Cost Management

Winter 2020

pathadmin — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 15:57:39 +0000

Winter 2020

As you may know, Project Management PANORAMA is Pathfinder's industry focused newsletter. We present the "Capital Project World as seen by Pathfinder, LLC" with regard to "trending" or "controversial" industry related topics.

In this issue you will find the following articles, Simplifying In-Plant Project Cost Estimates and Who's Overseeing My Investment - Part 2.

Also in this issue you can find information about Pathfinder's 2020 CII Project Management Training Series schedule.

Below you will find a link to the Winter 2020 PANORAMA Newsletter. We hope you enjoy this issue and as always, if you have any comments or would like to voice your views on the industry, please contact us directly.

Let's continue to strive for safe, efficient and successful projects!

pathadmin Mon, 02/24/2020 - 10:57

Available downloads

Panorama Winter 2020

Winter 2016

pathadmin — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 15:57:26 +0000

Winter 2016

In this issue you will find the following articles, Maintaining Corporate Capital Expertise During Low Investment Periods and FEL Leadership - Who's the Best Fit?

Also in this issue you can find information about Pathfinder's 2017 CII Project Management Training Series schedule.

Below you will find a link to the Winter 2017 PANORAMA Newsletter. You can also visit Pathfinder's new website to sign up to access all archived Panoramas.

We hope you enjoy this issue and as always, if you have any comments or would like to voice your views on the industry, please contact us directly.

Let's continue to strive for safe, efficient and successful projects!

pathadmin Mon, 10/02/2017 - 11:57

Available downloads

Panorama Winter 2016

Pathfinder presenting at the CIM Convention in Vancouver in May.

pathadmin — Wed, 07 May 2014 15:28:03 +0000

Pathfinder presenting at the CIM Convention in Vancouver in May.

pathadmin Wed, 05/07/2014 - 11:28

Pathfinder is presenting “Cost Containment through Effective Project Management” at the 2014 CIM Convention. This session will be Tuesday May 13^th from 2:00 – 4:30 in the Construction to Production block. Below is the abstract, to register go to http://vancouver2014.cim.org/en/Register/Register-here.aspx

Costs Containment through Effective Project Management

Historically, the mining industry has been highly focused on cost containment associated with the production and operations of ongoing mining activities. Today, as opportunities abound, proper attention is also required to manage costs and delivery time on the significant investment associated with capital projects. However, the cost to capture these assets has increased dramatically. According to Bloomberg, mining companies will invest $244 billion on capital project expansion from now through 2015. The successful execution of these expansion projects is critical to the survival and profitability of the Owner/Operating companies involved. With the current decline in commodity prices and the significant increase in cost of production, companies are recognizing the importance of efficiently executing projects and eliminating unnecessary spending.

These challenges have put a strain on the capabilities and talents of the Owner company’s internal groups responsible for planning, executing and managing the capital project portfolio. To successfully accomplish this challenge, Owner organizations must continue to improve their capital project delivery and decision processes. The application of Project Management “Best Practices” is an integral aspect of this improvement initiative.

This paper/presentation will demonstrate many of the proven Project Management tools and techniques that, when applied appropriately, have driven the proper venture decisions and addressed the runaway cost issues plaguing the mining capital project execution environment.

AACE's Annual Meeting will feature a special focus on the oil & gas industry.

pathadmin — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 14:14:28 +0000

AACE's Annual Meeting will feature a special focus on the oil & gas industry.

pathadmin Fri, 04/11/2014 - 10:14

Pathfinder, LLC has been invited by the AACEI to design an Energy Industry Track for their 2014 Annual Conference scheduled for 15-18 June 2014 in New Orleans, LA. This track is specifically designed to address Cost Engineering issues that are impacting the Oil/Gas/Alternative Energy industry sector.

Be sure to register for any or all of the following exciting panel discussions at http://www.aacei.org/am/currentAM/

Attracting Project Control Resources - Monday, June 16, 2014 from 10:00am - 11:00am

The Energy Sector is as active as ever in North America as well as around the globe. Project planning and execution resources are in short supply and high demand. With this reality, how are owner, engineering, construction and consulting companies attracting and retaining cost engineering resources across the industry? How are companies currently finding resources and maintaining their interests within their organizations. Also, how do organizations plan to attract more staff over the next 3-5 years?

Contractor Support in Owner Front End Activities - Monday, June 16, 2014 from 11:15am - 12:15pm

As owners rely more heavily on contractor support for front end design and planning activities, contractors are being asked to play a more active role in the owner’s typical pre-award activities. In addition to the technical deliverables, Contractors also need to support the development of Owner baseline schedules and estimates. Has this been effective and if not, can it be? How are owners assuring that this execution approach results in the quality cost/schedule deliverables required by owner management?

