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Firm facilitating GMEP contract closeouts

12th December 2014

By: Mia Breytenbach

Creamer Media Deputy Editor: Features

  

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As coal and metals mining group Exxaro’s Grootegeluk Medupi Expansion Project (GMEP) nears completion, project management firm SSG Consulting will facilitate the contract closeouts of the various contractors and companies involved in the GMEP until the end of the year.

SSG senior consultant at the GMEP Pieter Scholtz tells Mining Weekly that local and international consultants, vendors, contractors, engineers and project managers have access to vital project documentation and information in real time through SSG’s online project management system, KEY360.

The system comprises a single integrated platform, supporting 15 project management knowledge areas and modules.

“In addition to facilitating contract management, commissioning data management and controlling documents, we are using the KEY360 system to coordinate and accelerate final closeout processes of 64 contract packages for more than 50 companies.”

He emphasises that SSG is currently working on finalising and completing the outstanding quality, commercial and financial documentation of the last phases of the project, which is packaged and presented to the client for final acceptance.

SSG Consulting has been involved in the GMEP since 2007. Its contract scope includes design review facilitation, the review of action list coordination, handling enquiries regarding technical support, adjudication facilitation, contract management, process controls assistance and engineering support.

SSG business development GM Mark Shoesmith tells Mining Weekly that KEY360 has reached a record high of facilitating more than 11-million transactions for Exxaro’s GMEP – an achievement through which the project has benefited and from which it continues to benefit.

Shoesmith points out that data visibility enables enhanced management – through reporting functionality – of the GMEP, which enables users to gain authentic, real-time access for optimised operational throughput.

“The visual nature of the data in KEY360 defines the critical requirements that need to be addressed on a timeous basis to ensure successful and timeous project completion,” he explains.

The key functions of KEY360 include the ability to manage technical queries, concessions, documents, drawing and design reviews, regulations, reports and updates during on-site commissioning of work, commissioning data management, and quality control.

Further, by implementing KEY360’s Review Action List System to capture design review comments on the design drawings, SSG enables project personnel to gain access to these documents’ revision history and to comments on every drawing revision through the system- controlled environment.

Noted Performance
The GMEP has been a prime example of KEY360’s successful record, having achieved significant cost and time savings for the project, as well as enhanced contractor input tracking and management, says Shoesmith.

“SSG, therefore, feels comfortable that it will be able to handle any megaproject on this system,” he adds, further highlighting that SSG has noted significant growth in resource additions and KEY360 data management implementations across the mining, infrastructure, power generation and petrochemicals sectors, having offered the system to several blue chip companies this year.

These blue chip companies include diamond producer De Beers’ Limpopo-based underground Venetia mine, which approached SSG to fully implement its KEY360 management systems in the past eight months; and project management consultancy Obsideo Consulting, which requested SSG to implement KEY360 at Australia-based mineral sands company Mineral Commodities’ Tormin Sands project, on South Africa’s West Coast last year. Through KEY360, SSG connected the client’s offices in Cape Town and its design offices in Perth directly to the project site.

“Because projects are becoming more fast-track, with significant budget constraints and schedule requirements, it is imperative that a data management system with world-class reporting and dashboarding capability is used to highlight project-critical drivers and success factors,” Shoesmith concludes.

Edited by Samantha Herbst
Creamer Media Deputy Editor

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