Navigating Greenfield Projects with Rick Pruden and Ron Schiedler
Two of the main contributing factors driving the financial success of greenfield projects are budgeting and schedule. On the latest episode of the Beyond the Concept podcast, Rick Pruden, Strategic Solutions Specialist at Concept Systems, and Ron Schiedler, Principal Engineer at Concept Systems, spoke to Beyond the Concept’s Tyler Kern about mitigating these risk factors from a control standpoint.
Pruden said to mitigate risks; the best starting point is to follow real-world proven experience processes. “You need something that promotes open communication with all the parties involved. You need something to provide an up-to-date understanding of each other’s expectations and responsibilities throughout the project.”
Concept systems utilize a project methodology platform for every size project they handle. “The process we use starts at the initial stage of proposal development, and it’s followed via multiple steps throughout the final acceptance,” Pruden said.
Schiedler said before selecting the OEMs for greenfield projects, choose a control system. Bringing the right system integrator on board is catamount to success. “This way, they start out knowing how to proceed once they get into the designs, the hardware selection and communication between other OEMs and create that conformity.”
The earlier, the better is the secret to success when involving a system’s integrator in a greenfield project. “This is one of the most overlooked pieces of a large greenfield project,” Pruden said. “And the answer is from the beginning. If you don’t involve an integrator in the initial equipment design phase, you’re often left with these islands of automation that lead to redundant equipment and ambiguity of responsibility; you don’t have that control continuity that you’re looking for.” And when selecting a control systems standard, people should look for local support, availability of spare parts, ease of programming and integration, and a system that provides flexibility.
