Front-End Loading (FEL) of a project can be described as the process by which a company (and project team) translates its marketing and technological opportunities into capital projects. In other words, during the FEL phase, the questions of Why, What, When, How, Where and Who are answered.
The goal of the total FEL phase is to secure a detailed definition of a project’s scope needed to satisfy the business objectives for the capital investment. By providing a detailed project definition that can be communicated and agreed upon by all project participants prior to authorization, the FEL phase aims to reduce the number of changes in later project stages. Thus, the project outcomes should be more predictable.
The FEL phase is defined as the period from when a business opportunity is identified and to the point at which a project capitalizing on the business opportunity is authorized. It consists of three distinct stages, FEL 1, FEL 2, and FEL 3, each of which has different deliverables.
IPA can assess projects at every stage of the project life cycle, from the beginning to final delivery and into operation. The types of projects we evalute range from complex multi-billion dollar megaprojects using new technology and other high-risk projects to smaller projects using off-the-shelf technology.
For each phase, we can perform Overall Assessments and Specialized Analyses and provide Project Planning Assistance. The particular products and services for each stage of the project life cycle are shown below:
Team Functionality Assessment
Early Cost Benchmarking
Detailed Cost Analysis
New Technology Planning Workshop
FEL Workshop
For upstream projects, please visit E&P Services.