Six Sigma Implementation and Integra- tion within Project Management Frame- work in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Projects A Case Study in a Southeast Asian Engineering, Procure- ment, and Construction Company Master’s thesis in International Project Management DIVIEZETHA ASTRELLA FLORINDA THAMRIN Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Gothenburg, Sweden 2017 Master’s thesis 2017:BOMX02-17-95 Six Sigma Implementatation and Integration within Project Management Framework in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Projects A Case Study in a Southeast Asian Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Company DIVIEZETHA ASTRELLA FLORINDA THAMRIN Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering Division of Construction Management Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden 2017 DIVIEZETHA ASTRELLA FLORINDA THAMRIN © DIVIEZETHA ASTRELLA FLORINDA THAMRIN, 2017. Supervisor: Christian Koch, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering Examiner: Christian Koch, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering Master’s Thesis 2017:BOMX02-17-95 Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering Division of Construction Management Chalmers University of Technology SE-412 96 Gothenburg Telephone +46 31 772 1000 Typeset in LATEX Gothenburg, Sweden 2017 iv Abstract This thesis was carried out in a Southeast Asian EPC company based in Indonesia, as a mandatory requirement for Master’s degree in Chalmers University of Technology. The thesis was conducted from January 2017 until June 2017 by a student from M.Sc. International Project Management course. In 2015, a survey from PMI found that there were only 64% of projects which met their goals. The projects included ones conducted in Engineering, Procurement, and Construc- tion (EPC) companies. The bigger projects were more likely to encounter bigger problems, which results in poor performance which ultimately affected the quality of projects. As a result, more companies are seeking quality improvement methodologies like Six Sigma and merging it within the project management framework. This provided an excellent opportunity for a thesis study, which was to investigate how an EPC company works with quality management and what leads to successful integration of Six Sigma methodology in EPC project management framework. The aim of the study was to identify the success factors, benefits and constraints of Six Sigma implementation in project management, so as to successfully merge it to the knowledge areas within project management framework. A qualitative approach was used to perform this study. The study included state of the art literature review and a case study. Data for the study was gathered through semi-structured interviews with employees from the case company. In addition to the interviews, data was also obtained from internal documentation. There were three main theoretical frameworks used in this study: the Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology, Six Sigma Project Management, and Six Sigma Implementation Success Factors. The foundation for the findings and discussions in this study are generated through these theories. The study disclosed that quality has not been the main concern in EPC projects. Albeit there has been sets of standardisation to achieve a certain level of quality, the EPC company has not really felt the necessity in enforcing it rigorously. Also, there are several challenges connected to the project management practices such as poor communication, inefficient project processes, disintegrated and complicated workflows, and limited access to project information. After challenges were identified, the existing framework within Six Sigma DMAIC was updated based upon the expected success factors for ideal vision of project lifecycle from the empirical findings, to accommodate solutions for the identified challenges. This thesis resulted in providing an updated framework for Six Sigma project management in EPC context. The identification of success factors for Six Sigma imple- mentation in EPC projects and its benefits are seemed to outweigh the constraints. It is recommended for future research to further investigate the real cause of the low awareness of quality management in EPC projects, formulate a better standardised workflow for EPC industry, and investigate the suitable type of organisation structure for EPC projects. Keywords: quality, Six Sigma, Six Sigma implementation, Six Sigma in EPC, project management, engineering procurement construction, EPC, Southeast Asian EPC industry v Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Christian Koch, for his guidance, valuable feedback, and the time he has devoted throughout this research. I would also like to thank my case company supervisor Andhika for his patience, guidance and support regarding the case company resources. A grateful thank you is also directed to all the knowledgeable engineers at the case company, the Six Sigma consultant, Asrizal, and the Construction Management researcher, Kajsa, for their supports, insights or advices in the making of this thesis. Lastly, I would also like to dedicate this thesis to my friends and family for their endless love, support, and encouragement. Diviezetha A.F. Thamrin, Gothenburg, August 2017 vii Contents List of Figures xiii List of Tables xv NOMENCLATURE xvi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 Purpose of the Study and Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.3 Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1.4 Research Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.5 Limitation and Delimitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.6 Thesis Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 Methodology 7 2.1 Research Methodological Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.2 Research Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.3 Research Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2.3.1 Literature Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.3.2 Empirical Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.4 Data Collection Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.4.1 Primary Data: Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.4.2 Secondary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2.5 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2.6 Data Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3 Literature Review 15 3.1 Introduction to the review of the literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 3.2 Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3.2.1 The Basic Principles of Project and Project Management . . . 16 3.2.2 Project Success Measures and Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . 16 3.2.3 Project Management Core Competencies and Knowledge Areas 17 3.2.4 Project Management Methodologies and Lifecycles . . . . . . 17 3.3 Six Sigma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3.3.1 Six Sigma Framework and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3.3.2 Six Sigma Techniques and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 3.4 Six Sigma Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 ix Contents 3.4.1 Critical Success Factor (Critical Success Factor (CSF)) of Six Sigma Implementation in Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3.4.2 Roles in Six Sigma Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.4.3 Six Sigma and Project Management Knowledge Areas . . . . . 24 3.5 Summary of the framework of the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4 Contextual Review 27 4.1 Energy, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Firms and Projects . 27 4.2 Quality Management in EPC Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 4.3 Six Sigma in EPC Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 4.4 Case Company Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 5 Empirical Findings 33 5.1 Quality Management and Quality Improvement in EPC Projects . . . 33 5.1.1 Driving Factor for Quality Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . 34 5.1.2 Management Support and Projects’ Quality Improvement . . . 35 5.2 EPC Project Management Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 5.2.1 Engineering Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 5.2.2 Procurement Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 5.2.3 Construction Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 5.3 Views from Professional Practitioners on Six Sigma Implementation in EPC Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 5.3.1 Current Condition of Quality Management in EPC Projects and Construction Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 5.3.2 Critical Success Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 5.3.3 Considerations, Benefits, and Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 5.4 Summary of Empirical Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 6 Analysis and Discussion 51 6.1 Key Activities and Players Involved in EPC Projects . . . . . . . . . 51 6.2 EPC Project Success Factors in Scale Items and Challenges Faced in EPC Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 6.3 Updated Six Sigma Project Management Framework . . . . . . . . . 59 6.4 Benefits and Constraints of Six Sigma Implementation in EPC Projects 60 6.5 Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 7 Conclusion & Recommendation 65 7.1 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 7.2 Recommendation for Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Bibliography 69 References 69 A Appendix A I A.1 Relevant Terms and Concepts within Project Management . . . . . . I A.2 Examples of Six Sigma Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II x Contents B Appendix B V B.1 Table of key activities, products, key players, and success factors for ideal vision in EPC projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V C Appendix C VII C.1 List of Interview Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII C.1.1 Views on Quality Management in Projects . . . . . . . . . . . VII C.1.2 Define – Initiating and Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII C.1.3 Measure and Analyse – Executing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII C.1.4 Improve – Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIII C.1.5 Control – Controlling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIII C.1.6 Six Sigma in General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIII xi Contents xii List of Figures 1.1 Thesis outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3.1 The waterfall model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 3.2 The DMAIC cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 3.3 The Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify (DMADV) cycle . . . . 20 3.4 The Six Sigma Toolbox, adapted from Magnusson et al. (2003) . . . . 