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Designing an enterprise solution - Making the Pieces Fit
Ruth Sulentich
Project Analyst, Project Management Office
BC Gas Utility Ltd., 17 - 1111 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 4M4, Canada
Project Analyst, Project Management Office
BC Gas Utility Ltd., 17 - 1111 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 4M4, Canada
Introduction
Corporate overview
BC Gas Inc. is a leading provider of energy and utility services in British Columbia and BC Gas Utility Ltd. is the largest distributor of natural gas to British Columbians, serving 750,000 customers in more than 100 communities. 2000 proved to be a year packed with activity for BC Gas. The corporate Goals set for 2000 included:
- Build the Company's multi-utility businesses through further acquisitions and expansions and expansion of measurement technology and other utility services; and
- Continue to strengthen the company's market position with an enhanced image and service platform, improved customer care and billing interfaces and an expanded range of products and services. A revised Corporate Strategic Plan was introduced to all employees. Key elements of the plan included:
- We must be an attractive investment to our current and potential shareholders;
- Our ability to grow is dependent on excellence in our base business; and
- We must optimize our base business, grow from our base business and sell new products and services to our customers.
Within BC Gas there are many technology projects being implemented concurrently. In order for BC Gas to reach its goals, it is imperative to recognize the importance and value of each and every project within the company. However, implementing several major technology projects concurrently has its challenges. Beginning in 1997 the following technologies were being developed and implemented within the Operations group:
- AM/FM - Automated Mapping and Facilities Management using Smallworld on an NT platform;
- IRM - Integrated Resource Management using Utility Partners on a Unix platform; and
- WMS/PM - Work Management/Preventative Maintenance using SAP modules on an NT platform.
- ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning using SAP on a NT platform; and
- CIS - Customer Interface System using Peace on a Irix platform.
- Key user groups that were impacted within Operations include:
- System Support;
- Drafting;
- Records;
- Planning;
- System Survey;
- System Planning;
- Corrosion Control;
- Dispatch;
- Customer Call Centre; and
- Operations and Installation Managers.
Operations Technology Projects Overview
AM/FM
The AM/FM implementation project started in late 1997. The first phase was a five-month Architecture and Project Planning phase. Once Smallworld was chosen as the software provider, the architecture was completed and detailed project plans and budgets were developed for each of the following project components: Data Conversion, Application Development and Change Management.
Data Conversion
Data Conversion was separated into two phases. The Interior conversion included all cities and towns outside of the Lower Mainland and the Coastal conversion, including all cities and towns in the Lower Mainland. The Interior data conversion phase kicked off with the first pilot area of data converted in late 1998. Data was then converted area by area until the conversion was completed at the end of 1999. The Coastal conversion phase started in 1999 and will be completed by June 2001.
AM/FM Application Development
The Application Development component was divided into phases; the phases were closely aligned with the major business processes that AM/FM will support. Rather than implementing the technology all at once at the end of the project, the decision was made to deliver functionality to the business as soon as possible. This phased implementation approach allows the business to begin realizing benefits early and allows users to start climbing the learning curve. For further information on the different phases, refer to Diagram 1.1.
AM/FM Change Management
The Change Management component works with the business in the areas of business process redesign, training and communication to prepare the organization for system implementation and to ensure the technologies are fully exploited to achieve maximum benefits.
Diagram 1.1
IRM
The Integrated Resource Management (IRM) project involves the development and implementation of an automated workforce scheduling management system (automatic work scheduling as opposed to manual, printed work orders) that allows field workers to receive work orders and communication via wireless technology.
The technology vendor is Utility Partners and the applications are Mobile UP, which is used by Dispatchers, and MobileField which runs on the mobile laptops used by field staff. Benefits include enhancing the roles of field technicians and dispatchers with exciting new technology, reducing the time it takes to schedule and dispatch crews, improving coordination of resources and responsiveness to customers and reducing costs.
The IRM project consists of a Project Manager, an Implementation Team, Change Management Team and a Business User Team.
WMS/PM
The Work Management System / Preventative Maintenance (WMS/PM) Project is focused on streamlining the construction and maintenance work processes within BC Gas. This Project will provide a common and consistent toolset that can be used to plan and track maintenance activities for equipment within the distribution system. This tracking will be accomplished through the implementation of the PM module of SAP.
The current WMS at BC Gas is technically obsolete. It is a legacy system, which resides on an OS/2 platform and the costs associated with ongoing maintenance and operations have increased substantially in recent years. There will be significant annual savings associated with the retirement of the existing WMS. The WMS/PM Project is looking to replace this system with a series of SAP modules.
