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Group News
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LEADING project management training specialist 20|20 Business Insight has strengthened its management team with the appointment of highly-experienced director of consultancy services, Doug Littlejohn.
Mr Littlejohn is appointed director at 20|20 having already worked for the organisation as a senior consultant, during a 25-year career in the oil, gas and petrochemical industry.
Today’s (Monday, July 19) confirmation coincided with the opening of 20|20 Business Insight's new headquarters at Broughty Ferry, Dundee, located at Ingleside, a short distance from its former base at Brook Street.
Mr Littlejohn, 48, whose background is in mechanical engineering , has previously worked as performance programme director for Acergy, group project services manager for Technip and he has also held several senior consultancy positions in both the service sector and with oil majors.
His in-depth, detailed knowledge of the energy sector and specifically 20|20's client base, focuses on business systems and processes relating to efficient project delivery.
Tony Marks, managing director of 20|20 Business Insight, says the appointment is a significant boost to the management team, which sees Mr Littlejohn become a member of the board and investor in the firm.
“I am delighted that Doug has joined the company, bringing with him more than 25 years experience which includes subsea and marine operations management in offshore oil and gas field developments.
"Doug takes a leading role in the business in delivering to our extensive client list, and will ensure they can benefit from his extensive knowledge of the APM Competence Framework which is the benchmark for the industry.
“His arrival comes at a welcome time, as we co-ordinate settling into our new, larger premises having outgrown our original base. We have seen consistent growth in our sector, and the potential and we continue to purse opportunities for further expansion worldwide.”
Doug Littlejohn, who has previously worked in Norway, Abu Dhabi and France, said: “A large part of 20|20 Business Insight’s work is centred on the oil and gas exploration and production sector and I my experience in the field allows me to bring understanding and additional skills to their operations.
“Following my consultancy work with the organisation, I had no hesitation in taking up the opportunity to join the board, and look forward to seeing it develop its market-leading position in project management through our global network which includes Aberdeen, Manchester and Houston, with further expansion to come.”
Continued investment in the company allied with sustained business from established clients, as well as new contract wins, from across the industry sectors has helped solidify 20|20 Business Insight’s already strong standing in the marketplace.
2020 Business Insight runs more than 200 project management courses each year, including open events or bespoke sessions for clients including Centrica Energy, Halliburton, Schlumberger and Wood Group.
The firm is a globally registered training provider for the Project Management Institute (PMI) and its expert trainers have delivered programs in around 20 countries from the UK to the United States, Norway, France, Mexico, Venezuela and Australia.
It already counts major oil and gas service companies including Technip, Subsea 7, Acergy and Helix, Wood Group and Weatherford as well as oil and gas producers such as Centrica Energy and Tullow Oil among its clients.
Date Published:
12/08/10
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A TEAM of Nigerian construction contractors working on the multi-billion dollar Escravos gas-to-liquids project in Nigeria has been introduced to world-leading standards in project management by training specialists in Scotland.
Exploration and production supermajor Chevron engaged global project management leader 20|20 Business Insight, based at Broughty Ferry, Dundee to introduce the contractors to techniques designed to improve their individual and their company’s capacity. The programme was established to reach more than 75 managing directors, project managers and site managers from up to 25 local contracting companies, as well as senior managers for the US giant itself and their major international contractors KBR (US) and Saipem (Italy), who are supporting the project in the Niger Delta.
They are being taught by 20|20's Association of Project Management (APM) and Project Management International (PMI)-accredited lecturers, who after completing this first session in Scotland will travel to Nigeria for training exercises on behalf of the EGTL project. They are all involved in the construction of the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) plant at Escravos, Nigeria which is being built by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and Chevron Nigeria Limited. The Escravos site is located in the Delta State in the western part of the Niger Delta.
Chevron's project director on EGTL, Michael Kraly and his KBR colleague, construction site manager John Evans led the first delegation which arrived in the UK at the Marriott Dalmahoy at Kirknewton, near Edinburgh.