20 3.5 Six Sigma DMAIC Project-Change Framework, adapted fromMcKenna (2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 3.6 Six Sigma Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3.7 Project Management Phases and DMAIC Steps, source: Rever (2010) 24 3.8 Integrated Project Management level in DMAIC phases, adapted from Kulkarni et al. (2007) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 4.1 Company’s Project and Operation Directorate Organisational Structure 31 6.1 Interconnected and interlinked success factors of Six Sigma projects (on elaboration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 6.2 The six most emphasised scale items and challanges it may resolve (on elaboration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 6.3 Updated Six Sigma Project Management framework . . . . . . . . . . 59 xiii List of Figures xiv List of Tables 3.1 Project management knowledge areas and their objectives, based on Project Management Office (PMO) Treasury Board of Canada Sec- retariat (1998) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 3.2 Summary of factor analysis on Six Sigma implementation success fac- tors, adapted from Sharma and Chetiya (2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 5.1 Summary of most often encountered challanges in EPC projects . . . 47 5.2 Summary of important factors for ideal vision of project lifecycle based on EPC phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 6.1 Summary of key activities and success factors for ideal vision in EPC projects (on elaboration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 6.2 Success factors and scale items (Sharma and Chetiya, 2012) found in EPC projects (on elaboration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 xv List of Tables NOMENCLATURE Acronym CSF Critical Success Factor DoE Design of Experiments DMAIC Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control DMADV Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify EPC Engineering, Procurement, and Construction FMEA Failure Mode and Effect Analysis KPI Key Performance Indicator PM Project Management PMBOK Project Management Body of Knowledge PMO Project Management Office SPC Statistical Process Control xvi 1 Introduction This chapter begins with the background of the thesis. The background is then fol- lowed by purpose of the study, statement of the problem along with the research questions, demarcations, and thesis outline. 1.1 Background Many large infrastructure projects have strikingly poor performance records, where it is mostly caused by cost overruns (Flyvbjerg, Bruzelius, & Rothengatter, 2003). In 2015, there was only 64% of projects which met their goals (PMI, 2015), including the construction projects conducted in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) companies. Big projects usually encounter big trouble in their projects, which affect the performance and quality of projects. These poor perfor- mance might have been caused by ineffective project management methods under the classic project management framework, as they are unable to quantify the value added activities within those projects (Harrington, 1991). Therefore, more com- panies are seeking for quality improvement methodologies to be implemented in the projects, in order to avoid project failure and to enhance the project success (Dahlgaard & Mi Dahlgaard-Park, 2006), where Six Sigma is one of them. Tenera and Pinto (2014) suggest that a great potential for integration between project management practices and Six Sigma is available, where solutions to prob- lems and opportunities will be found by Six Sigma, whilst the formal procedure for the implementation of the solutions will be provided by project management stan- dards. With Six Sigma tools, project managers will also be able to perform more effectively and achieve innovative results (Rever, 2010), thus will enhance project success through the reduction of completion cost and time throughout the entire project life-cycle; from design in engineering, supplying and allocating resources in procurement, to the construction phase itself. Applications of the Six Sigma method will allow integration of the knowledge of the process with statistics, en- gineering, and project management, thus will enhance the competitive advantage of an organisation (Anbari, 2002). The benefit of applying Six Sigma method to technology-driven, project-driven organisations are great, despite of the challenges that the organisations have to undergo in the initial phase (Kwak & Anbari, 2006). 1 1. Introduction 1.2 Purpose of the Study and Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate how EPC companies work with quality, and to explore how Six Sigma can be integrated into the traditional project management framework in EPC firms’ projects. The results will be used to provide recommendations to future EPC project-based firms to improve the project quality by implementing Six Sigma. The above aim will be accomplished by fulfilling the following study objectives: 1. Review the literature of project management framework, applications of the Six Sigma, and concepts of quality management within projects to identify the challenges project managers encounter and to show in what way the Six Sigma can influence the quality of projects. 2. Evaluate current practice from literature review of how Six Sigma has hitherto been implemented in EPC firms’ projects to identify relative factors in regards to project management framework. 3. Interview a sample of project engineers, quality engineers, construction en- gineers, or persons who possess the relevant competencies from EPC firms to find out their views on quality improvement in projects and the possibil- ity along with the effects of Six Sigma implementation in EPC firms’ project environments. 4. Produce a critical reflection of how Six Sigma can be integrated within the traditional project management framework to improve project quality. 5. Suggest ways in which EPC project-based firms can conduct more profitable projects through implementation of Six Sigma. 1.3 Statement of the Problem EPC projects are becoming more complex with large contract values, and im- plemented on a larger scale. Consequently, most of large EPC companies face com- mon issues which hinder their projects, which mainly caused by five major factors: 1) incompetent designers and/or contractors, 2) poor change management and es- timation, 3) technological and social issues, 4) site related issues, and 5) improper tools and techniques (Long, Ogunlana, Quang, & Lam, 2004). Therefore, more and more project-based companies—including EPC firms—find it is vital to find a more innovative and effective method which can be integrated into the project management framework (Pyzdek, 2003). The new innovative and effective method is expected to draft and manage the projects, as well as to enhance the company’s competitive advantage by supporting its project in any manner. Madu and Kuei (1993) proposed that a company could enhance its competi- tive advantages by strengthening the quality management through implementation of quality improvement methodologies. Implementing quality improvement method- ologies could improve their products and/or service characteristics, decrease costs, and perfect their processes (Tenera & Pinto, 2014). The aforementioned quality im- provement methodologies could vary from Total Quality Control, Lean Production, and also Six Sigma (Dahlgaard & Mi Dahlgaard-Park, 2006). 2 1. Introduction Initially, Six Sigma was designed as a pure quality management method for production and manufacturing processes (Brue and Howes, 2004). However, with the heavy pressure from globalisation, more organisations and companies have dis- covered the advantages of Six Sigma in management as they have to maintain their competitive advantages. Therefore, more projects executed in organisations have become Six Sigma projects, as those projects were integrated with the principles of Six Sigma management which can lead to the improvement of quality and reduction of cost (Bertels, 2003). A lot of companies have benefited from implementing Six Sigma in their projects; namely Ford Motor Co. who saved $300 million (Paton, 2000), Kodak who increased its productivity by 85% and Vertek who generated $6.8 million for its annual savings (Kwak & Anbari, 2006), and many other companies in various industries. There have not been many literatures which show how Six Sigma can be in- tegrated within Project Management framework then enhance the EPC projects. Therefore, there is a need for a structured framework that can meet the gap that exists between Six Sigma and its use in EPC projects. The statement of problem for this research would thereby revolve around how Six Sigma can be implemented and integrated within Project Management framework in EPC projects. 1.4 Research Question Since there have not been many literatures which show how Six Sigma can be integrated then enhance project in EPC firms, the main research question is: How can Six Sigma be implemented and integrated within project management framework in projects in EPC firms? Several prerequisites need to be understood beforehand in order to define clearer and more apropos directions for reaching the objective of the study. Having the clear overview of the main characteristics of EPC firms, the quality improve- ment methodologies, and the framework and features of Six Sigma methodology will provide a solid basis for the study. Therefore, the main research question is broken down further, as investigating this concern leads to other sub research questions: 1. What is Six Sigma and how does it relate to quality improvement projects? 2. What are the characteristics of EPC firms and how do they manage their quality at present? 3. What are the key success factors in implementing Six Sigma in EPC firms’ projects? 4. What can be the possible benefit and constraints of the implementation of Six Sigma at the beginning and how can these constraints be overcome? 1.5 Limitation and Delimitation The scope of this study is limited to a case study in a Southeast Asian EPC firm. This firm was rewarded as The Top 250 International Global Contractors by The Engineering News Record 2016 (News-Record, 2017), and the study started from January 2017 up to June 2017. The respondents of this study consist of 3 1. Introduction project engineers, quality engineers, construction engineers or persons who possess the relevant roles and competences from this EPC firm and seek for project quality improvement with quality management tools, as well as several professional prac- titioners. Nonetheless, the sample size from the case company is limited to seven interviews due to the limitation of a single case company and the availability of given resources. The two additional interviews from professional practitioners intend to gain a broader perspective of Six Sigma implementation within project management framework from the practitioner’s point of view. As such, the study will only ex- plore the implementation and integration of Six Sigma methods in traditional project management framework and project management practices in this particular EPC firm. Therefore, limitation will occur in the generalization of the findings. The gen- eralization limitation is whether the findings are applicable for other projects which share similarities with the type of the observed EPC firm’s projects, and also for other regions who share cultural and geographical similarities with Southeast Asia. The nature of study used is semi-structured interviews with each interviewee. As a cross-sectional study, the research data will be collected at a single point in time. The responses which will be received from the interviewees will probably be influenced by their subjective experiences, as the interviewees will be limited to only one interaction. Hence, there is a possibility of different results of the interview if the study is conducted in a longer term. The study covers only one EPC project- based firm located in Southeast Asia, thus the findings may also not be applicable to the broader range of project-based organisations who run their business in different areas of industry. In addition, the focus of this study is purely on the integration of Six Sigma methods in traditional project management framework and project management practices, hence the findings may not be applicable either to project- based companies which conduct different project management ways such as agile project management. 