The WMS project consists of a Project Manager, an Implementation Team, Change Management Team and a Business User Team.
Middleware
Due to the number of different technologies in use at BC Gas, the need for a large number of point to point interfaces was becoming alarming. Not only are point to point interfaces expensive to design and maintain but also interfacing in this manner leads to data integrity issues and a disconnected architecture. It was recognized that the company needed to integrate an Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) solution. This project included managing the timing of the implementation of the interfaces, understanding the rollout plans of the projects involved, developing the appropriate policies, standards and processes for implementing the interfaces and identifying and training the required resources to maintain the system.
Mercator was the technology chosen. The project has a timeline of one year to implement the system and complete all Operations interfaces.
The Problem
Senior Management, recognized the obstacles that existed within the company and the challenges that lay ahead for projects implementing major technology systems. With several key technology systems being implemented in the same time period (refer to diagram 2.1), that impacted the same business units, users and business processes, problems were arising. Projects were competing for sponsorship, resources and dollars. Each project had its own schedule towards attaining its project goals. Projects were not taking the time to work together or facilitate a common understanding of each other's implementation schedules, interface strategies, benefits realization, process re-engineering, communication time lines and training plans. It was recognized after the fact that if the time had been taken to develop a common understanding of each projects objectives, certain mistakes may have been avoided.
Diagram 2.1
The Solution
At BC Gas a team was formed to meet the following objectives within Operations
Technology Projects:
- Be the focal point to all projects;
- Drive and facilitate decisions;
- Consolidate and coordinate inter project issues and ensure that the projects have a complete view of all project related initiatives; ;
- Align projects with corporate strategies and ensure that projects are represented in business initiatives;
- Facilitate business and technical integration of projects;
- Participate in organizational definition projects;
- Provide methodologies for the projects to follow;
- Mitigate business impacts on the projects;
- Coordinate resource management across projects;
- Facilitate and maintain an adequate and consolidated sustainment strategy; and
- Develop and help the projects maintain a set of standards and guidelines for documenting organization models, business process models and training materials.
Diagram 3.1
In 1999, an Operations Project Management Office (PMO) was formed to meet the objectives listed above as well as to provide direction and continuity to the projects. The PMO consists of a Project Manager, Integration Manager, Change Manager and a Project Analyst.
Project Manager Responsibilities:
- Central point of communication for all projects;
- at the integrated suite of technologies (AM/FM, IRM, WMS/PM) will help BC Gas " Optimize" the base business by improving operational excellence and to ensure that the technologies aid operations to be as effective and efficient as possible;
- Ensure that the integrated suite of technologies helps BC Gas "Grow" by being developed generically to allow them to support a multi-utility business (i.e. water utilities); and
- Ensure benefits across the projects are achieved and assure that there has been no double counting of benefits.
- Facilitate the effective and efficient integration of Operations technology systems;
- Application integration and delivery strategy; and
- Responsible for the Middleware project. Change Manager Responsibilities
- Coordinate migration plans and transition plans across the projects; and
- Align business processes, training plans and communications strategies.
- Develop project budgets and implement cost controls across the projects;
- Develop business cases for costs over and above the original project scope; and
- Assist with the Integration and Change Manager's objectives.
How do you get a group of people within three different projects to come together and realize that it is to each project's advantage to work to together rather than in separate silos?
In the beginning, the Project Management Office was met with some opposition and resistance, viewed as imposing its ideas upon the projects. With time and patience, the way projects viewed the PMO changed. It was imperative that when the PMO was helping to make decisions with the projects, that it guided and facilitated the choices made, and did not make the final decision. It was up to the projects to take ownership for every decision made and the outcome of those decisions. The projects came to appreciate that they had resources to depend on who looked after the project's best interests when it came to corporate initiatives.
It has become easier for the projects to rely on the methodologies, standards for documenting processes and coordination of communications, provided by the PMO. Each of the projects was able to concentrate on its piece of the puzzle with the assurance that the PMO was looking at the entire puzzle on their behalf. When it was recognized that alignment in certain areas was needed between projects, the PMO brought it to the projects attention, and provided possible suggestions on how they could implement a solution. The PMO realized that the key to its success was communication.
What was the outcome of the coordinated implementation approach? Several goals have already been attained. Project implementations were completed on time and on budget. Implementation from a technology perspective was successful and the Change Management component of the PMO was able to coach both the business and the users to accept and embrace the new technologies.