Page 61 - Impiantistica Industriale - Novembre-Dicembre 2016

s both plant operators and EPCs em- • timely construction planning down to the work
bark on bigger and more complex package level.
projects, materials management has
become an increasingly challenging
process. The management of procu- Managing reference data
Aring materials is critical, as any mate- at one place
rial shortage will delay the project and put it at risk.
This can affect the maintenance of a consistent flow With an effective materials management system, all
of materials for production, thus affecting the ove- partners in the EPC project supply chain can manage
rall project and resulting in extended project sche- all reference data in one location. This enables sta-
dules and exceeded budgets. Inaccurate materials keholders to define the key technical material attribu-
information, such as incorrect bills of materials or tes for either bulk materials or itemised equipment,
cycle counts, shipping, and receiving errors, and ensuring information integrity. Similarly, this provides
surplus, can also disturb the overall project lifecycle a common foundation for defining all bulk materials,
and increase project costs. Having to deal with sub- which eliminates redundancy by creating and mana-
contractors and materials stakeholders who might ging attribute-driven bulk commodities and specifi-
operate different materials management systems in- cations at a corporate standard or enterprise level.
fluences the overall project supply chain as there is Materials standardisation in one location brings se-
an increased risk of data inconsistencies. veral clear benefits:
In order to remain competitive, leading contractors • up to 79% reduction on traditional paper-ba-
have identified materials management as a critical sed project piping specification costs;
work process that needs to be streamlined and in- • up to 70% reduction on manual 3D load file
tegrated for improved productivity. Some of the key costs;
industry challenges include: • up to 13% reduction on change and revision
• paper based document centric procurement; management.
• increased risk and project costs due to delays
caused by breakdowns in the materials mana-
gement process; Engineering and procurement
• lack in digitally integrating materials mana- integration
gement work-processes within the overall
project lifecycle. The integration of engineering and procurement
data makes it possible to access the most recent
Business benefits status of any material item that is used within the
project. At first, it improves information quality and
A digitally driven execution of materials manage- market effectiveness by providing the ability to turn
ment work processes has the capability to inte- dynamic engineering data into stable, but flexible
grate the entire materials and supply chain, from procurement data, which will match suppliers and
design to construction. vendors capabilities, together with company pro-
This way, project teams will have online access to curement best practices, and client requirements.
information during all project phases, from front- This ensures tight integration between engineering
end engineering through the complete supply chain and procurement, and ultimately improves mana-
to onsite management. This maximises communi- gement of change, therefore reducing risk for over,
cation and cooperation among all project materials under, wrong or inconsistent procurement.
stakeholders, also going beyond ICT boundaries
of a company’s IT ecosystem. This also drives to
increase procurement efficiency, saves costs, and Globally integrated supply
ensures digital integrity of shared information. Digi- chain management
tally executed materials management governs the
material quality, quantity, and delivery by providing: A digitally executed materials management system
• efficient corporate and project materials speci- also enables stakeholders to seamlessly integrate
fication management; interchanges with commodity suppliers, subcon-
• effective engineering driven integration among tractors, manufacturers, fabricators, and freight
all stakeholders on both client and subcon- forwarders. Another substantial benefit is how
tractor side; the effective management of materials milestones
• appropriate definition of procurement packa- adds value by providing timely information and fle-
ges and engineering requisitions - best suited xible event tracking, increasing project savings.
to the project and client requirements; Furthermore, digital execution maximizes sharing
• full materials tracking through goods supply, and reuse of available data, so that manual errors
delivery, and installation; and information inaccuracy are eliminated by cen-
• accurate scheduling and forecasting of mate- tralising storage of all data involved in the inquiry
rials availability on SITE; process, supplier information, attached documen-

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