1.6 Thesis Outline The structure of the thesis is presented to the reader in this section and illus- trated in Figure 1.1 below. The first chapter provides the introduction to the project, including the state- ment of problems and the purpose of the research. The methodology of the research is elaborated in the second chapter, where it consists of the research strategy ap- proach and research method throughout the study. The third chapter presents the literature review regarding the topic of the study, which are project management, Six Sigma, Six Sigma project management. In this chapter, the theoretical frame- work which are presented by other researchers and authors is compiled to provide reference for different areas of the topic. There will be a section which elaborates the characteristic of EPC firm itself along with how Quality Management and improve- ment projects are conducted in EPC firm. This section is intended to bridge the framework of understanding in the literature review and the empirical findings, and is presented in the fourth chapter. Based on the first four chapters, the findings of the empirical study based on conducted interviews is presented in the fifth chapter. The results are then discussed, analysed, and contrasted against the literature in 4 1. Introduction Figure 1.1: Thesis outline the sixth chapter. The seventh chapter concludes the research by providing conclu- sions, presenting the outcome based on the methodology, and suggestion for further research in the future. 5 1. Introduction 6 2 Methodology This chapter begins with the introduction of this research methodology, which follows abduction approach. The research strategy is then presented by justifying the nature of the study, which is exploratory by building upon the existing knowledge with a case study. Literature study and empirical study are used as the research method, followed by data collection method which consists of interviews and secondary data collection. Lastly, the method of data analysis and data validation is presented. 2.1 Research Methodological Approach With the current theory in research methodology, this study research choice lies on the qualitative research. Procedures and techniques from a research orien- tation wer be used, which was interview. Generally, qualitative research is linked to interpretivism, where the underlying meaning of events and activities need to be interpreted (Bryman, 2015). Qualitative data analysis is associated with inductive approach, where it is mostly concerned with the generation of theory. However, Bryman (2015) states that there are some studies which employ qualitative research as a test or explorative study instead of generation of theory. Björklund and Pauls- son (2003) argued that an explorative study is suitable when there is little existing knowledge in the field of study. Based on the aforementioned backgrounds in the first chapter, an exploratory research based upon the existing knowledge is chosen for this study. As an exploratory research, this study adopts an abduction approach. Accord- ing to Dubois and Gadde (2002, p. 559), this approach is “a refinement of existing theories than on inventing new ones”, a combination of an induction and deduction approach which switches between theory and reality. Dubois and Gadde (2002) argued that a study will have a deeper understanding from both literature and em- pirical sides if it is done back and forward between literature and empirical part. In deduction approach, many variables are varied and the effect afterwards are anal- ysed in order to investigate the relations. On the other hand, in induction approach, there is little possibility of varying the factors as the effect is known already, where the factors will then be analysed. 7 2. Methodology 2.2 Research Strategy As mentioned in the previous section, the nature of this study is exploratory by building upon the existing knowledge or findings, since the aim is to enquire more of how Six Sigma can be integrated into the traditional project management framework. Exploratory research provides the flexibility to the researchers to adapt the research based upon the collected data and the findings (Coster & Van Wijk, 2015). Moreover, exploratory research allows both assessment and compilation of new ideas and insights on the topic in which the researcher is interested (Stebbins, 2001). Furthermore, to complement the exploratory research, a case study was chosen for the research design, where a specific entity is analysed in detail. According to Bryman (2015), a case study is an intense study and investigation of a single person, single organisation or single community, to name a few, through analysis of documents, observations, and semi-structured interviews with relevant professionals. The aim of this study was achieved by examining the company from the perspective of the people who work closely with projects in the company. There was a need to acquire a personal perspective of how these people perceive and outlook the company and the projects itself in particular. However, qualitative research design in a form of case study has a consequence in the context of the generalization of the outcome, due to its interviews are conducted with a limited number of participants within one particular organisation (Bryman, 2015). 2.3 Research Method There have not been many research done on how Six Sigma is integrated within EPC firms, especially in the Southeast Asian industry. It can be considered that the research done on this particular subject is insufficient, thus it was necessary to examine both the current industry practice and previous research. This was to investigate how Six Sigma can benefit and be implemented in Southeast Asian EPC firms. Furthermore, as this research follows abduction approach, it was essential to contrast the literature with the collected empirical data, then develop the result from the previous literature throughout the study. Therefore, this research consists of two major parts, which are literature study and empirical study. Both studies were done in parallel in order to investigate the applicability of Six Sigma implementation in Southeast Asian EPC firms. The first sub research question is answered through literature study, as the aim is to understand what Six Sigma is and how it relates to quality improvement projects. The second sub research question is mostly answered through literature study as well for the characteristics of EPC firms, and the combination of literature study and empirical study for how the EPC firms manage their quality at present. The third and fourth sub research question are mostly answered through empirical study, which are based and developed upon literature study. 8 2. Methodology 2.3.1 Literature Study A literature review is essential to be conducted in any research project in order to have an understanding of the previous research which has been done by other researchers. Besides showing areas which have already been studied, a literature review also shows areas which should be studied further (Webster & Watson, 2002). Dubois and Gadde (2002) also state that literature review provides a chance to define the relevant variables for a particular research, as well as how the predetermined variables are connected to each other. The literature review are mostly done with the concept-centric approach, where it focuses on a concept which links relevant literature (Webster & Watson, 2002). For this study, searching the research journals and papers were mostly conducted in different database such as Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Emerald. Books, articles, journals and relevant literatures which were provided by the library of Chalmers University of Technology and used in courses within International Project Management program were also reread and used to support the gained knowledge. The literature study was an iterative process that lasted during the entire study. The literature study regards several main fields concerning Project Manage- ment, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Project Management, Six Sigma Projects in EPC firms, and some other relevant theories for developing the working method. Elements which PM consists of such as the basic principles, project success measures, core competencies and knowledge areas, methodologies and lifecycles, as well as several relevant terms and concepts within PM are highlighted. In Six Sigma field, the focus are primarily on reviewing the concept and the classic model of Six Sigma, the prominent tools used in Six Sigma methodologies, and Six Sigma implementation framework. Meanwhile in the Six Sigma Project Management field, the focus are mainly on Six Sigma projects development, the existing framework of Six Sigma project management, success factors of Six Sigma implementation, and different roles within Six Sigma projects. Lastly, in Six Sigma Projects in EPC firms, the current practice of Quality Management in EPC firms is described briefly, as well as the examples of Six Sigma implementations in EPC firms. 2.3.2 Empirical Study Empirical study was conducted with the case study to gain a deeper under- standing about the current practices of quality management in EPC firms and how Six Sigma can be implemented within Project Management (PM) framework in EPC firms. This case study was conducted to add up to the attained knowledge from literature study, with a Southeast Asian EPC company. As the case company was one of top 250 international and global contractors of the world according to The Engineering News Record 2016 (News-Record, 2016), the results could be consid- ered adequate to represent how major EPC firms manage their quality and to study how one of quality improvement methodologies—which is Six Sigma—could be im- plemented in EPC projects. More explanation for the empirical study is further elaborated in the subsequent section. 