Ways Digitalization Helps Optimizing Business in EPC Firms

EPC firms aim to automate and streamline their project and portfolio.

FREMONT, CA: Even before the challenges of COVID-19 arose, engineering, supply, and construction (EPC) companies were already under significant stress. Low net margins combined with the burden of bearing much of the project risk resulted in the sector's overall underperformance. It appeared that engineering businesses were set to face another cyclical downturn when plant owner-operators planned capital investment cuts in the range of 20 percent–50 percent. Surprisingly, given the hard-won expertise gathered during prior downturns, the management of these companies did not act as one might expect.

Streamlining software and technology portfolios and automating the flow of project data are frequently goals of digitalization investments. This improves internal and external cooperation while allowing data to be reused across disciplines and project phases.

Four key challenge areas for EPC firms

Many EPC companies are far into their digital transformations, while others are still in the planning stages. But, where are these funds being spent? The most common digital efforts can be divided into four categories.

Data management: Digital technologies can significantly improve the efficiency with which EPC corporations manage and move vast volumes of data. This means less reliance on physical documents to store and share information, making that information more accessible for others to review and use, and making it faster and easier to hand off to other disciplines, partners, vendors, owner-operators, regulators, and other project stakeholders.

Technology consolidation: Many EPC organizations have enormous unique software solutions. These solutions, which are made up of Tier 1 providers, niche commercial apps, and engineers' indigenous applications, create a tangle of technology that stymies any progress toward digitalization. Chief information officers (CIOs) and heads of engineering departments can simplify the landscape of software they rely on by standardizing and decreasing the overall number of software suppliers, eliminating redundancies, and adopting stricter criteria for supporting smaller specialty apps.

Apps and data integration: Integrating the remaining applications should begin once the software portfolio has been rationalized and consolidated. The priority should be to connect the remaining apps to automate flow and reuse data.

Expansion of digital-twin-based services: The engineering data used to design and build the plant can improve startup, training, and operations while providing EPC firms with additional and diverse revenue streams.

EPC firms are increasingly attempting to provide digital twin-based services to their clients. Creating, delivering, and maintaining these three types of twins maximizes engineering talent and resources while adding significant value to plant owners. They can improve staff utilization and billings while also increasing customer intimacy, which helps with business development for new projects.