Collaborative Contracting
BP Global Projects Organisation
Changing mindsets for capital project delivery
Project Overview
GPO vision is to be the best projects organisation in the industry. This requires GPO to work differently with their supply chain so have developed and published their project collaboration principles that codify and guide the way GPO work to create transparent relationships with their targeted suppliers.
As part of this vision a collaboration transformation project was established as part of the Modernise and Transform programme. This was based on the 8 Project Collaboration Principles and involved integrating these principles into the Major Project Common Processes (MPcp) by co-creating a GPO Collaboration Guide, supported by various collaboration development and training workshops, processes, tools and systems.
Project Challenge
GPO engages with supply chain partners and contractors to deliver complex assets internationally. This is underpinned by established processes, procedures and ways of working.
The aim was to adopt a collaborative contracting way of working based on the 8 collaboration principles as part of the MPcp and utilise the contractors delivery capability, expertise and experience to develop a high performing, One Team to deliver the agreed outcomes in the most cost efficient, sustainable and safest way.
Visual Collaboration Solution
A 5 step integrated transformation approach was taken to embed the 8 principles at 4 levels:
- Organisation – culture, alignment, leadership and teamwork
- People – behaviours, mindset, skills and training
- Process – MPcp – project management, risk, procurement, quality and safety
- Systems – collaboration tools, databases, networks and project/business applications.
The approach was conducted as part of a live multi £B project, which was split into 4 discrete contracts/programmes – Subsea, FPSO, FLNG and Hub, each having several main contractors located around the world. In parallel, a GPO collaboration guide and supporting tools was created, referencing other MPcp guides to enable the delivery of the collaboration principles.
To further facilitate collaborative contracting and working, the intent of using contactor policies, processes and systems was actively pursued through the Project Coordination Procedure (PCP) including the use of Digital Performance Management for better decision making.
The ISO 44001 Collaborative business relationship management systems — Requirements and framework and the ecITB Project Collaboration Toolkit for the Oil and Gas Sector were also used as references, to support the collaborative contracting approach.
Project Benefits
The first version of the guide provided a complete end-to-end way of working collaboratively. This enabled people to be self-sufficient, establish and complete their own collaboration workshops, improve their joint ways of working and enhance collaborative working with minimal support. This started to validate the adoption, which was further monitored and verified against the project collaboration charters, performance management framework, based on surveys and project performance data.
Several benefits were delivered including:
- Complete collaboration toolkit, including collaboration guide aligned to the MPcp with supporting templates (+20)
- Executive sponsorship and Project Director (SPA) identified and alignment established
- Improved performance management through the co-creation of collaboration charters, alignment and validated joint objectives, interests and targets
- Reduction of duplication through agreed joint ways of working and IT systems e.g. Management of Change;, Risks and Opportunities, Scope definition, Performance Management and data integration – BIM
- Initiation of collaboration relationship maturity, behaviour assessment and development.
A two day workshop was held with colleagues from other projects to share and establish the next step with a focus on collaborative behaviours.
Project Details
- Client: BP – Global Projects Organisation
- Date: Jan 2018 to May 2019
- Sector: Energy
- Website: https://www.bp.com/
Project Services
- Collaboration Advice
- Workshop facilitation
- Collaboration training and development
- Co-creating collaboration processes and documentation
- Incorporating collaboration tools (Office 365)
Project Solutions
- Collaboration Guide
- Collaborative Contracting Teams (MS Teams)
- Supporting tools and templates
“The Collaboration Principles guide projects as they establish their ways of working and approach to managing relationships. Delivering against these principles provides a mindset and behaviours which change the way we work with those who interface with GPO.”