20|20 Americas area vice president Graham Chapman, senior facilitator Brian McKaig and director of consulting, Doug Littlejohn, have led the week-long seminar which will help to improve performance for each Nigerian contractor, and in-turn improve performance on the project.
"The EGTL development will become one of the most significant gas-to-liquid production sites in the world, part of the vital global energy chain and a major employer in Nigeria for construction, operations and maintenance of the plant," says Tony Marks, managing director of 20|20 Business Insight.
"Chevron, KBR and Saipem have engaged us to work with their Nigerian subcontractors to ensure that they are trained in the latest project management skills, as a means to transfer project and business management skills to the Nigerian contractors.
"We already work with the supermajor in the US, at our base in Houston, and the opportunity to work with them on what is one of the most significant projects in West Africa has a huge positive impact on our own business."
The EGTL plant is one of the world's largest oil and gas projects, with initial projected yield of 33,000 barrels per day, which is expected to begin production in 2012.
Chevron project director Michael Kraly says: "The skills being learned here are part of a drive to maximise the potential of our staff, local community contractors and in turn the project itself.
"Improving management techniques reinforces the partnership between Chevron and the local contractors, with real positive change in terms of capacity-building and human capital development which is vital in what is a continually challenging global business environment.
"The level of expertise of 2020's trainers has really strengthened our confidence in our ability to meet our targets, while also bringing benefits for future work in the Niger Delta, as the skills will transfer to the next project."
Mr Marks says the roll-out of 20|20's training disciplines in West Africa will have a knock-on effect for projects going forward, as subcontractors will redeploy to other developments and take their new skills with them.
“Project management techniques are as vital and integral to improving efficiencies across all forms of oil and gas operations, as introducing the latest physical and technical equipment in drilling or operations,” says Tony Marks.
“Absolutely critical is that each working process is properly managed. Looking at each component part of a piece of work, if it can be project managed to the highest capabilities of the staff involved, it should be completed on time, to budget and, critically, to the highest standard with minimal wastage.
“Central to the discipline of project management is minimising risk. Generally speaking risk is thought of as involving the risk of damage either to an asset, or injury to a member of the team.
“Risk needs to be viewed as inherent in every level of a business operation – from a change of supplier or delivery partner, to the potential of direct loss through people or products."
20|20 Business Insight runs more than 200 project management courses each year, including open events or bespoke sessions for clients including Venture, Halliburton, Schlumberger and Wood Group.
The firm is a globally registered training provider for the Project Management Institute (PMI) and its expert trainers have delivered programs in around 20 countries from the UK to the United States, Norway, France, Mexico, Venezuela and Australia.
Date Published:
13/07/10
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APM Mentoring pilot – Envue-20/20 Business Insight
Network article May 2010
PILOT MENTORING SCHEME IS A HIT
An innovative mentoring scheme piloted by the APM Aberdeen chapter has been hailed as a success by participants – and could lead to similar initiatives elsewhere.
The seven-month scheme, undertaken on behalf of the APM nationally, was driven by corporate members who view mentoring as a key means of developing project management best practice.
Featuring a total of seven mentors and 13 mentees, the pilot has cultivated new relationships that are set to be sustained in the long term.
A report focusing on lessons learned and recommendations has now been submitted to the APM and a review will take place to consider further pilots and the development of a national scheme.
The Aberdeen chapter, meanwhile, is planning to run a further pilot, based on lessons learned, later this year.
Tony Marks, Managing Director of APM-accredited provider 20/20 Business Insight, is a Fellow of the APM and one of the pilot scheme mentors. "It provides a valuable addition to member services, offering mentees a welcome new means of support as they develop their project management careers,” he says.
“From the corporates’ perspective, the independent nature of the mentors represents a useful new dimension to internal professional development mechanisms.
“All in all it is a service that all involved want to continue and expand."
