25th Meeting of the Industry Benchmarking Consortium (IBC)
IPA is set to host the 25th gathering of the Industry Benchmarking Consortium (IBC), an independent forum where companies have chosen to continue a tradition of pursuing excellence in capital project effectiveness.
IPA facilitated the first two IBC meetings for the four companies that comprised the consortium—Shell, Chevron, DuPont, and Eastman—in 1992. Since then, IBC member companies have convened annually to find out how their most recent IPA capital project benchmarks measure up against the project performance of their industry peers.
Another reason companies attend IBC conferences is to be among the first to learn about IPA’s latest capital projects research. Companies have come to rely on IPA research findings, many derived from a proprietary database of more than 17,000 projects, to assist them in reducing the cost and improving the effectiveness of their capital portfolio(s).
At this year’s conference, March 23-26, 2015, in Leesburg, Virginia, IPA President and CEO Ed Merrow will unveil a new approach for how the industry can capture more value from the complex flow of project information.
Effective Contracting for Effective Projects
This is the title of a new study Merrow will present during the second full day of the conference. The study looks at what project contracting approaches are most effective in the current industry environment given owner capabilities and project characteristics such as location, type, and size.
Providing project teams with basic tools to help them more accurately forecast the duration of Front-End Loading (FEL) early in the project lifecycle is the topic of another new research study at the IBC. IPA Senior Project Analyst Chris Mullaly, the study’s lead investigator, will explain the effect of inherent project characteristics as well as project practices on project development durations.
Getting Better Performance from Engineering Value Centers (EVCs)
Also at the conference, Subscription Services Director Dean Findley will lead a new research study discussion on the performance of engineering value centers (EVCs) and what owner practices matter in getting better project performance from EVCs. At a separate session, Findley will discuss how IBC member companies can keep up to date on industry research of use to project professionals on the business and project sides of project organizations.
Site-Based Capital Project Systems
Site-based systems is the topic du jour at IBC on the final day of the conference. IPA Plant-Based Systems Manager Phyllis Kulkarni will preside over the site-based projects benchmarking comparisons session. IPA Associate Analyst Karine Cung will present a research study that explores the relationship between perceptions and the morale of project personnel at a given site and the site’s practices and performance. Separate presentations will review ways to improve site-based project outcomes.
Since 1992, more than 110 different companies have participated in the annual IBC gatherings held throughout the United States, with the conference being held in Northern Virginia for the last several years. The Upstream IBC (UIBC) was spun off from the IBC in 1995 to respond to project issues specific to the exploration and production (E&P) industry.
For more information about the IBC and annual conference, visit IPA’s Consortia Membership page.