SPE 98506

The Operational Excellence Roadmap: A Tool for Implementing Operational

Excellence in Major Capital Projects
S. Dehmer, Chevron Intl. E&P
Copyright 2006. Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE International Conference on Health,
Safety, and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production held in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.,
24 April 2006.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of
information contained in a proposal submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect any
position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at
SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper
for commercial purposes without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is
prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300
words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous
acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O.
Box 833836, Richardson, Texas 75083-3836 U.S.A., fax +1.972.952.9435.

Abstract
To achieve world-class performance, major capital projects
must successfully implement Operational Excellence (OE): the
systematic management of safety, health, environment,
reliability, and efficiency. When compared to operations,
implementation of OE in capital projects provides unique
challenges because it will vary depending upon the project
phase (e.g., design, construction, etc.). A special tool, the OE
Roadmap, was developed to assist projects in addressing these
implementation challenges.
Introduction
Chevron developed and implemented a tool designed
specifically to address implementing Operational Excellence
(OE) in major capital projects. The tool, known as the OE
Roadmap for Projects (Roadmap), is a software application.
The design of the Roadmap was leveraged off of existing tools
and lessons learned from various Chevron International
Exploration and Production business units such as
Nigeria/Mid-Africa. The Roadmap is accessible from the
Chevron intranet and has a web-based user interface supported
by a centralized database.
Project personnel that use the Roadmap are able to perform
various functions such as:
Customize and plan OE activities depending on their
project phase
Assign OE activities to other project team members
Document OE decisions and action items
Search the database for similar projects or related
topics
Access OE examples from other projects and also
tools and references to assist them in performing OE
activities

Use of the Roadmap by projects throughout Chevron will

provide a number of benefits such as:
No reinventing the wheel for OE activities
Establishes common OE terminology among projects
Facilitates transition of personnel among projects
globally
The Roadmap software application was finalized in 2005
and is currently being deployed throughout Chevron.
Background
In 2001, Chevron Corporation launched its original OE
framework the systematic management of safety, health,
environment, reliability, and efficiency to achieve world-class
performance. The OE Management System (OEMS) consists
of three parts: Leadership Accountability, Management
System process, and OE Expectations. All Chevron operating
companies, such as Chevron International Exploration and
Production (CIEP) were responsible for implementing OE
through their operations. CIEP initiated a major effort, entitled
Project Atlas, to institutionalize and operationalize OE in
the business units.
CIEP recognized that major capital projects presented a
unique challenge for the implementation of OE because of the
varying levels of application. Capital projects in Chevron
follow the Chevron Project Development and Execution
Process (CPDEP). CPDEP consists of five distinct project
phases:
Phase 1 Identify and assess opportunities
Phase 2 Generate and select alternative(s)
Phase 3 Develop preferred alternative(s)
Phase 4 Execute
Phase 5 Operate and evaluate
As a project progresses from Phase 1 through Phase 5, the
application of the OE Expectations will vary. For example in
Phase 1, only a limited number of the OE Expectations would
apply to a project. However in Phase 4, all of the OE
Expectations would apply to a project. To complicate matters,
a project has to consider how to apply OE to the project itself
and also how to plan to apply OE to the project once it
commences operations.
The Focus Item Emergency Management Plan is a good
example of how a Focus Items requires different applications
in different project phases. In Phase 1 of a project, an
Emergency Management Plan is not needed since the project

www.petroman.ir

SPE 98506

is only in the conceptual stages. In Phase 3, a project design

team working in a separate location will need an Emergency
Design Plan. During Phase 4 construction, a comprehensive
Emergency Management Plan is needed especially if there is a
large construction work force. And in Phase 5 operations, an
Emergency Management Plan for the new facility must be
integrated with existing facilities plans.

Roadmap Development
In 2003, CIEP embarked on an effort to more effectively
implement OE in its capital projects. The primary focus of this
effort was the development of a software application that
could be used by all projects in planning and organizing their
approach to OE.
CIEP teamed with the Chevron technical services company
named Project Resources Company (PRC) to develop the OE
Roadmap. PRC provides project management services and is
involved in nearly every Chevron major capital project.
Additionally, the development team consisted of
representatives from CIEP capital projects and other Chevron
technical services companies, including information
technology (IT).
The team first convened in August 2003 but did not
receive full endorsement to proceed until January 2004. The
Roadmap was successfully completed and launched in April
2005. Total IT costs, including developers, architects, and
project manager were $315,000. The team leveraged
extensively off of the previous experience and tools developed
by other business units such as Nigeria/Mid-Africa.
As part of the software development project, the team
implemented numerous best practices including extensive
stakeholder engagement, beta testing in the business units, and
pilot testing with select users.

the list of appropriate Focus Items in the Roadmap, and

determine which are applicable, and who is responsible for the
Focus Item. On an ongoing basis, project team members can
update the status of the progress on their Focus Items.
The Roadmap also provides the following functions:
Reports: A variety of canned reports can be
produced from several drop-down lists ranging from
high-level summary reports to action item reports.
Also, any number of ad hoc reports can be designed
by a user based on the needs of a project.
Search: Through the use of drop-down lists and
check boxes, a user can search for other projects,
deliverable examples, tools, Focus Items, project
documents, etc. A user can even search on project
descriptions to find a similar project. For example,
by entering LNG, a user can find other LNG
projects.
Action Items and Decisions: Projects can capture,
assign, track, and prioritize action items associated
with Focus Items and separately capture project
decisions around Focus Items.
Security: All users of the Roadmap have limited
access throughout the Roadmap. Projects can
provide full or partial access to designated project
team members.
Tools, Examples, and Project Documents: A project
can store project-related documents in the Roadmap
database. More importantly, every Focus Item has
associated tools and examples (from a previously
completed project) that anyone can view and access
through the database.
Resources: Every Focus Item has an identified
subject matter expert and contact information so that
a project can find the right resource when they need
it. Additionally, all OE processes, their related
requirements, and environmental performance
standards are accessible via the Roadmap.