9 2. Methodology 2.4 Data Collection Methods 2.4.1 Primary Data: Interviews Interviews were conducted with seven engineers from the case company. These engineers were from Quality Assurance and Quality Control Division, Project Con- trol Division, Engineering Department, Procurement Department, and Construction Department in order to gain in-depth qualitative material. The information was specifically obtained from the aforementioned divisions and departments on their levels within the company’s organisation. Engineers were chosen as the interviewee as they possessed not only specific competencies correlated with engineering deci- sions which interlinks with quality, but also relevant experiences and insights which were valuable for the study. However, the interviewees were also selected based upon the given and available resources from the company itself. The interviewees were asked about how the company views, works with, then develops quality, the level of implementation of quality management tools within their projects, the way they conduct their projects within project management framework in their company, then to identify in which way Six Sigma attributes could be utilised within the company’s projects, where the responses contributed to the exact ways of development of the integration. In additions to engineers from the case company, other interviews were con- ducted with two professional practitioners, who were a Master Black Belt and has been working as a Six Sigma consultant for 8 years and a Construction Management researcher from a prominent Swedish construction company. A Master Black Belt is an expert in Six Sigma tools and methods and has managed several Six Sigma projects by utilising these tools, and will be described further in the next chapter. The purpose of these second cycle interviews was to gain their insights of the possibil- ity of Six Sigma implementation and integration within traditional PM framework in EPC firms from the professional practitioner’s perspectives. Similar questions with the interview questions for the case company’s interviewees were asked. This was to compare the state of the art of the quality management according to an expert, and the one which was exercised in the company. Set of questions for the interview were designed to enquire the possibility of implementation of Six Sigma and their related components. The list of interview questions for both the case company and the professional practitioner was developed under the framework of Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC). The framework of DMAIC will be presented further in the next chapter, in regards to Project Management life cycle. The questions which were used are semi-structured questions in order to provide both the interviewees and the interviewer with some format, to help direct the responses, and to gauge the interviewees’ perceptions of how they think Six Sigma could be integrated within traditional project man- agement framework and practices in order to enhance the project success. With semi-structured questions, the interviewees would be able to clarify questions and vice versa, where the interviewer would be able to clarify responses as well. The list of interview questions is presented in Appendix C. 10 2. Methodology Skype Interview Access to global research participants could be facilitated by online methods such as Skype, which enable the online interview. As the case company is based in Indonesia, the interviews were conducted through Skype. Face to face inter- views with potential respondents who domicile in different geographical areas are possible to be conducted, as Skype has made communication over large distances more feasible (Deakin & Wakefield, 2014). Moreover, Skype interviews allow the re- searcher and respondents to create an artificial and virtual space and time in order to construct the research result for the researcher (Bertrand1 & Bourdeau1, 2010). According to Bertrand1 and Bourdeau1 (2010), Skype interview protocol has the advantage by enabling the interviewer to record video as well as voice calls, as long as the interviewees have given their consents. Skype interview with video let both the interviewee and researcher participate in an exchange of relationship that is visible to each other such as gestures, facial expression and verbal cues, which can be considered as a successful interaction (Sullivan, 2012). With the voice calls, verbatim can be produced in the same way as traditional interviews. However, albeit research interview by Skype offers what it seems like freedom space to the interviewees to end the network session, this provides a challenge for the interviewer to gain a higher degree collaboration from the interviewees. The Skype interviews were carried out on a one-to-one bases instead of a small group. In order to select the appropriate interviewees, several discussions were done with the supervisor from the case company to clearly address the purpose of the study and the need of the data that was expected to be obtained. Afterwards, the supervisor was able to connect and arrange several interviews with the relevant and potential persons who work closely with quality and projects, which were the case company’s engineers. According to the supervisor, these engineers already possessed adequate knowledge and experience. Moreover, they worked closely and directly with the quality in the projects. Therefore, the supervisor considered these engineers as the suitable respondents for the interviews with their capacities. Along with the recommendation from the supervisor, an email with the attachment of the abstract of the study was sent to the prospective interviewees, requesting their willingness to be interviewed. Afterwards, the list of interview questions was sent beforehand when the schedules were already fixed, in order for the interviewee to fully understand and reflect upon the questions before the interviews. Ethical Consideration This study involves interaction with the research participants who were in- terviewed as the source to obtain the required information. Therefore, this study incorporates ethical considerations throughout its lifecycle. The level of confidential- ity of the data was clarified, where the information obtained from the interview was used solely for the research purpose only. The interviews were proceeded after the research participants’ willingness to participate were confirmed and were recorded with the given participant’s consents to avoid missing any essential data which can alter the result of the interviews. Participants were notified about their rights to keep confidential information regarding how the company runs the projects off the 11 2. Methodology record before the interview. Afterwards, the obtained information was clarified to the research participants along with the presentation of analysed information to prevent the misunderstanding and the faulty data. 2.4.2 Secondary Data Before developing the list of interview questions, case company’s core activities and their project execution processes were studied. The purpose was to obtain an insight and a deeper understanding of the setting and the context, to enhance the knowledge of the case company and how projects are conducted in general within the company. Company homepage, annual reports, news articles, and internal doc- uments were compiled for background material. Through the secondary data, inter- view questions could be developed more accurately and maturely. The knowledge gained from the secondary data gathering was implemented directly into the inter- view guidelines to provide list of interview questions. However, some of the internal documents are confidential and thereby is not attached nor presented in either this study or the Appendix. 2.5 Data Analysis A mass of words is commonly generated from qualitative research, which needs to be structured and ordered. The data obtained from the interviews was structured and analysed based on the main topic and area of discussions by using content analysis. To ensure that the collected data was accessible after the interviews to transcribe it, an online recording equipment was used to record the interviews, after having the consent from the interviewees. According to Doody and Noonan (2013), recordings can be an effective tool to interpret and reflect the data, as it can be used to listening back to the recording of the interview. By listening to multiple interviews, the researcher will be most likely familiar with the key points described by the interviewees, thus it will be easier for them to identify the patterns (Doody & Noonan, 2013). Bryman (2015) suggested that the transcription of interviews ought to be done as soon as possible to give the researchers the most amount of time to clearly in- terpret the data without messing and/or tweaking it with other data obtained from other interviews. The results of the interviews were handled confidentially, and would be handed to the interviewees who requested it. The data analysis highlights the most critical points or key activities and key factors that an EPC firm should take into consideration when implementing Six Sigma and integrating it within tra- ditional project management framework in their projects. In addition, the analysis also reveals how EPC firms nowadays work with quality management, as well as the benefit and barriers of implementing Six Sigma within projects in EPC firm. The findings obtained from the analysis of the interview data are then presented and discussed. 12 2. Methodology 2.6 Data Validation There are two main criteria which are ought to be taken into consideration in order to assess a qualitative research, which are authenticity and trustworthiness. According to Bryman (2015), trustworthiness consists of four different criteria as follow: 1) conformability, how the researcher is expected not to mix their own values in the survey; 2) transferability, how the researcher is expected to describe culture and milieu in enlarger terms thus the findings can be applied in different settings; 3) credibility, how the researcher ensures that the studied environment is understood correctly by engaging the participants to make comments on the attained data while using good practice; and 4) dependability, how the researcher keeps all the data for reviews in the future study. The validity of this study was ensured by posing unbiased and clear questions to the interviewees. Afterwards, the validity of the attained results from the interviews were examined thoroughly. Lastly, a way to ensure the validity of this study was achieved through having regular supervision sessions and peer review. 13 2. Methodology 14 3 Literature Review This chapter provides the framework of understanding for the study, which presents brief and relevant literatures in regards to Project Management, Six Sigma, and Six Sigma Project Management. 