Services
Aligning People with Process to Create Value
Program Management/Owner Advisory Services
We utilize a holistic approach to program management, by incorporating time tested techniques for cost planning, schedule control and commercial management to deliver the certainty required. We have a range of management systems, some developed in-house, that provide the firm basis required while permitting the necessary transparency of data for decision and analysis functions. Our senior consultants initiate and develop the project basis, and use professional judgment for forecasting and strategy execution. Elements of the service include:
- Project Leadership Support – Helping Clients develop improved Control for a creative and people based approach
- Project Planning – Timely, effective planning and strategy development
- Design Management support – Helping clients obtain clear, complete documents for better control and risk allocation
- Safety and Quality Monitoring – Safe site management support for improved performance
- Cost Planning and Estimating – Accurate and inclusive capital and whole life costing from conceptual modelling to detailed forecasting, including BIM integration
- Risk Analysis – Identification, measurement and mitigation for increased confidence
- Schedule Management – Timely focus on critical activities to capture opportunities
- Cost and Change Management, Quantity Surveying – Prevention of scope creep, limit effect of change, accurate forecast prediction of project outturn
- Contract Administration and Procurement – Clear allocation of responsibility and expectations
- Systems Commissioning and Move-in planning – integrated with project execution
- Project Reporting – Focused, timely, readable and forward looking
Strategic Services
Effective investment programs result from integrating project teams with corporate governance and aligning targets with company objectives. Where development is not a central function of the organization, care needs to be taken to ensure that program leadership and reporting is initiated at the right level, and ongoing mainstream operations are not hindered by the program. Similarly, where the organization has developed a Project Management Office, and is on the path of seeking continuous improvement, efforts need to focus on the processes and integration methods adopted, to measure and enable ongoing achievements. Some applications of our consultancy services include:
- Governance and program GAP analysis
- Program Maturity assessment – ASPIRE™ Model
- Business Process design and initiation
- Asset Management and Portfolio Prioritization
- Portfolio Management Technology systems Design & Integration
- Team integration and Continuous Improvement processes
- Sustainability program integration
- Training programs
Example Application of Our Services
Investment Value and Prioritization
By understanding a client’s corporate, prioritized objectives for a project or program, QUESTANT is able to identify the key value indicators in potential solutions, and measure them to determine the best fit leading to optimum value. The system employs both qualitative and quantitative analysis, within 5 subsets to determine:
- How well the project/location candidates address business requirements
- The impact to performance if the candidate is not undertaken
- How well the project candidate performs against functionality thresholds
- The risks to success, and confidence in achieving a successful implementation, and
- Financial viability.
Examples of uses to date include
- identifying which projects offer maximum return and lowest risk to Debt and Equity lenders,
- how program funds should be prioritized to derive maximum value for expansion and maintenance of ongoing operations,
- Incremental impact a privately developed rail link will have on existing airport facility capital and O&M costs across a 50 year lease term
- Development of expansion and relocation plans for corporate leased and owned offices, to ensure market placement, asset value, O&M costs and investment strategies are optimal.
Team Culture, Systems and Responsibilities Alignment Project Readiness Workshops and Peer Reviews
A valuable service to help our clients start and execute large programs on the right footing is to ensure that project data and communications are fully integrated with the needs of the organization. QUESTANT would utilize the ASPIRE™ system to
Identify the gaps between current and best practice in methods and systems
Promote stakeholder understanding of potential benefits
Develop revised project processes
Implement integrated management systems for schedule, cost, risk and portfolio prioritization
Train team members and monitor start up
Feasibility Services
With a focus on identifying project worth from the outset, we provide the direction and technical expertise to help our clients confidently evaluate potential projects from a technical, commercial and business impact viewpoint. Our facilitation skills, and depth of knowledge in all aspects of portfolio and project evaluation ensures that objectives are matched with enterprise/agency targets, Alternates are efficiently benchmarked against established Critical Success Factors, the investment analysis accounts for all cost and operational requirements, Risks to success are identified and measured, and stakeholders have a clear vision of where the optimum value lies. We bring to bear the wide range of our professional, independent services, building a team with a passion to seek out the value, detail the analysis and communicate findings with clarity.
We excel at feasibility analysis because:
Our services span the entire asset lifecycle, from need identification through operations
We are completely independent of any design or contractor relationship, only providing services to Owners and investors
We have a mature whole life value analysis service that provides a holistic view of required inputs to achieve efficient operation of the end product
Our focus on risk, combined with value planning ensures that potential issues can be mitigated early, and project constructability is enhanced
Site Selection and Alternative Use Studies
Using data collection and evaluation techniques, QUESTANT will incorporate feasibility objectives into alternative schemes and assist in developing the value analysis for each, to arrive at a shortlist of possible paths forward, and provide a clear basis for detailed evaluation. If required, QUESTANT will subcontract any external engineering or appraisal consultant to ensure the review is complete, or can use existing team members as appropriate. This service ties into the value management and estimating services.
Due Diligence and Oversight
Preparation of investment analysis on behalf of lenders and stakeholders for acquisitions, mergers and public private partnerships, including Technical risk management, capital and whole life cost modeling, facility management and operations analysis. Where the Owner or Lender requires independent Monitoring, it is usual to initiate a project oversight function, to provide a review of project control procedures, processes and progress to monitor execution against the plan, thereby inuring a level of confidence in the operations of the team. This would include a review of the budget, cash-flow and execution plan; bidding and contract documents; progress status and performance; payment approvals and change order requests. This service can reap net cost benefits to the project, through ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ cost savings accrued through diligent and ethical procedures and willingness to analyze the project at low levels of detail.
Regional Cost Studies
Development is a global industry, and events and material shortages in one region will likely have an impact in another. It is not sufficient, therefore, to ignore global trends. In addition, local cost trend forecasts are notoriously biased, and rarely account for market escalation and client influences, usually relying on labor and material price escalation only. Using a range of metrics both local and international, QUESTANT has developed a proprietary ‘index basket’ method of testing the market and obtaining pricing levels and trends that are more realistic to improve decisions.
For more information on our services please contact us at simon@questantinc.com