Roadmap Functionality

Roadmap Deployment

A user of the Roadmap will access it through a number of

points within the Chevron intranet. The homepage of the
Roadmap provides primary navigation tabs so a user can
easily find their way around and also provides a Help function
if assistance is needed (Figure 1). The homepage is also used
to communicate information to all project personnel. For
example, the approval of a new environmental performance
standard can be communicated through the Whats New
section on the homepage.

Deployment of the Roadmap is occurring through a number of

efforts. Chevrons project management company, PRC, has
mandated its use on all capital projects that it manages. PRC
has also been hosting numerous training programs for the
Roadmap. In addition, PRC provides OE project planning
services to assist projects in using the Roadmap for planning.

To assist major capital project teams in organizing their

OE efforts, the Roadmap development team identified 46
Focus Items. Focus Items are OE activities and/or deliverables
that need to be addressed by a major capital project (e.g.,
Community Awareness and Outreach Plan, and Contractor
Safety Management Plan). The Roadmap organizes the
appropriate Focus Items to be considered in each phase of the
project (See Figure 2). At the beginning of each phase, the
project team will convene in an OE planning session, review

CIEP has developed the Facilities Design and Construction

process which embeds the Roadmap as a primary tool for
implementing the process. The process specifies the
circumstances under which use of the Roadmap is required,
including how projects that are already in progress should
incorporate the Roadmap.
Roadmap Sustainability
A key factor to the success of any software application is
sustainability. A number of steps were taken to ensure
sustainability of the Roadmap.

www.petroman.ir

SPE 98506

First, PRC agreed to the ownership of the Roadmap and to

continue to fund on-going maintenance and improvements.
PRC established a steering committee consisting of operating
company representatives to support this ownership. A charter
was established for this committee to provide roles and
responsibilities with respect to software upgrades, software
maintenance, Roadmap content, etc. Defined roles included
those of the Roadmap Administrators and the IT support.
Second, CIEP embedded the Roadmap into the Facility
Design and Construction process of its OE management
system. Two key components of this process, Measurement &
Verification and Continual Improvement, are focused on
sustainability.
And third, subject matter experts throughout Chevron were
assigned specific Roadmap Focus Items for which they were
responsible. These experts were responsible for responding to
any questions on their Focus Items. In addition, they perform
periodic reviews, editing, updating, and developing of the
tools and examples in the database that support the Focus
Item. This enables the database of tools and examples to stay
current and provide maximum value to Roadmap users.
Roadmap Benefits
Though the Roadmap is still being deployed throughout
Chevron, the benefits are universally agreed upon and slowly
becoming visible as it becomes the tool of choice for OE in
capital projects.

The Roadmap facilitates the consistent implementation of

OE across projects. This has numerous implications. Personnel
transitions among projects are much easier because
transitioning personnel are familiar with one approach to
projects the Roadmap and they have a consistent system
for documenting project decisions that allows personnel to
more quickly come up to speed on project activities. This
consistent approach also allows for more consistent staffing of
projects. In a resource constrained environment, every
resource needs to be appropriately employed.
A resource-constrained environment also means that
rework needs to be eliminated. Since every project must
implement OE, having the Roadmap prevents every project
from reinventing the wheel. Projects can avoid duplication
of effort, but at the same time customize the Roadmap to meet
the specifics of their project.
The consistent approach to projects helps define
competencies for OE project personnel. This assists in proper
matching of skill sets with project needs, and also facilitates
the development of OE training courses for project personnel.
Contractors are also a major benefactor of the Roadmap
and its consistent approach to projects because many
contractors work or have worked on Chevron projects and
learned to expect different requirements from different
projects. With the Roadmap, the contractors will now be able
to anticipate Chevron expectations and supply resources and
services accordingly.
Conclusions

One of the obvious but critical benefits of the Roadmap is

the creation and use of common OE terminology. Historically,
the use of safety or environmental terminology varied from
project-to-project and depended upon the project personnel
involved. This impeded best practice sharing since people
often did not understand what the other projects were
discussing. The use of common terminology organized around
Focus Items facilitates best practice sharing as does the
Roadmap database that stores best practices for each Focus
Item. Consistent terminology also facilitates the providing of
services by subject matter experts. An expert will know
exactly what a project is looking for when he/she receives a
request for services.

Significant effort is needed to properly develop and sustain

software tools that can be used company-wide to assist in
implementation of programs such as OE. However, the
benefits far outweigh the efforts by driving consistency
throughout the organization and reducing redundancy that
develops when business units each independently implement
corporate programs.

www.petroman.ir

SPE 98506

Figure 1: The Roadmap Front Page

Figure 2: Roadmaps Focus Items by Phases

www.petroman.ir