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SOFTWAREreview A Digital Strategy How does Applications 9 from IFS help to counter the 'Carillion Effect'? IFS Applications 9 - individualised Dashboards One of the most striking facts about the Carillion disaster was the inability to turn the ship around when all the sirens were sounding and it was evident to most that it was heading for the rocks. The signs were there aplenty, with warnings that cashflows were tight and getting tighter, contractors were not being paid and projects were being put on hold or delayed. But too much was already committed, and it would have been a brave man who stood up and attempted to throw an anchor over the side. But enough of the tortured metaphors. It must be assumed that the lack of a clear statement of accounts allowed the board of Carillion and their accountants to persuade investors and the banks that the problems that they had were of a temporary nature, and the volume of business that they had in hand was sufficient to see them pull through. We must also assume there was insufficient flexibility in their system to allow them to change direction. There will be many other companies taking note of what Carillion is going through at the moment, and the carnage it is wreaking amongst its subcontractors - and the industry itself. These companies will, hopefully, be analysing their own situations, and assessing whether they have the systems and resources to weather the changes they will be forced to make, and to prevent them being the next domino in line after Carillion. CAPITALISING ON CHANGE It is evident that, besides having management solutions in place that provide comprehensive and up-to-theminute statements of an organisation's financial health, such a solution must be capable of reacting to change and to minimise risk - in fact, to be in a position to take advantage of it. Helping companies adopt just such an agile business approach is IFS, who have developed enterprise-wide solutions that are designed to work the way people want to work, and which can be configured to a company's specific requirements with a minimum of customisation, and with sufficient inherent flexibility to allow users to finetune the applications to their own needs. Their solutions are designed to let users capitalise on change, and to move quickly, act globally and take advantage of the latest technology. APPLICATIONS 9 You can't have the above though without running an integrated business model that provides access to every scrap of information available from a project, or within an organisation, throughout its lifetime - from concept and planning to design and construction and forward into projected costs for running and maintaining a project for many years. The terminology that describes this process is called the Digital Asset Lifecycle, of which the mandated BIM strategy run by the Government is just one part. Applications 9 from IFS provides just such a framework, covering entire projects within one integrated application. It includes, for instance, modules that cover bidding and estimating, risk management, cost and progress control, equipment hire and rental, finance and project accounting and document management - and if your organisation manufactures off-site, you can add manufacturing and fabrication to the list. The underlying imperative that links all modules within Applications 9 is, of course, cost control, which allows monthly project cost reviews to be managed more effectively. Where most organisations talk about Capex and Opex, IFS are amongst the trendsetters in the industry who work on a TOTEX basis, where both Capex and Opex data can be managed using just one integrated set of numbers, with obvious benefits from using qualified information directly linked to its source. STRENGTH IN ALL AREAS You can't really offer a comprehensive solution if you have had to compromise in any particular area. IFS have ensured, therefore, that each of the modules within Applications 9 provide industryleading solutions - strong project management, progress control and risk management solutions, for instance, for construction projects, and effective maintenance and facilities management for the management of long-term assets. To reinforce this inclusive set of tools, if required, IFS allows the incorporation of information from non- IFS business applications. Contract management is designed to handle complex contracts, and those where variations and applications for payment are the norm, and to deal with complex subcontracting activity. Risk management is a feature of the whole project, and not just a process that evaluates the bidding process, enabling 26 January/February 2018
SOFTWAREreview risks to be evaluated and corrections implemented at any stage. Asset and service management extends beyond the management of clients assets, and allows organisations to manage their own internal assets and equipment. This is indicative of a management solution that extends beyond the requirements of individual project and asset management, allowing companies to amortise operational costs alongside administrative, legal, accommodation and even - as we have discovered to be lacking with Carillion - pension pots. Document management and supply chain support include the important elements of revision level management, document deliverables and approved workflows, and for the latter, efficient procurement, manufacturing and inventory control. ENGINEERING COMPONENTS A common asset information registry provides the tools to manage a complete project equipment and asset component list, allowing the data to be used at all stages of an asset's life, in accordance with the requirements of an organisation's BIM strategy. THE CARILLION EFFECT It is difficult when talking about complete Enterprise Management to avoid referring back to the 'Carillion Effect', which is going to colour all such implementations in the future. It is important, then, to adopt a solution that gives an organisation the ability to recognise and counter the issues that bedevilled that company. This means that individual project plans are not isolated from the main business system and are able, like IFS Applications 9, to work with leading tools such as Primavera and Microsoft Projects. To be effective, project details need to be accurate and reliable, like the Estimating module within IFS Applications which, aligned to the work breakdown structure, is able to provide accurate estimations at any stage - essential for establishing project costs and payment liabilities. Changes within a project are a major challenge, hence the inclusion in Applications 9 of many features that address change; document management, project baselining, project budgeting, forecasting revision, contract change management, audit trails and approval workflow. Managing change effectively helps improve project profitability. Being able to clearly identify areas subject to change and manage them within a projected workflow ensures a company can manage projects properly within an overall business plan. With the dramatic increase in companies working together on projects as joint ventures, with sub-contracting and outsourcing becoming more prevalent, companies are finding it increasing difficult to keep control of their many ventures. Recognising this, the subcontract management module of IFS Applications 9 allows complex subcontracts to be managed within the overall project management solution. SITE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT The latest technology is used to provide instant feedback to site and asset operations, using both web and mobile solutions, organising subcontract work, and managing work orders. IFS LOBBY Whatever your role within an organisation, you need information to be delivered quickly, simply and to be relevant. IFS allows companies to configure individual Lobby pages (dashboards) that reflect the role of each manager. This centralises information from multiple sources, screens and data services and presents it in an easily digested form on individual screens. These are the main portals that enable users to drill down through the Enterprise Information repository to find and select exactly what they need. Lobby pages are flexible enough for users to integrate preconfigured data streams with tailored content, enabling them to increase the visibility of key data, and to incorporate it within supplementary tailored output. BEATING THE CARILLION EFFECT Will the implementation of software like Applications 9 prevent companies like Carillion from overreaching? I can't answer that. It will never prevent CEOs making unilateral decisions to expand portfolios without assessing the impact on their organisations, and to attempt to obfuscate deteriorating balance sheets with expanding order books, but it will provide organisations with accurate information about current activity, future liabilities and the financial impact of projects and their contribution to a company's overall health. www.ifs.com January/February 2018 27
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