Effective Use of Independent Reviews - Monday, June 16, 2014 - 2:00pm - 3:00pm

It has long been agreed that utilizing independent, 3rd party reviews can add a level of assurance that projects are well planned and cost/schedule expectations can be met. How are Owners utilizing this industry tested approach in today’s resource constrained project environment to assure high quality, predictable results? Various owner approaches will be discussed and what types of reviews are proving to be most effective.

Claims Avoidance Through Effective Cost Engineering - Monday June 16, 2014 from 3:45pm - 4:45pm

As our projects become larger, more complex and delivered with less experienced resources, the claims potential 2 – 3 years from now is very large. History indicates that when we get into highly active execution environments, claims activity picks up a short time after. With this historical track record in mind, what are the effective uses of cost engineering tools, processes and information to avoid claims and drive positive project performance in today’s marketplace?

Resource Loaded Schedules - Monday, June 16, 2014 from 5:00pm - 6:00pm

Many benchmark results indicate that to deliver a high quality owner cost estimate (+/- 10%) at project authorization, it is mandatory that the project team have a well-defined, resource loaded Critical Path Method (CPM) schedule. Most owners today have not maintained nor developed their internal capability to develop such schedules prior to the project authorization request. Why is it such a struggle to develop this industry best practices tool during Front End Engineering design phase? This panel will discuss approaches on how to ensure high quality resource loaded schedules are developed prior to project execution.

AACEI Houston-Gulf Coast Section Presentation

pathadmin — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 18:13:46 +0000

AACEI Houston-Gulf Coast Section Presentation

pathadmin Wed, 11/27/2013 - 13:13

Jim Blevins presented "Making the Transition from Downstream Projects to Upstream" at the AACEI New Orleans Chapter Dinner Meeting on November 19th.

https://twitter.com/james_arrow/status/402797170387976192/photo/1

Pathfinder presenting "The Owner's Role in Project Execution" at POWERGEN - November 13, 2013

cmcintyre — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 15:08:39 +0000

Pathfinder presenting "The Owner's Role in Project Execution" at POWERGEN - November 13, 2013

cmcintyre Wed, 11/13/2013 - 10:08

During the presentation today, Steve Cuneo will discuss the following...

In today’s active power industry project environment, we are driven to rely on our engineering and construction contractors more than ever. Our contractor community is ‘resource-stretched’ due to extensive capital project activity in the power market as well as the unprecedented growth in other process-related industries in North America. Owners today must provide clear guidance as well as appropriate levels of oversight and due diligence, to assure projects are delivered on time and within budget.

A number of innovative contracting methodologies can aid in this important and necessary owner oversight role. These include owner self-managed, contractor engineer/procure/construct, incentive contracts, and hybrids. Compensation methodologies are also a consideration such as lump sum, reimbursable cost, unit cost, etc. This paper will identify proven methods to ensure owner’s project success along with telltale signs that can indicate performance problems.

Proven project management techniques such as project execution planning, independent project reviews, cost/schedule risk assessments and contract strategy workshops will be discussed. The level of effort to implement these techniques, along with the proven benefits, will be considered. The session will allow the opportunity for participants to question panel members and raise real life project issues.

To receive a copy of this paper/presentation please email us.

Winter 2013

cmcintyre — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 05:00:00 +0000

Winter 2013

Dealing with Cost and Schedule Uncertainty and Trend vs. Change

cmcintyre Tue, 01/15/2013 - 00:00

Available downloads

Panorama Winter 2013

Spring 2010

cmcintyre — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Spring 2010

The Slow Road Back and Pitfalls of Unbalance Owner's Internal Cost Estimating

cmcintyre Thu, 04/15/2010 - 00:00

Fall 2009

cmcintyre — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:00:00 +0000

Fall 2009

Departmental Cost Cutting vs. Overall Capital Project Reductions and Amicable Relationships & Claims - Can they Co-exist?

cmcintyre Thu, 10/15/2009 - 00:00

Available downloads

Panorama Fall 2009

Winter 1995/1996

cmcintyre — Mon, 15 Jan 1996 05:00:00 +0000

Winter 1995/1996

Short Term Versus Long Term Balance Sheet Perspectives and Technology Stagnation - Just Casue or Owner Benchmarking Fall Out and What Will It Cost - Important Effective Use of "Life Cycle Costing"

cmcintyre Mon, 01/15/1996 - 00:00

Available downloads

Panorama Winter 1995-1996