3.1 Introduction to the review of the literature The project management practices are widely received by different industries and organizations. Project management has become a focal point for undertaking several of the business activities, thus its success and productivity is immensely important in order to create economic value and competitive advantage of organiza- tions (Aziz, 2012; Shenhar, Dvir, Levy, & Maltz, 2001). However, according to Aziz (2012), over budget and behind schedule delivery—which are parts of the definition of project success—have been one of the most significant concerns with projects lately. Madu and Kuei (1993) proposed that a company could enhance its compet- itive advantages through their projects by strengthening the quality management, through implementation of quality improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, total quality control, and Lean Production (Dahlgaard & Mi Dahlgaard-Park, 2006). Among these quality improvement methodologies, Six Sigma has gained more at- tention (El-Haik & Roy, 2005; Bertels, 2003). There are previous studies which attempt to expand Six Sigma cycle to project management practices and process improvement, among them are Tenera and Pinto (2014), Cheng and Chang (2012), (Wiklund & Wiklund, 2002), and so on. The optimization and efficiency to finalize project within planned time, budget, and scope, has been the main goal of the tra- ditional project management (DeCarlo, 2004; Wysocki, 2006), while achieving the quality level and promoting comprehensive management framework has been the main focus of Six Sigma (Snee & Hoerl, 2003). 15 3. Literature Review 3.2 Project Management 3.2.1 The Basic Principles of Project and Project Manage- ment There are several definitions of project and project management. Project has been defined as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, ser- vice or result” (PMI, 2013, p.3), and “a unique, transient endeavor undertaken to achieve planned objectives [. . . ] outcomes or benefits.” (APM, 2012, p.12). Further- more, project management has been defined as “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements” (PMI, 2013, p.5), while APM (2012, p.12) defines project management as “the application of processes, methods, [. . . ] the project objectives”. According to Kerzner and Ebrary (2013), a project has several characteristics, which are: 1) any series of activities and tasks; 2) has specific objectives to be completed within certain specifications; 3) has defined start and end dates; 4) has funding limits; 5) consume human and nonhuman resources; and 6) multifunctional. Kerzner and Ebrary (2013) states that project management is the planning, or- ganizing, directing, and controlling of company resources for a relatively short-term objective that has been established to complete specific goals and objectives. Project management is essentially management of change, thus designed to make better use of existing resources by getting work to flow horizontally as well as vertically within the company. It is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements (PMI, 2013). Several relevant terms and concepts within Project Management are presented in Appendix A.1. 3.2.2 Project Success Measures and Dimensions In the past few decades, the definition of project success has been revolving around the completion of set of activities within the constraints of time, cost, and performance (PMI, 2013); which is also known as the ‘iron triangle’ or ‘triple con- straint’. The triple constraint is about balancing each constraint as they affect project quality. The more detailed typical project constraints are also included scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources, and risks, but it is not only limited to those. The change in any of the parameters will likely affect at least one of the other project parameters as well (ibid.). Over the time, the definition of project success has been modified to include “completion within the allocated time period, the budgeted cost [. . . ] without chang- ing the corporate culture” (Kerzner and Ebrary, 2013, p.7). Boddy (2002) also states four dimensions that can be used to measure project success: 1) the project efficiency, 2) impact on customer, 3) business and direct success, and 4) the readiness of the firm or organization to prepare for the future. A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) can also be used as a particular part of the project success measures. It can be a milestone which must be met, a predetermined design, delivery, installation, pro- duction, testing, erection or commissioning stage, a payment date (in or out) or any other important stage in a project (Lester, 2007). 16 3. Literature Review 3.2.3 Project Management Core Competencies and Knowl- edge Areas Project Management skills are organized around the nine knowledge areas de- scribed in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). A knowledge area represents a complete set of concepts, terms, and activities that make up a professional field, project management field, or area of specialization. It provides a detailed description of the process inputs and outputs along with a descriptive explanation of tools and techniques most frequently used within the project man- agement processes to produce each outcome (PMI, 2013). The following Table 3.1 summarises the ten knowledge areas in project management and their objectives. Table 3.1: Project management knowledge areas and their objectives, based on PMO Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (1998) Knowledge Area Objective Project Integration Man- agement To co-ordinate the diverse components of the project by quality project planning, execution and change control to achieve required balance of time, cost and quality Project Scope Management To create quality product by including only the required work, and to control scope changes Project Time Management To ensure timely completion of the project Project Cost Management To ensure that the project is completed within al- lotted budgets Project Quality Manage- ment To ensure that the product will satisfy the require- ments Project Human Resource Management To employ quality leadership to achieve quality teamwork Project Communications Management To distribute quality project information Project Risk Management To identify, analyze, control, and respond to project risk Project Procurement Man- agement To ensure quality service or product acquisition Project Stakeholder Man- agement To identify, plan stakeholder management, adn manage and control stakeholder engagement 3.2.4 Project Management Methodologies and Lifecycles Traditional project management involves very disciplined and deliberate plan- ning and control methods. Tasks are completed one after another in an orderly se- quence, requiring a significant part of the project to be planned up front (Hass, 2007). The traditional project management main process follows the waterfall model, which is summarized in the flow chart in Figure 3.1 below: In traditional project management, once a phase is complete, it is assumed that it will not be revisited. The strengths of this approach are that it lays out the steps 17 3. Literature Review Figure 3.1: The waterfall model for development and stresses the importance of requirements (Hass, 2007). However, this approach also has limitations, where projects rarely follow the sequential flow, and clients usually find it difficult to completely state all requirements early in the project. 3.3 Six Sigma Six Sigma has been defined and redefined in many ways since its success com- mencement at Motorola. Hammer and Goding (2001) defined Six Sigma as a set of structured and disciplined methodologies and techniques to reduce cost and im- prove quality for solving business problems. The reduction of unwanted variations has been the focus of Six Sigma (Klefsjo, Bergquist, & Edgeman, 2006), as it strives to have no more than a corresponding number of defects per million opportunities (DPMO), or percentage of defects (Keller, 2011). Six Sigma helps to direct management actions and decisions across an organ- isation through its data-driven philosophy (Feld & Stone, 2002), and put consider- able focus on financially measurable results for improving processes, reducing waste, and increasing customer satisfaction (Caulcutt, 2001). According to Sörqvist and Höglund (2007), Six Sigma has five focus areas which forms the basis for improve- ments, which are: 1) identify and solve chronic problems; 2) understand the under- lying process; 3) understand and reduce variations; 4) focus on achieving measurable results; and 5) make improvements from customer needs and expectations. 3.3.1 Six Sigma Framework and Features Six Sigma has been recognised as a systematic framework for quality improve- ment and business excellence (Yang & El-Haik, 2003). According to Pyzdek (2003), one of the most widely tested approaches available today to focus on process im- 18 3. Literature Review provement and recognised in Six Sigma is the DMAIC methodology. DMAIC phases stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control as shown in Figure 3.2, which are the key processes of a standard framework for a Six Sigma project. In order to succeed while conducting a Six Sigma program within this framework, it is necessary to finalise each phase before starting the next phase (Dirgo, 2005). Gen- erally, each phase is connected to a set of specific tools which will provide a solid base for the program. Figure 3.2: The DMAIC cycle The focus of the Define phase is to determine the magnitude of the project, along with the project’s scope, problem statement, goals, stakeholders, milestones, schedule, budget, resources, and expected project output (Gupta, 2006). In this phase, tools which will be used during the upcoming phases start to be considered. The Measure phase follows the Define phase, with focus on identifying the inputs to the process which will affect the outputs. Identifying these inputs are done through planning and developing data collection plans, gathering the necessary data and selecting the proper Six Sigma tools (Magnusson, Kroslid, Bergman, Häyhänen, & Mills, 2003). In the Analyse phase, various methods are used to gain a deeper understanding of the outputs as well as the effect of the identified inputs to the outputs based on the examination from the gathered data in the Measure phase. The main cause in the problem statement is analysed in this phase, and the problems is prioritised based on each of its impact to the quality (Dirgo, 2005; Gupta, 2006). The fourth phase, Improve, focuses on selecting the best design solutions to the problems then subsequently implement it to achieve the goals (Park, 2003). Lastly, the selected solutions which have been implemented should be monitored to ensure the achievement of the improvement targets in the Control phase (Magnusson et al., 2003). This last phase of DMAIC framework is vital, as the goal is to keep the continuous improvement while preventing the backwards at the same time (Park, 2003). Another popular framework which is associated with Six Sigma follows DMADV phases, which stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Design and Verify as shown in Figure 3.3. DMADV is used to develop new products or services, whereas DMAIC is primarily utilised to eliminate waste and improve existing process (Jones, Parast, & Adams, 2010). 