Aibel has opened a centre for integrated operations at its Stavanger headquarters. Ten Aibel offices in Norway and internationally will from now on collaborate daily with the help of advanced technology.
In the new centre, employees from all ten offices can gather for the same videoconference, as demonstrated during the opening of the centre. Furthermore, seven separate videoconferences can be held simultaneously.
“We have a decentralised organisation with offices in multiple locations. Now, all maintenance and modification (M&M) projects can be managed from this centre” , explains Arild Refsland, Aibel’s VP for M&M.
Digital cake party
In addition to the eight offices in Norway, Aibel’s Singapore and Britain offices also participate in this new collaborative form. The opening of the centre was celebrated with cake – on several screens.
“Though the celebration took place in six different offices, we all gathered for a cake party in one room” , says Refsland .
Customer representatives from Statoil and ConocoPhillips were invited to the opening.
More than an OPC room
Aibel already has so-called OPC rooms (Onshore Project Centre) in several office locations. These are used for collaboration between onshore and offshore project management. However, the new centre contributes to integrated operations to a much greater extent than the OPC rooms.
“We are now collecting competencies in a joint resource centre that will provide management and support for ten offices that are working on projects for four different contracts. This will be our regular workplace, and the centre is in daily use. The centre also makes it easier to ensure that we use the same working methods across projects” , Refsland explains.
The new centre will reduce the need for travel for many Aibel employees, and will ensure better support for the projects executed at the different offices.
“As far as I know, no other contractors have integrated operations on this scale” , Refsland concludes.
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Offshore WIND staff, February 23, 2012; Image: aibel