Stephen Lancaster, Managing Director of project delivery consultancy Envue and a mentee of Tony, says: “The scheme has been of enormous benefit, both to me personally and to Envue.
”It was fantastic to be involved in the pilot, drawing upon our mentor’s experience and gaining from his guidance as we continue to develop our project management expertise and pursue our growth ambitions.”
Date Published:
07/05/10
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OPERATORS and service providers across the oil and gas sector are working to boost project management skills as a key driver of efficiency improvement and cost-reduction measures – focussed on maximising the sector’s potential.
Rising productivity levels following the downturn, influenced by the lengthening of the operational lives of first-generation installations worldwide, mean a greater emphasis is being brought on reducing time and capital waste.
Streamlining project management processes while putting staff through personal development programmes in the field has already been embraced by key players in the UKCS, with Centrica Energy and Technip among early-adopters of improved techniques developed by the Association of Project Managers (APM).
Global training provider 2020 Business Insight is leading a roll-out of the specialist framework developed by the APM across the exploration and production sector, designed to progress individuals’ capability with organisational changes occurring in-tandem.
“Project management techniques are as vital and integral to improving efficiencies across all forms of oil and gas operations, as introducing the latest physical and technical equipment on the drillfloor or operations room,” says Tony Marks, Managing Director of 2020 Business Insight.
“An absolutely critical issue is that each working process is properly managed. Looking at each component part of a piece of work, if it can be project managed to the highest capabilities of the staff involved, it should be completed on time, to budget and, critically, to the highest standard with minimal wastage.
“Central to the discipline of project management is minimising risk. Generally speaking risk is thought of as involving the risk of damage either to an asset, or injury to a member of the team.
“Risk needs to be viewed as inherent in every level of a business operation – from a change of supplier or delivery partner, to the potential of direct loss through people or products.
“The APM framework marries knowledge to processes, building up the skills of each member in the chain of an operation – advancing each individual’s knowledge and, consequently, improving the capability of the team as a whole.”
Developed to provide a clear and simple guide to the range of individual competences in project management, the APM Competence Framework is based on wide consultation among leading practitioners.
It assesses current knowledge and experience, identifies training and development needs, and evaluates if an individual is ready to be examined for internationally recognised professional qualifications in their specialist area.
It provides a specific measure for assessing an individual’s level of knowledge and experience, marked against an organisational benchmark, other project management and international standards.
“The framework develops each employee across three absolute fundamentals – technical, behavioural and contextual competence, with more than 45 elements spread between those domains,” adds Marks.
“There are five levels within the framework and in an ideal scenario, a business would aim to have a fair split across those levels, from staff who have completed introductory learning on project management, to those at the upper stage, at usually at Director level within the business.”
Another industry organisation, the Project Management Institute (PMI) has a similar competence framework which develops individuals across five criteria – initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing projects.
“Mentoring projects, which have been piloted in Aberdeen principally in oil and gas operations, are now being run across the industrial spectrum, with accredited professionals offering their skills to help with continuous personal development for colleagues or those in a completely different business stream,” says Marks.
“There are several considerable challenges to ensuring the security of oil and gas supply across the UK and Western Europe over the next 15 years.
“Improvements to project management will support and protect changes to the way operations are run, with the need to minimise risk while maximising project success the focus of all APM or PMI practitioners’ work.”
CASE STUDIES
Technip
Andy Rodden, Offshore Operation Services Quality and Performance Manager:
“There’s a perception that trying to manage a massive workforce and its overall competency is like herding cats – difficult and, at the most basic level, a complete waste of time.
“For us it was a team issue. We wanted to improve our efficiency level and, at the same time, see our people move into a position to advance their careers. The APM Framework does that, and it does it in a way that doesn’t detract from the main focus of your operation.
“The competence programme links training to need, is self administered, unambiguous, allows for and measures personal growth and development and, on top of that, complements existing and available training systems.