19 3. Literature Review Figure 3.3: The DMADV cycle 3.3.2 Six Sigma Techniques and Tools There are numbers of techniques and tools which can be utilised in Six Sigma methodology in DMAIC phases, where some practitioners refer as seven-times-seven toolbox or known as the Six Sigma toolbox. Divided into seven groups with seven tools in each group, this toolbox consists of 49 different improvement tools which can be utilised during the whole project. The various tools within the Six Sigma toolbox are presented in the Figure 3.4 below. Figure 3.4: The Six Sigma Toolbox, adapted from Magnusson et al. (2003) Several tools which have been widely used include Cause-and-Effect Diagram, Pareto Chart, Process Mapping, Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Design of Experiments (DoE), Statistical Process Control (SPC), and other prominent tools. Several most common tools which are usually utilised for Six Sigma program are described in Appendix A.2. 20 3. Literature Review 3.4 Six Sigma Project Management Dating back to the mid-1980s, many organisations were able to sustain their competitive advantage with the application of the Six Sigma methods through in- tegration of their knowledge of the process with engineering, statistics, and project management (Anbari, 2002). Six Sigma projects mostly aim to achieve enhance- ment of organizational performance and profitability, as well as greater customer satisfaction (Jones et al., 2010). These are done by attempts of achieving specific goals through defining quantifiable measures by focusing on customer needs (Jones et al., 2010). Kwak and Anbari (2006) also stated that Six Sigma is a project-driven management method with focus on improving productivity, financial performance, business systems, and understanding of customer requirements by continually re- ducing defects in the organisation. There have been some attempts to enlarge the DMAIC cycle of Six Sigma to process improvement and project management practices. Tenera and Pinto (2014) stated that a great potential for integration of project management practices and the DMAIC is available. Finding solutions to problems and opportunities is provided through DMAIC, whereas project management standards will focus on the imple- mentation of the solutions through the formal procedure (Tenera & Pinto, 2014). Moreover, Rever (2010) argued that innovative results will be achieved through the incorporation of DMAIC steps in each project, as Six Sigma provides: • Better understanding and improvement future results through suitable statis- tical process knowledge; • Process improvement through a set of solid tools; • Reduction of instinctive reactions through variability knowledge; • Concrete quantitative analysis based on decisions making on facts. McKenna (2005) also proposed a Six Sigma project management framework based on DMAIC cycle. The proposed framework with the suggested Six Sigma tools which are usually used for several certain activities is illustrated in Figure 3.5 below. This framework puts a more considerable focus on a project-change frame, which describes the stages that a project needs to make to secure success, or in other word, to improve its quality to avoid poor performance. Figure 3.5: Six Sigma DMAIC Project-Change Framework, adapted from McKenna (2005) 21 3. Literature Review Financial terms are usually the expected form of the outcomes of Six Sigma projects, as they lead to a direct measure of achievement which provide a distinct calibration of progress as well as a better measure of the impact of improvements (Goh, 2002). However, Jones et al. (2010) stated that there have not been many lit- eratures of the design and structure of Six Sigma projects, despite of many reference to Six Sigma implementation as a systematic and structured process improvement methodology. 3.4.1 Critical Success Factor (CSF) of Six Sigma Implemen- tation in Project There have been extensive researches conducted to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) of Six Sigma approach, such as researches by Anthony and Banuelas (2002), Sharma and Chetiya (2010), Knowles et al. (2004), Yang et al. (2007), Lee and Choi (2006), and many other researches. These CSFs are essential for the success of quality improvement projects, as the identified factors will encourage firms to develop appropriate implementation plans for their projects (Mann & Kehoe, 1995). The following Table 3.2 summarises the CSFs of Six Sigma implementation which have been identified in different publication particularly pertaining to Asian environment, then grouped into six categories by Sharma and Chetiya (2012). Each of the CSFs has their own scale items. These scale items are more detailed variables identified through the literature survey by the author, then grouped into the seven groups of underlying CSFs. Table 3.2: Summary of factor analysis on Six Sigma implementation success factors, adapted from Sharma and Chetiya (2012) Factor Scale items Right tools, measurement innovation and supplier collaboration - Capability assessment and enhancement of the supplier - Innovation management and design capa- bility - Long-term supplier collaboration - A good measurement assurance system - Application of the right tool mix - A creative problem solving approach Cross-functional organisation, preocess re-engineering and the "strategic fit of Six Sigma" - Formation of cross-functional teams - Linking Six Sigma to corporate business strategy and goals - Process mapping and reengineering Education to customers, metrics and measurement and workflow management systems - Intensive education and training of work- force - Linking Six Sigma to customers - Linking Six Sigma to employees - Identifying and developing appropriate metrics and deliverables 22 3. Literature Review - An integrated process flow and manage- ment system Work and organisational culture - Development of right work culture - Motivating the workforce Project choice and leadership - Quality of project leadership - Selection of the right project Project championship and staffing - Choice of the project champion Management commitment organisation and availability of resources - Availability of infrastructure and resources - Level of management commitment In addition to the aforementioned main factors, Kwak and Anbari (2006) also identified four key elements of successful Six Sigma applications: 1) management involvement and organisational commitment; 2) project selection, management, and control skills; 3) encouraging and accepting cultural change; and 4) continuous ed- ucation and training. 3.4.2 Roles in Six Sigma Project In order for the project to be successful, it is critical to incorporate the support from the management, where the management shows and communicates the under- lying reasons for deploying Six Sigma (Magnusson et al., 2003). Different roles are required in addition to strong management support in conducting Six Sigma project efficiently. The personnel executing a Six Sigma project can be classified into several levels according to their amount of knowledge in Six Sigma, competence, and their responsibilities within the improvement project (ibid). These different hierarchical roles are illustrated in Figure 3.6 below: Figure 3.6: Six Sigma Belt The lowest hierarchical level of the roles in Six Sigma project is White Belts 23 3. Literature Review then followed by Yellow Belts, which are commonly not used. However, White Belts refer to frontline staff, operators, and clerks in improvement projects. Yellow Belts then followed by Green Belts, which are mainly project leaders for small projects, or member of the improvement project itself. Green Belts are mainly responsi- ble in applying Six Sigma tools in improvement projects (Magnusson et al., 2003), familiarizing Six Sigma to local teams, and identifying as well as recommending improvement projects (Pyzdek, 2003). The next higher level in the hierarchy is Black Belts, which mostly a team leader of Six Sigma projects or large cross-functional projects and a full time profes- sional. Black Belts are responsible for coaching Green Belts with local and smaller projects, as they are considered as the specialists within Six Sigma and thereby have the most important role for the daily execution activities of improvement projects (Magnusson et al., 2003; Sörqvist & Höglund, 2007). The highly experienced Black Belts are then called Master Black Belts, whose responsibilities are being a support- ing function for Black Belts and Green Belts by mentoring and coaching them, as well as helping the Champions and Six Sigma leader to keep the project on track. Master Black Belts are experts in Six Sigma tools and methods and have managed several projects by utilising these tools. The highest level of Six Sigma hierarchical roles is Champions, who are members of the senior management team and lead the Six Sigma steering committee in general. Champions are responsible to ensure the availability of resources, the resolution of cross-functional issues, and the start and execution of the chosen improvement projects (Magnusson et al., 2003). 3.4.3 Six Sigma and Project Management Knowledge Areas A basic idea of the integration of DMAIC steps from Six Sigma methodology within Project Management phases is proposed by Rever (2010) as an iterative process as illustrated in Figure 3.7 below. Figure 3.7: Project Management Phases and DMAIC Steps, source: Rever (2010) The Six Sigma define step includes extensive scoping and planning by develop- ing the project charter, ensuring proper sponsorship, and acquiring suitable cross- functional team members. In this phase, project manager agrees upon key measures which sustains improvement and link to the project success. Afterwards, a data- collection plan is developed in measure step as a basis for process decisions based 24 3. Literature Review upon accurate measurement system to provide clues and key metrics for building up improvement path in the analyze step. In the improve step, recommendations are validated, verified and demonstrated before the final implementation of final process. Lastly, a new process is implemented in control step to hand off the final recommendations of the verified improvements (Rever, 2010). In addition, Kulkarni et al. (2007) also evaluate a set of the tools within DMAIC phases which has been proven to have been integrated within Project Man- agement areas as depicted in Figure 3.8 below. Figure 3.8: Integrated Project Management level in DMAIC phases, adapted from Kulkarni et al. (2007) However, there are still room for improvement for the Project Management knowledge areas which have not been integrated and missing in DMAIC phases, such as Project Management Plan, Risk Identification, Human Resource and Com- munication Planning in define phase, Stakeholder Management, Cost Control and Risk Monitoring and Control in measure phase, Scope Control and Verification, Cost Control and Quality Assurance in analyse phase, and Schedule Control and Information Distribution in each phase (Kulkarni et al., 2007). 