IPA Launches Unprecedented Collaborative Knowledge Transfer in the Middle East

Two of the Largest Project Organizations Participated In the IPA Facilitated Exercise

During the course of the virtual Industry Benchmarking Consortium (IBC) 2021, an IBC member based in the Middle East approached IPA about facilitating a knowledge sharing session with another leading capital project organization in the Middle East that is also a member of the IBC. The resulting gathering between the two IPA clients that took place in May, a Middle East Capital Projects Knowledge Exchange, aimed to foster an environment of collaboration and knowledge sharing to benefit both organizations. Participating representatives stressed the importance of inter-organizational knowledge flow in boosting Industry performance.

During the first part of the dialogue, one client showcased its benchmarking journey with IPA. The client explained how IPA supported them on their path toward industry excellence, visible in their recent project performance outcomes. The participants exchanged advice on creating a culture that promotes positive change. Members of both organizations aligned on the criticality of cross-hierarchical onboarding when implementing a process change or improvement. Participants highlighted as well the importance of securing leadership buy-in before embarking on improvement journeys. Although it might seem trivial, securing C-suite support for implementing change was a massive effort that entailed continuous support from IPA.

Later on, participants touched on novel contracting strategies. This discussion has been overdue in a region where traditional EPC-lump sum arrangements have reigned for quite some time. The organizations exchanged tips on how to accommodate unorthodox strategies within their project systems. The two clients discussed with some detail preferred project characteristics that render such uncommon methods favorable. One participant concluded this discussion by expressing his contentment with such contracting approaches on recent megaprojects.

The session adjourned with IPA aligning with the clients on the necessity of such interactive sessions in the future. Both participants agreed that this session was the beginning of what they hope to be a long and fruitful interaction.

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