“Our competence scoring evaluation system is also linked to the APM’s accreditation levels and can be linked to specific job roles. This essentially gives us our own framework to ensure that the right people are in the right place, and are delivering.
“The system works because it is customisable – you can factor in the main issues, such as project complexity, and that will then recommend different levels of information for different scenarios.”
Centrica (Venture):
Chris Bird, Technical Director, at Centrica Energy Upstream:
“Businesses have to be realistic about their effectiveness – in just about every operation in the world you can assume a 30% wastage figure when you consider efficiency.
“Creating value is central to the decision making process. You can produce as many barrels per day as you like, if the cost of producing those barrels goes unchecked then your investment base is being exposed to risks it will not welcome.
“Our focus in integrating a new type of business technology, the APM framework, into the work of our teams has brought us huge benefits in a fairly short space of time. Its influence has been significant.
“We have now put all our field development teams through the APM competency assessment framework – though at first, our employees looked at the APM evaluation as a check on their abilities, rather than a means to making major strides in their development and in improving our return.
“The time-to-complete the APM framework was slightly longer than we had anticipated, but the result has far surpassed any concerns we might have had in terms of the return on the investment.
“Once the development program was in place, it not only led to the operational efficiency improvements we had been targeting, it also improved staff morale and motivation.”
Date Published:
31/03/10
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20|20 Business Insight has entered into an agreement with the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), which sets standards for training across industry in the UK, to deliver a UK-first qualification – the ECITB Certificate in Project Controls (City and Guilds).
Participants will secure an 'ECITB Certificate In Project Controls' (City & Guilds), by covering a comprehensive programme suitable for all aspects of project control.
Designed for staff entering the field for the first time, or those wishing to formalise their project control training, the course is being delivered in locations throughout the UK including Aberdeen, West Cumbria, Manchester, Teesside, Grimsby, Bristol and London, starting in January, May and September next year.
Taught through distance learning, along with a series of face to face workshops, the course sees candidates progress through a series of eight modules over a nine-month period, backed by support from tutors.
Tony Marks, director at 20|20 Business Insight, says: “Certification is one of the biggest issues facing all areas of industry – ensuring that your people have the same high standard of certification as your assets do is vital to ensuring competitive edge.
“In many cases, staff may have built up many years of practical experience but lack a formalised qualification to back-up their expertise and, for those entering the field for the first time, undertaking formal training can open doors to employment.”
Industrial case studies are integral to the course - ensuring candidates have experience of real-life situations which allow them to apply their knowledge in a structured way as part of the assessment process.
Candidates must submit project-specific documentation for assessment throughout a simulated project, providing them with a further hands-on test of their skills as they develop.
David Edwards, chief executive of the ECITB, says: “This programme is the result of an excellent collaboration between the ECITB and our industry and training stakeholders. We are delighted with our association with City & Guilds and we look forward to working with 20|20 in rolling out the programme in 2010.”
2020 Business Insight runs more than 200 project management courses each year, including open events or bespoke sessions for clients including Venture, Halliburton, Schlumberger and Wood Group.
The firm is a globally registered training provider for the Project Management Institute (PMI) and its expert trainers have delivered programs in around 20 countries from the UK to the United States, Norway, France, Mexico, Venezuela and Australia.
Date Published:
07/12/09
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20|20 Business Group has recieved national recognition for the way it invests in their staff. Investors in People is a national business improvement tool designed to help organisations continue to improve their performance and achieve their objectives through their people.
20|20's Director of Operations Tony Marks said "As a leading training provider we recognise how important developing and supporting our staff is in delivering quality services and achieving the goals of the organisation. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our staff we continue to make real strides to achieve as an organisation, and this has clearly been recognised by the Investors in People standard."
Graham Chapman, Director of Americas also commented: "This is fantastic news and shows just how much we value our staff. We are not complacent though and will be looking at how we can continue to improve in the future."
Date Published:
02/09/09
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