EPC Action Points to Improve How They Work with Their Suppliers

Engineering companies need to find a method to discuss document requirements after the equipment supplier has been selected. Here are some suggestions to do this work better before the project has even begun:

1. Move away from cover pages. Utilize metadata in whichever form is available. If suppliers have the data in machine readable format, make every effort to accommodate the available format. If you (the EPC) rely on cover sheets for review, you should be able to create them automatically for supplier metadata however it is supplied. This should also extend to databooks. If the documents have been supplied and the data is available, EPCs should be able to generate the databooks.

2. Allow suppliers to embed metadata (as XML) directly into the PDF documents. This should provide additional value to you and to you customer on turnover. Effectively the metadata travels inside the document. This won’t be easy for many suppliers, but should be supported if available.

3. Provide incentives to more capable suppliers. Less holdback, higher preference.

4. Hold 5 minute document kick off meetings (take notes!) with your supplier immediately after the PO is let. Review the requirements, and agree on reasonable exceptions. With the exceptions handled and documented upfront, fewer issues will pop up downstream.

5. In that vein, improve communication between procurement and engineering, facilitating changes to document requirements. Currently it can be difficult for suppliers to change/amend document requirements after being awarded a project. On occasion, a supplier might determine a document(s) is unavailable in the required format after the project has started and the EPC change management process is cumbersome and slow.

Learn more about document control issues that you might also be facing by downloading our free survey entitled Supplier vs EPC, Why is Vendor Documentation so Painful?

If you’d like to learn more about how to better handle document control, feel free to contact us to learn more about how DocBoss can help you.