FEATURE
DELIVERING SUCCESSFUL CABLE PROJECTS BY GREG OTTO INTERDEPENDENT PROJECT WORKSTREAMS
Delivery of successful submarine cable projects requires diligence across a multitude of skills as there are numerous sub projects within even the simplest of submarine projects. Aside from delivering the “System Supply Contract” which typically delivers beach manhole to beach manhole along with transmission gear, other critical portions of the project include: • Governance – Informing key stakeholders so they can make critical decisions; • Supply Contracts – going to market for all portions of system delivery and resources; • System Definition - defining end to end functional and non-functional requirements; • Land Acquisition – securing land rights for all onshore infrastructure and routes; • Onshore Construction – engineering and constructing outside plant and cable sites; • Permitting – obtaining permits and licenses for system construction and operations; • Commercial Agreements – obtaining customer and end user financial commitments; • Operational Readiness – Having contracts and skilled resources to operate post RFS; and • Terrestrial Interface – Constructing interface to terrestrial telecommunication services. As is further understood through deeper analysis, the above workstreams are highly interdependent and require an overarching project delivery methodology to be in place and referenced by project teams.
54
SUBMARINE TELECOMS MAGAZINE
Examples of interdependencies are: • Procurement process requires significant completion of the System Definition in order to properly and completely detail scope for potential suppliers. • Land acquisition is required to confirm System Definition and specifically route and shore end construction along with completing onshore permitting. • Operational readiness is needed to be in place once RFS is achieved if not prior so that the system can immediately be put into service and generate revenue and value for customers and stakeholders. • Onshore facilities and routes need to be in place prior to cable landing so that final splices and testing can immediately be completed to order timely repairs as necessary.
THE DELIVERY FRAMEWORK
While it would be ideal to close each issue prior to moving on to the next issue, this could result in projects taking twice as long and losing significant front-end value. To consolidate this schedule, a certain level of risk has to be carried and managed through the project. This is where the project delivery methodology establishes its role. It provides a framework under which the project operates and provides guidance and direction to the project team. At a minimum, the project delivery methodology should document the following six items: 1. Documenting critical workstreams and their critical interdependencies; 2. Defining criteria and methods to achieve acceptable levels of confidence for interdependencies; 3. Risk management plan using a model that identifies
