Road Show to share company and industry metrics to IBC members that could not attend the main IBC conference
The Industry Benchmarking Consortium (IBC) provides an independent forum for each participating company to view its performance against other companies' performance. The consortium highlights Best Practices used and reinforces their use to improve capital effectiveness. During the consortium meetings, attendees learn ways to improve specific elements of capital project execution through presentations and face-to-face discussions.
All of those who have attended the IBC meetings agree that it is an extraordinary forum for several reasons. First, the companies agree to be explicitly compared (by name) on the key metrics of project system performance such as cost control, schedule, Front-End Loading (FEL), and many others. This comparison enables each company to see where it is situated in relation to its peers. Second, the level of sharing by these companies about their practices is pointed and detailed.
The IBC, which is sponsored by IPA as an independent third party, is governed by a Code of Conduct and carefully adheres to its published agenda. Therefore, the IBC easily passes muster on antitrust. The IBC Charter requires adherence to the Code of Conduct, and has been agreed to and strictly followed by all IBC members.
The IBC agenda is developed with the guidance and input of the IBC Steering Committee. The centerpiece of each consortium is the sharing of outcomes and practices of the participating project systems. IBC has two metrics sessions. The first is a plenary session during which industry trends and overall metrics are highlighted. We then break out into smaller groups by industry segment to discuss metrics in more detail. Each group sees the metrics for all IBC companies. Additional metrics for the specific industry sectors are presented in each group.
Industry sectors currently highlighted are Small Projects; Petroleum Products; Pipelines; Commodities and Specialty Chemicals; Mining, Minerals, and Metals; and Pharmaceuticals and Biotech. These sessions are held in smaller groups to allow for more intense metrics discussions and to present practices that are more specific to a given industry segment.
IPA currently hosts an annual meeting for the IBC, which includes Plant-Based Projects (turnarounds and small projects), and a separate annual meeting for the Upstream IBC (UIBC). In addition, IPA hosts conferences for subcommittees of the IBCs, including the Cost Engineering Committee (CEC) and the Upstream Cost Engineering Committee (UCEC).