3.5 Summary of the framework of the study After an extensive literature research was conducted, four major frameworks were chosen to provide a structured direction for analysis and discussion for the study. The frameworks are the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology, which was com- bined with Project Management Phases and DMAIC steps by Rever (2010). Hav- ing DMAIC methodology and Project Management Phases as the main structure for analysis, this study used Six Sigma implementation success factors which were summarised by Sharma and Chetiya (2012) from several different authors to in- vestigate the CSFs of Six Sigma implementation and integration with EPC project management context for the case company. This list of success factors is chosen as the main framework for the basis of the analysis, as it was developed through an extensive literature review and has been validated through an empirical research. Moreover, the list was proposed in Asian context, which is more suitable with the case company which operates in Southeast Asian market. Lastly, Six Sigma Project Management framework proposed by McKenna (2005) was also used as the basis of existing knowledge. The findings and analysis would be used to build upon this 25 3. Literature Review existing framework. The framework of Six Sigma Project Management by McKenna (2005) is chosen due to its relevance with the topic of this study, and also because it covers the frameworks of project management provided by PMI and its knowledge areas. These all frameworks are used as they complement each other in synthetising the analysis needed to reach the aim of the study. DMAIC cycle is an improvement method in quality, whereas the CSFs proposed by Sharma and Chetiya (2012) pro- vided discussion for Six Sigma implementation success factors to investigate whether these CSFs from literatures are also suitable and for the case company and found within their project management practices. These provided a comprehensive ap- proach for the case study to build upon the existing knowledge in form of Six Sigma Project Management framework by McKenna (2005). 26 4 Contextual Review This chapter serves as the bridge of the framework of understanding for the study in the previous section with the empirical materials which is presented in the next chapter. In this section, characteristics and attributes of EPC firms in general will be discussed, as well as the current practice of quality management in EPC firms nowadays and several examples of Six Sigma implementation in EPC firms’ projects. 4.1 Energy, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) Firms and Projects According to Spencer Ogden (2014), EPC firms are companies in the construc- tion industry who run their projects in a certain form of contracting agreement, where “the engineering and construction contractor will carry out the detailed engi- neering design of the project, procure all the equipment and materials necessary, and then construct to deliver a functioning facility or asset to their clients”. Drawings and specifications are supplied by Engineering to Construction, whereas requisi- tions detailing fabricated items, equipment, and bulk materials which are need to be purchased and specialised services which are need to be contracted are supplied by Engineering to Procurement (Ballard, 1993). In addition, external suppliers and service providers could be suppliers to Construction as well, where all these three functions form the interdependency. EPC firms are commonly known as EPC contractors as well, and provide a detailed and integrated engineering, procurement, and construction services. As it offers integrated services, EPC projects tend to be complicated and therefore require special knowledge and expertise. Most of them are obliged to execute and deliver a qualified project within a predetermined budget and time under Lump Sum Turn Key (LSTK) contract, where the EPC firm also has to accommodate the risk in regards to budget and schedule (Kaewchainiem, 2011). EPC firms mostly cover interdisciplinary areas of engineering such as process, civil and structural, plant layout, mechanical, electrical, geo-technical, and instrumentation and controls (Fox, 2014); thus its main advantage is having a reduction of the total project duration through tis overlap in design, procurement and construction phases (Kaewchainiem, 2011). According to Villanueva and Kovach (2013), EPC firms are typically granted projects by other firms to construct or build a plant, such as a refinery, a petrochem- 27 4. Contextual Review ical plant, an offshore drilling platform, or a power plant. Many resources including material, people, and other financial support are required to execute these types of projects, as various discrete activities are required to construct plants (Villanueva & Kovach, 2013; Choi et al., 2008). EPC projects are in general highly schedule driven, as its mechanical completion date based upon the project deliverables, spec- ifications, and client’s requirements. In the projects, the Instrument and Controls Engineering/Design Department plays a critical role in project design, as designing or building a facility typically account for relatively 20 to 30 percent of project cost (Sinnott & Towler, 2009). During the project execution, the client or project owner is customarily present to ensure that the project is carried out in accordance to the predetermined scope (Spencer-Ogden, 2014). Yeo and Ning (2002) state that an EPC project can be a complex product development which depends upon financial commitment and considerable human efforts, as its activities are time-phase in accordance to resource requirements and constraints as well as specified precedence activities. The fact that EPC project has to manage phase overlaps, interdependence of activities, complex organizational structure, and uncertainty of desired outcomes has made conducting EPC projects is challenging to some extent (Yeo & Ning, 2002), thus there is a necessity to have a well-established project management system in order to run the EPC projects without significant issues, especially due to frequent project changes and variations (Ogunlana, Promkuntong, & Jearkjirm, 1996; Chan & Kumaraswamy, 1997). 4.2 Quality Management in EPC Firms Nowadays, the focus of the business has shifted to customer satisfaction through customer-oriented management, rather than higher productivity through production- oriented management (Song, Lee, & Park, 2004). Therefore, quality management has emerged as one of the main concerns for competitive advantage improvement for many corporations in various industries, including EPC firms. Nonetheless, (Song et al., 2004) argue that most of the firms still neglect the quality management aspect in their substantial action programs albeit the realisation of the significance and im- portance of quality, including in EPC firms. In most of the EPC project life cycle, quality has not been prioritised compared to cost and schedule due to the consid- eration that the detection of quality problems can be done only after the problems occur (Garvin, 1988). During the construction phase of EPC projects, disruption may still often occur followed by waste of resources to a certain extent due to poor quality planning, which lead to poor delivery of specifically design documents, offsite resources, and permanent plant materials and equipment (Ballard, 1993). Quality itself can be defined as the conformance of characteristics and features of an entity to satisfy the established requirements and stated needs (ISO9000, 2000), where the entity itself can be a product, a process, a component, or a service (Ledbetter, 1994). From merely product-related quality control, quality manage- ment then has been evolving to Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Lean, and so on, which aims for continuous process improvement (Seaver, 2003; Song et al., 2004) and has started to be applied in EPC projects as well. However, Song et al. (2003) state that in EPC projects, the quality objects which is likely to be 28 4. Contextual Review achieved through quality management vary according to project phases, construc- tion methods, project client, and other various factors which are determined by the characteristics of project. In construction phase in EPC project, quality covers the program of required procedures, policies, and responsibilities to provide assurance that the desired characteristics are obtained to ensure the project will perform as predetermined scopes over its life-cycle (Gransberg & Molenaar, 2004). However, as mentioned earlier, quality management has not been well incorpo- rated in most of firms’ applied strategy, including in EPC firms (Song et al., 2004; Tutesigensi & Pleim, 2008). Albeit most of EPC projects focus on the results of works and revealed that they have applied quality management system such as ISO 9001 and other self-checking methods indeed (Samman & Graham, 2007), labours or equipment which affect the quality tend to be not included in the scope of quality management (Lee, Yu, & Kim, 2004). According to Tutesigensi and Pleim (2008), one of the cause of the lack of quality improvement in the construction industry is insufficient quality requirements from the clients themselves. Similarly, Samman and Graham (2007) also mention that the needs and wants of the clients are always taken into account and play a big role in improving the quality in construction phase, thus the lack of quality management might be traced back to the lack of clients’ re- quirements and specifications in regards to quality. Several issues and concerns of quality management in EPC projects have been summarised by CMII (1994), which cover: • Projects are seldom developed by the full project team which consists of engi- neer, owner, and contractor • Projects tend to focus on isolated phases with minimum integration • Most measurement processes conducted in projects are a non-predictive man- ner of measurement instead of process steps • Projects are geared for short-term improvements rather than long-term strate- gic goals • Projects are not well-suited for benchmarking However, series of measurement tools are still found to be developed and im- plemented in EPC projects for project quality planning, quality performance, and quality assurance at certain level, such as Quality Performance Management Sys- tem, Quality Cost Matrix, and Quality Performance Tracking System (Love & Irani, 2003). 