Accelerating CAPEX delivery: constructing the future grid

Consistent and transparent planning and monitoring processes are crucial for our large-scale construction projects to succeed, since they span hundreds of kilometres and involve numerous partners. A solid and reliable planning foundation is essential to ensure project success. Documents play a vital role in the success of our projects, since they contain critical information necessary for the construction of our grids and lines and their reliability. Among others, we are therefore keen to hear from people who have ideas for 

• Defining which projects need to be launched, and which can be avoided
• Public Acceptance.
• Processing complex technical requirements.
• Matching the work package structure to the asset structure and cost breakdown structure flexibly and dynamically.
• Resource demand and technical project forecasting.

Elia Group’s project and IT teams already work with industry-standard tools used for managing large, complex projects. We are particularly interested in tools that would help us with the following:

• Collaboration and coordination tools which allow everyone working on a project to communicate efficiently with each other, and also ways of linking different specialist tools together.
• Tools which help to standardise all aspects of a project, including components, methods, permitting procedures, etc. 
• Platforms that can serve as a single source of truth and that consolidate all the relevant information for managing projects and ensure that nothing is missed out. Solutions for project data flows are included in this. 
• Document management systems (DMS), automating quality and correctness checking, automated documentation distribution to stakeholders.
• Dashboarding and data handling.

Since transmission capacity is being expanded across the globe, the tightly stretched manufacturing capacity of our suppliers is making it challenging to deliver our projects on time and within budget. We’re keen to find new suppliers to work with and source new materials that could support our grid expansion or maintain our assets. Note that these products and suppliers must adhere to strict and complex requirements for high-voltage equipment. Additionally, any innovative solution that could support a more efficient procurement process or manage risks in purchasing would also help the delivery of the CAPEX. Examples of solutions include, but are not limited to: 

• Procurement market intelligence. 
• Purchase order automation. 
• Supplier management. 
• Intelligent contracting support. 
• Track and trace of materials, logistic planning: tracking bulk material orders which can later be allocated to different orders/projects, and are ordered many years in advance.

Onsite and offsite execution includes standardising the methods we adopt, the components we use, and the pre-design and assembly techniques we follow. Each of these are essential for the efficient execution of our projects. 
We are particularly interested in solving challenges associated with the following specific areas: 

• Logistics: delivering oversized loads, such as cables, to construction sites. 
• Geographic information systems (GIS), remote execution monitoring/quality control, onsite workforce management, and steering. 
• Earthwork - specifically work that employs drilling technology.