Manufacturing Business Consultancy Services from IntES

At IntES we are always looking for how we can best help our clients with their CAPEX projects. We’ve long had the engineering side covered, but we are excited to introduce another angle, bringing you an altogether more holistic approach with the introduction of our new Manufacturing Business Consultancy Services. Not only can IntES take care of your specialist engineering needs, but we now offer a unique proposition of supporting you from both sides of the coin. Our new in-house expert senior consultants have led incredibly successful careers on the client-side of capital projects and are the crucial bridge between CAPEX and OPEX expertise. Thereby providing an integrated client perspective on EPCM services – ensuring even smoother running of your projects than ever before.

With over 70 years’ experience in operations and capital projects in the fine chemical and food and beverage industries between them our in-house consultants have seen the many ups and downs that a change journey can bring. Whether that be a new capital project or a restructuring of existing operations, success always depends on good preparation, meticulous planning and excellent communication.

To explore our unique new proposition fully – view our full range of manufacturing business consultancy services and find out more here.

Advice from our Consultant, Richard Wall (Fine Chemicals Industry Consultant)

We asked our in-house consultants what advice they would give to any business embarking on a major change or capital project. Richard Wall, our consultant in the Fine Chemicals industry having worked on numerous large projects on behalf of large multinational companies in a senior role; has this to say:

“I would say there are 3 key questions businesses should ask themselves before embarking on a major change or Capital Expenditure project.

1. Do we know what we are starting?

Getting deep into the reasons why you are doing the project and the implications for the business is paramount before even trying to develop a decent scope for the project. Issues like strategic fit, governance, sustainability, legal implications, intellectual property and a host of other considerations needs careful discussion by business leaders before generating a project charter through which an assigned project manager can start to define the project.

2. Do we know where we are going to?

Building a picture of what the finished project will look like is vital to ensure that the business gets what it really needs and that issues such as operability, expandability, sustainability, and profitability are addressed in the scoping and definition of the project. For instance, how many businesses take the time to do a deep dive into their existing operating practices and costs to look for improvement opportunities that could be incorporated into a new project aided by new technology? Instead, most just adopt a copy and paste approach.

3. Do we have the resources to get where we want to go to?

Often businesses have only limited project experience with previously experienced project managers and engineers having moved on in previous years. No matter which project approach they choose the business has his own role to play in the project and needs either the in-house expertise or to bring in said expertise from others who can effectively represent the business interests. Furthermore, the resources and skills needed for operational readiness of the new facility is often considered far too late leading to delays or rushed decisions near the end of the construction stage of the project.”

Advice from our Consultant, Alpay Cholak (Food & Beverage Industry Consultant)

Alpay Cholak is our consultant in the Food & Beverage Industry. Over a period of 4 decades, he has seen numerous reasons to justify the need for a project and equally numerous different approaches to projects. This is his advice to businesses contemplating a major change or capital project:

“Many projects are triggered by a need to solve a problem. Problems are like onions, you solve them by removing a layer at a time. A sledge hammer big project approach may be unnecessary. Hence a systematic approach of smaller projects to deal with a problem or set of problems can sometimes be a good approach.

Before launching into a big project, ask yourself the question, ‘Can we obtain our objective with a series of small projects?’

By solving numerous small issues the overall objective can be met and whilst it may require more mental input and thought (in-house or external expertise), it may actually cost less than a big project. In fact it may also deliver more than a big project for less cost.

Critics of this style are concerned about the time factor since it may take a little longer. ‘Time is money’. How many times have we heard that cliché? My experience has been that a major project may solve the visible, and easy to fix problems. The onion peel approach can often fix much larger issues and the solution often lasts longer. Time is money, yes, but a long-term sustainable solution provides a better lifetime cost benefit.

Personally, I do not agree with “it may take longer”, and my experience cannot be unique. It takes a long time to have a big project approved depending on the organisation’s Capital Expenditure approval system and Procurement processes. A series of small projects, with relatively lower costs, below some approval limits and locally procured can finish the total solution before you get to the PowerPoint stage on a major project.

There is room for both approaches. Don’t write one off before doing your homework.”