AMEC is one of the world’s leading engineering, project management and consultancy companies. AMEC designs, delivers and maintains strategic assets for its customers, offering services which extend from environmental and front end engineering design before the start of a project to decommissioning at the end of an asset’s life.
Challenge
AMEC Environment & Infrastructure, Inc., a key division within AMEC, is working with a government contractor to provide design and construction services as part of a $1B program. Part of the requirement for this contract, requires AMEC to have a fully complaint Earned Value Management System (EVMS).
Specifically, their RFP identified requirements to address:
- Contract Funds Status Report (CFSR) compliant with DI-MGMT-81468, SDRL E063.
- Contract Performance Report (CPR), Formats 1 through 5 compliant with DI-MGMT-81466A or B, SDRL E031.
- Cost Data Summary Report (CDSR) compliant with DI-FNCL-81565B, SDRL E064.
AMEC requested that Ten Six assist in the creation and preparation of a winning RFP response to its client. These activities focused specifically on supporting AMEC in responding to the EVM mandate within their RFP. In addition, throughout the proposal writing process, Ten Six also provided insight and guidance to maintaining contract compliance.
Ten Six Approach
The Ten Six team’s proposal writing process steps included the following high level activities:
- Review RFP requirements.
- Review existing artifacts.
- Create awareness of EVM by presenting ANSI-748 EVM Overview to Proposal/Senior Management.
- Initial Assessment of AMEC people, processes and tools compliance/gaps vs ANSI-748 Guidelines.
- Develop comprehensive EVM compliant implementation/certification schedule.
- Develop proposal write-up.
- Coordinate deliverables with Proposal/Executive Management.
As part of this process, AMEC gained an understanding of the comprehensive requirements for EVMS. As an example, this included awareness of what’s involved in an EVM audit/interview single thread data trace. This example helped AMEC to understand how integrated the components of their revenue stream needed to be.
Results
A high quality RFP response was delivered which included how AMEC would implement a compliant EVMS. In addition, the EVMS response included further steps which were identified to help support AMEC’s implementation. These included:
1. A more complete EVM gap analysis was needed to thoroughly assess people, processes and tools readiness.
- This included a 2-week process with Ten Six personnel that encompassed a comprehensive review of all processes, program artifacts, tools being used and people preparedness.
- This included interviews with key personnel e.g. Sr. Executive Management, Program Management, Subcontract Management, Accounting/Cost Accounting and Program Controls functions.
- The output of this activity was a comprehensive roadmap which identified areas that needed to be addressed to implement an integrated EVM system.
2. EVM training classes were needed to better familiarize Program Management and Program Controls personnel with the comprehensive requirements of implementing an integrated EVM system.
- These are structured into Program Management overview and more detailed Program Controls levels classes.
- These can be delivered either on-site or in a WebEx environment.
3. A requirements definition was needed to define any cost & schedule tools needed to integrate cost, schedule and actual cost accumulation systems.
- Classes were conducted to facilitate the implementation of the tools identified.
4. EV Processes needed to be written that specifically address the ANSI-748 EVM Guideline process groupings that will reference the AMEC implementing processes (DCMA requirement):
- Organization
- Planning and Budgeting
- Accounting
- Analysis
- Revisions
- Plus a process needed to be developed that addressed Material & Subcontracting.
- For each of these a process flowchart must be developed that shows not just what’s being done but with functional swim lanes to show who has responsibility.
5. An Earned Value Management System Description (EVMSD) needed to be written to provide an executive summary of all the items in section 4 above.