Performance Improvement

Adaptive Performance Improvement in the Energy Sector

The world is undergoing rapid transformation. Particularly with the ongoing Energy Transition, where there is a concerted effort to decarbonize the energy sector. It is abundantly clear that whether we achieve this goal by 2030, 2035, or 2040, the actions necessary for success in a carbon-neutral world are becoming increasingly urgent. These actions necessitate immediate initiation. For years, utilities have operated within a relatively stable environment. Now they face the challenge of adapting to the expectation of profound and continuous change, year after year, for the next decade or more. New regulatory models, heightened customer expectations, and elevated employee expectations are converging. This convergence is inevitably steering the industry away from traditional practices.  

Acquaint yourself with our Performance Improvement service with this short (3 minute) introductory video.

Resilience, Agility and Adaptiveness: Key Principles to Integrate From Board to Field

Typically, businesses are inherently driven to consistently enhance their performance. However, this objective may not always be given sufficient prominence in board meetings. All companies grapple with the overarching goal of achieving a carbon-neutral output, presenting both a threat and an opportunity. The distinction lies in how strategic imperatives are translated into cohesive plans and projects throughout the organization. Many companies find the need to reposition their strategies and processes to transform challenges into opportunities. They define and implement supporting Performance Improvement initiatives accordingly. Common challenges that frequently arise include: 

  • Siloed representation on the executive board
  • Processes that don’t integrate well across teams
  • Data and tools that have potential to truly allow companies to “see the things that they should see”
  • A need to accelerate responsiveness and improve agility

Bespoke OHROS Consulting Group Performance Improvement Services

Companies may undertake Performance Improvement initiatives with the goal of achieving:

  • Qualitative improvements,
  • Quantitative bottom-line improvements, and/or
  • Stronger alignment with overall longer term objectives such as triple-net-zero; zero CO2 emissions, zero waste, and zero hydrocarbons feedstock.

With over 30 years of expertise, OHROS Consulting Group specializes in crafting customized Performance Improvement solutions across diverse functional areas and organizational levels. We specialize in individual departmental interventions focused on enhancing performance significantly. These interventions involve cost reduction, increased efficiency, and streamlining work processes to reduce overall business costs. While these department-level improvements are valuable, we also recognize the need for a more comprehensive approach. For those who believe time constraints preclude an individual department “piecemeal” strategy, we offer the option of implementing a large-scale transformation program. This delivers a substantially greater impact across the entire organization. 

Example Offerings in Service

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Large Program Management and Transformational Projects

Utilities are under growing cost and staff reduction pressures, and yet the need for large scale change initiatives is expanding. External assistance / program management for large scale projects such as AMI and Energy Efficiency programs has been common for years now. But new areas such as Electric Vehicles, Aerial Inspection and Risk Management, Grid Mod, System Resilience / Storm Hardening, etc. are emerging with similar support needs.

  • We identify best practices models for each such area from our global learning consortia, including leading process designs, org structures, staffing and skills needs, budget requirements, and business cases to justify program investments.
  • We provide highly skilled program management talent to supplement your resources, and bring to you team the delivery models, data, tools and analytics, and insights into industry best practices and technology solutions available.
  • Our proprietary tools/models and can run critical analyses for timely and effective decision making. For example, for EV Penetration Readiness, we bring powerful diagnostic models to determine when specific feeders and substations will be overloaded. We can then identify new capacity requirements (new feeders, substation expansions / upgrades), timing for land purchases, support in designing regulatory communications / presentations, etc.
  • External project management time can be capitalized as a component of the project.

Custom Benchmarking Studies

  • A North American leader in the design and manufacturing of electric and electronic products, systems, and services engaged OHROS Consulting Group to facilitate a Voice of the Customer (VOC) study of targeted electric transmission organizations, focusing on their needs and expectations of high voltage vacuum circuit breakers. OHROS Consulting Group attained participation of 20 leading transmission organizations including a quantitative data survey and interviews. Transcripts of all interviews were shared with the client along with the final report compiling and summarizing survey results and insights. Ultimately, this provided the client with valuable insights for their product development efforts.

 

  • Another example is a recent survey we designed and conducted around the Energy Transition, looking at topics such as decarbonization goals, managing an orderly transition out of coal, managing assets to prevent failure prior to expected end of life, and managing workforce issues around known shutdowns (i.e. avoiding demoralization and safety issues).

Reliability Improvement

  • Assessing and providing action plans to achieve stepped improvement in reliability in a cost-effective and sustainable manner to meet the strategic imperative.
  • Identify specific improvement initiatives and strategies based on analyses of reliability and thorough reviews of service interruption mitigation and elimination/service restoration processes and practices.

Capital Efficiency

Which includes evaluating bids and awarding contracts that promote competitive prices and high levels of service from among a select group of preferred suppliers, and delivering/executing projects on time, and within pre-established budgets/prescribed quality requirements.

O&M Cost Management

Ensuring financial sustainability of our clients’ long-term operation of the asset base, improving productivity/efficiency of work practices without negatively affecting service level performance. Typical areas of focus include Work Planning and Execution, Inspection and Maintenance activities, Organizational Effectiveness and Technology Applications.

Best Practices Identification and Implementation

Develop recommendations around established best practices and emerging technologies that will improve performance across the organization.

Project and Portfolio Management

Assess maturity and design/implement practices that assure the realization of capital investment program across 10 predefined performance domains, in a linear connection with the client’s strategic imperative.

Work Planning and Execution

Assist our clients in gaining organizational alignment around the performance of work, thus maximizing worker productivity (e.g., every day fully planned, crews optimized for the work as opposed to work being optimized for the crews, vehicles are stocked with tools and materials appropriate for the work to be performed, jobs pre-staged for each day, and vacations, time-off and training appropriately accounted for).

Zero-Based Staffing

Establish targeted staffing levels based on projected workload and key assumptions regarding aging workforce and required skills/competencies to meet future system requirements.