How did you do it before?  Ditto for "lessons learned;" how did you do it before?

What is your process?  Is it written down?  Shouldn't it be?

TTFN

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gsl2007

Not trying to be a smart alec, but typcially the close out report table of contents should be issued early on or at least by the time you start site activities along with expectations for content  Otherwise you will end up at the last minute trying to figure out what is needed and trying to find documents to put in.  I like to be working on the close out report as construciton progresses.

A standard work flow would look something like this:

1. Establish Report Requirements
  • Construction Site Manager assigns section responsibilities.
  • Construction Site Manager in consultation with Project Construction Planning Manager determines content and format of report

2. Construction Project Manager approves content and format if different from the standard, and agrees to site managers proposed timing.

3. Construction Site Manager prepares Draft Report

4. Draft Report Reviewed
  • Construction Functional Groups review for appropriate functional content
  • Construction Planning Manager reviews for consistent format with overall Construction Project Close Out Report

5. Construction Site Manager prepares Final Report

6. Construction project Manager Approves Final Report

7. Construction Site Manager Issues Final Report to Construction Project Planning Manager

8. Construction Project planning manager Consolidates all site reports for project into Construction Project Close Out Report and issues to project Services Manager and Construction VP.

As far as lessons learned, it is best to do that a prescribed times along the project timeline and have it be a focused effort, an example would be at 50% completion of engineering, in the early phase of construction and maybe again near the end of construction.  To try and do it all at the end of a project is normally a losing prospect and not worth the effort.  Most of the people who could contribute have moved on or are looking, memories are faded of the details, no one who was working on the project really cares - it's over.

Lessons learned are a pet peeve of mine, one of many.  They are useless unless acted upon.  You will see project after project after project capture lessons learned and you see the same or similar lessons learned captured each time.  What needs to happen is the Project Manager should assign as a project deliverable a Lessons Learned Application Plan whereby his team culls through the LL data base and selects, say the top 10 LL's from previous projects that are applicable to his particular project and then a plan is put together that will address specifically how each of the LL's will be mitigated or eliminated.

To answer your original questions - you have an uphill battle and I suggest to simply ask the PM exactly what it is that management wants or is required and to be specific.  Ask him to send you a table of contents.  You should also explain that because no thought or planning was put into how to close this thing out from a documentation standpoint, there may be severe limitations on content and the quality of the content of the close out report.
 

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website: www.oil-gas-consulting.com
 

Ok thank you for the tips.  I just joined this firm and they have no system in place and are closing two jobs in the next 3 weeks without having any well documented system in place from previous jobs.  These 2 clients however want the proper trail of paper on close out.

Regarding Lessons learnt, I think it is critical to avoid these issues again but you are right often its a different team working on another job and the follow through is impossible.  Its left for upper management to find a way to incorporate these LL.
.

gsl2007

Below is a typical close out report table of contents that may help.

                    
Section 1.0    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY        
    1.1  Scope of Work        
    1.2  Contractor & Location        
    1.3  Project Organization and Execution Plan        1.4  Contract Structure        
    1.5  Project Priorities        
    1.6  Safety        
    1.7  Quality        
    1.8  Cost        
    1.9  Schedule        
    1.10 Teamwork - several paragraphs        
    1.11 Lessons Learned        
    1.12 Positive Highlights & Observations        
            
Section 2.0    SAFETY        
    -  Statistical performance (Planned vs. Actual)    
    -  Site Safety Teams        
    -  Safety initiatives (Summary)        
    -  Incident Investigations - Summary        
    -  Near miss investigations - Summary        
    -  Safety meetings - Summary        
            
Section 3.0    QUALITY See Construction Site Quality Closeout Report Template
    
            
Section 4.0    COST & PROJECT CONTROL        
            
Section 5.0    SCHEDULE & MANHOURS        
    As-built schedules (Schedules)        
    (Manhour & quantity data)        
            
Section 6.0    TEAMWORK        
            
Section 7.0    PROJECT EXECUTION PLAN        
            
Section 8.0    DISCIPLINE OR AREA REPORTING  (Use only those sections which apply to the Construction Site)        
    Each Discipline should cover:        
    *  Special safety considerations (examples: Structural - risk assessments, rigging reviews)        
    *  Quality (examples: Structural - dimensional control; Mechanical - hydro test; E&I - loop checks?        *  Productivity metrics (examples: Structural - man-hours per ton; Mechanical - man-hours/spool; E&I - legions per 100 m cable tray)        
    *  Lessons learned hi-lights (detailed lessons learned in an appendix)        
    *  Special topics (examples: Structural - erection sequence, scheduling, load-out, materials, fiberglass grating; Mechanical - iso scheduling, hydro-test, TCP's, vendor data incorporation; E& I - TCP's        

Section 8.1    STRUCTURAL or AREA 1        
            
Section 8.2    MECHANICAL PIPING or AREA 2        
            
Section 8.3    ELECTRICAL & INSTRUMENTATION OR AREA 3    
            
Section 8.4    PRE-COMMISSIONING or AREA 4        
    -  Schedule        
    -  Punch-list handover        
    -  TCP's        
    -  Mechanical completion        
    -  Post-load-out activities        
    -  Carry-over punch list        
            
Section 8.5    Hook up        
            
Section 8.6    Commissioning        
            
Section 8.7    Installation        
            
Section 8.8    Start up        
            
Section 9.0    PAINTING        
            
Section 10.0    SCAFFOLDING        
            
Section 11.0    INDIRECTS & CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT    
            
Section 12.0    MATERIALS (Buying, Receiving, Warehousing, etc.) Input required from Teddy Bear, MM, and Snake    
    
Section 13.0    ADMINISTRATION        
    -  Organization charts/Staffing History (Planned vs. Actual)        
    -  Filing System        
    -  Tabular list of procedures developed        
    -  Lessons Learned        
            
Section 14.0    ACCOUNTING PRACTICES        
    -  Time keeping        
    -  Audits        
    -  Invoice payments        
    -  Lessons learned        
            
Section 15.0    CONTRACTS & SUBCONTRACTS        
Section 16.0    DOCUMENT CONTROL & ENGINEERING        
            
Section 17.0    PHOTOGRAPHS        
            
Section 18.0    Videos        
            
Appendices      As required        
 

Greg Lamberson, BS, MBA
Consultant - Upstream Energy
Website: www.oil-gas-consulting.com