
A PWP is a live deliverable that evolves with the project phases from initiation to closeout.
Some companies prefer to separate procurement from materials management due to complexity management. Our recommendation is that the PWP has to continue to be updated with site conditions in terms of installation, materials management information, constructability etc.
The business case or that is related to various considerations:
1. On large equipment manufactured or assembled off site, details from the procurement lifecycle can be relevant to material handling on site.
2. PWPs generally include not only target delivery dates but also target installation dates tied to the construction sequence. This information is relevant to the site materials management team.
3. PWPs once updated with all relevant information are powerful deliverables to operations teams as part of the data handover at the end of the project.
4. Lessons learned in terms of equipment and bulks can then be captured in real time within the PWPs to support continuous improvement
We recommend the PWP ownership to remain under the PM oversight in small to medium size projects and under a dedicated procurement manager for larger projects with resources dedicated early to managing procurement and reporting to the project's leadership.
In all cases, PWPs need to be updated and studied at each AWP alignment meeting.
Any feedback? questions?
Feel free to post a comment or email us directly at: info@workpackaging.org
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