Rethinking Operational Readiness in Energy and Power Capital Programs

When it comes to energy and power projects, done doesn’t always mean ready.

Completing construction is always a cheers-worthy milestone, but the real win is when your project is equipped to run safely, reliably and efficiently from day one.  

Instead of stopping at project delivery, project teams needs to focus on operational readiness: making sure every detail, including data and documentation, lays the groundwork for smooth operations. 

The Hidden Gap Between Project Delivery and Readiness 

But even after construction wraps up, there’s often a hidden gap between delivery and true readiness. Key information can be lost or scattered in incompatible formats, making it hard for energy capital project owners to find the details they need to start up safely and on schedule.  

“My team of engineers and techs helps manage 1.4 million operating assets across the province in terms of operational readiness,” said Jade Simmonds, Supervising Engineer, Asset Information & Tools at ATCO. “That means on day one of operations, every asset must be ready to start its lifecycle and journey: What is it? Where is it? What supporting documents do we have?

"What are our plans for it? You won't notice if this process is working well, but you'll certainly suffer down the road with much more difficult and expensive problems later on, if it isn't working well!” 

"What are our plans for the asset? You won't notice if this process is working well, but you'll certainly suffer down the road with much more difficult and expensive problems later on, if it isn't working well!” 

When you’re transporting oil or gas, building wind or solar farms or nuclear power plants, or working on downstream projects like refineries and petrochemicals, the financial loss from project delays can be massive.

Worse, delays put long-term performance at risk, especially when essential operational data is treated as “just paperwork” rather than a critical, dynamic part of the project. 

Read it: The Complete Guide to Construction Management in Oil & Gas 

What does operational readiness really mean? 

Operational readiness in energy and power means closing the gap between a project’s delivery and day-one operations. Project teams need to start with a “lifecycle,” rather than a “handover,” mindset, so that the project is set up for long-term reliability.  

“One issue is the incentive model,” Simmonds says. “Say, for example, your project team is incentivized to go and install 200,000 smart devices, and the only incentive or KPI you measure is whether they are deployed. That doesn't help you operationally. Suppose we've deployed all the smart devices, but half of them aren't communicating. You have to have a measure within your project: Was the deployment successful, operational and ready to go?” 

"You have to have a measure within your project: Was the deployment successful, operational and ready to go?” 

Handover is still a roadblock for many companies. Project-to-operations handover is notorious for data loss, inconsistent information and missing context.

These hiccups delay startups and increase costs: Nobody wants a million-dollar asset sitting idle while teams hunt down GPS data, nameplate data, system hierarchies, warranties, commissioning information, electrical diagrams, 3D models, process flow diagrams, pressure ratings, calibration records ... or any of the hundreds of thousands of pieces of critical information energy and power programs need to function.