4.3 Six Sigma in EPC Context Initially, Six Sigma has historically been regarded as a model used merely in manufacturing industry. However, the growing need of sustaining the competitive advantages for firms in various industries has consequently made Six Sigma is widely used and adapted in many industries nowadays. An analysis of an internal process usually initiates the improvement project in manufacturing (Magnusson et al., 2003), whereas in engineering and construction industry, an improvement project is still not common to be found (CMII, 1994). Tchidi et al. (2012) mention that to over- come insufficient technology and poor management which account for low quality of project, Six Sigma can potentially benefit projects in engineering and construction 29 4. Contextual Review industry greatly, as the methodology aims to increase the perceived quality by the client. Engineering and construction industry can utilise Six Sigma methodology as an additional approach to analyse firm’s current work-processes. Overall EPC projects from planning phase to delivery phase can benefit from Six Sigma, as it is suitable for not only higher organisational level as strategic quality tools, but also for lower level as quality measurement and improvement system (Tchidi et al., 2012). Furthermore, Stewart and Spencer (2006), Kashiwagi et al. (2004), and Tchidi et al. (2012) believe that overall design, procurement, and construction process time can be lowered by incorporating Six Sigma within projects, in addition to costs reduction and the fulfilment of predetermined quality and requirements, as well as waste and energy decrease. Several EPC firms—albeit still not as many as manufacturing firms—have im- plemented and benefited from Six Sigma, such as Kelogg Brown and Root (KBR), a world-wide EPC firm, who achieved world class results through its improved project delivery process. In a case study which was conducted by Tchidi et al. (2012), it was found that shifting to Six Sigma based prefabrication from traditional on site construction led to company saving by 26% of the project duration and almost 85% of material waste. Another firm who has successfully benefited from this approach is Saudi Aramco, who has been implementing work-process improvements by adopt- ing several principles of this approach (Villanueva & Kovach, 2013; Patty & Denton, 2009). In addition, Kwak and Anbari (2006) and Eckhouse (2003) also reported the success of Bechtel Corporation, one of the largest global EPC companies in the United States, in implementing Six Sigma program. Bechtel has been working with Six Sigma since 2000 and was among the first EPC firm to do so. It utilises Six Sigma to minimise project risks, hence it is able to deliver project within a higer certainty of budgets and schedules. In one of its prominent successful project, The Ivanpah Solar Facility, Six Sigma was used to analyse design, procurement and construction challenges, thereafter to develop new processes to execute the project successfully and thus reach performance goals (Gillespie, 2013). This approach resulted in savings of $200 million with an investment merely of $30 million by identifying and preventing rework and defects from design to construction as well as on-time delivery of employee payroll. Another example is the utilisation of Six Sigma to help optimising the management of cost and schedules, and to streamline the operational process in a chemical plant (Kwak & Anbari, 2006; Moreton, 2003). 4.4 Case Company Profile The case study is conducted in a Southeast Asian integrated EPC service com- pany. The company handles major multimillion dollar projects for both major national and multinational clients, primarily in the construction of infrastructure plants of petrochemical, oil and gas, power, mineral, geothermal environment, and infrastructure sectors. Several strategic business units based on the type of in- dustry categorise how the company runs it projects, which consist of: 1) refinery and petrochemical, 2) oil and gas onshore and offshore, 3) mineral, environment 30 4. Contextual Review and infrastructure, 4) geothermal and power, and 5) portfolio department. The company offers comprehensive EPC service for all types of projects, starting from turnkey, expansion, revamping, relocation, to plant operations and ongoing main- tenance projects. Its project activities cover building design engineering, where it provides and implements activity services in the phases of project initiation, project implementation and project operation. This study was primarily performed in The Operation Unit and Project Control Unit under The Project and Operation Directorate, which covers the general respon- sibilities of project management activities. The Operation Unit is divided into three main departments where the study focuses on. These departments are Engineering, Procurement, and Construction; and two additional supporting departments, which are Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSE) Department, and Offshore Op- eration Department. Furthermore, each department is divided into several divisions which serve different functions based on its disciplines. Since the focus of this study also relies significantly in quality, a study in Quality Assurance and Quality Control Division under the Project Control unit is also performed in order to supplement and support the understanding of how quality in projects is managed. Figure 4.1 visualises the organisational structure of The Project and Operation Directorate. Figure 4.1: Company’s Project and Operation Directorate Organisational Structure This directorate performs high level of complexity projects that are core to the company and familiar, with project budget over 15 million USD. Projects commonly take more than 18 months to complete due to its large scale, where the core project teams have 11-20 team members including the project manager. As the company primarily executes large scale projects, the company limits itself to only handle between one to ten projects at the same time. The company is certified under several certifications in regards to quality man- agement, environmental management, and occupational safety and health manage- ment system. To ensure that it complies with all the quality management standard, the company is ISO 9001:2008 certified, which was issued by PT Lloyd’s Register. The Quality Management emphasises that the company operates in compliance with all relevant domestic and international safety and environmental standards. 31 4. Contextual Review 32 5 Empirical Findings This chapter presents empirical material gathered from interviews, company’s inter- nal documents and secondary data, which are divided into three major sections. The first section covers quality management and improvement in the case company. The second section covers project management practices in EPC projects in its three main phases, which are Engineering, Procurement, and Construction. The last section provides the views from professional practitioners in regards to the implementation of Six Sigma in EPC projects. 5.1 Quality Management and Quality Improve- ment in EPC Projects According to one of the Construction Engineers (CE1), EPC projects carried within this company have four main priorities where quality comes the second after safety, then followed by schedule and cost. To ensure that all departments comply with the ISO 9001:2008, the company has evaluated and transcribed the certification into a set of established guidelines of various types of reports for each functions within each different departments. All functions have to follow the established documents, where each tasks will be reviewed by checker functions. In addition to the company’s general standardised documents, Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Division always develops a QA/QC Execution Plan (EP) for every project. QA/QCEP comprises of detailed targets which needs to be fulfilled during the whole project lifecycle, as well as the maximum target of rejection. The Project Control Engineer (PCE) also mentioned the importance of incor- porating ‘cost of quality’ into account, where management has to be able to deliver the expected product to the client optimally while preventing the occurrence of cost of non-conformance for rework, repair, and excessive scrap materials. This preven- tion for non-conformance is done by giving training to all vendor, subcontractors, and internal organisation, audit, inspection and testing, and additional planning. “The expense for the project planning which incorporates this prevention system will of course slightly higher than the regular project expense. However, the end result will minimise rework, repair, and other non-conformance,” explained the PCE. According to the QA/QC Engineer (QA/QCE), another practical way to man- age quality of projects is by limiting the number of participating vendors in the bidding stage to only three to five reputable vendors, who are already well known 33 5. Empirical Findings for their qualified works. The bidding process could be challenging when having too many participating vendors, as the Procurement Department has to assess each vendor which takes some amount of time. After the bidding stage, it is important to have a well-defined proposal which is agreed by the project owner in planning stage. A well-defined proposal serves as the guidelines to define project budget and project schedule. “We have to be able to negotiate with the project owner to ensure we have adequate resources in terms of budget and time to deliver a qual- ified project deliverables in accordance to the agreed project requirements,” stated QA/QCE. Moreover, “Quality management and assurance is necessary to execute a project more efficiently without reducing its quality by doing the right thing, right in the first time,” said the PCE. 5.1.1 Driving Factor for Quality Implementation By having “focus on customer” as one of its values, the project owners have been the main driving factor which encourages EPC firm to be concerned about quality. The PCE stated that quality is the matter of conformance to the require- ments to reach customer satisfaction, which will benefit the company in the long run by gaining the trust of the customer. “By maintaining the quality of our project outcomes, we will keep project owner contented, thus will affect our firm’s prof- itability indirectly,” said one of the Engineering Engineers (EE1). This statement is supported by one of the Construction Engineers (CE2), which stated that imple- mentation of quality management in each project depends heavily on the project owners, whether the project owners puts considerably emphasis on quality or not. In addition to that, the Procurement Engineer (PE) also described that “All the quality related elements always go back to the project owners”, where most of the project owners guarantee the quality of project deliverables by strictly requesting the usage of certain certified materials only. According to the QA/QCE, the quality element is highly related to the project specifications. The project owners frequently use licensor such as Kellog Brown Root (KBR) as the reference to define the project specifications. The defined project specifications from the third party are then adapted again to a set of agreed fi- nal project specifications, which covers the acceptance criteria and guidelines for expected project deliverables in more detail. It is then revealed that the level of awareness of quality management for each project is different, where it depends on the project owner and their willingness to implement quality management. However, the PE revealed that there is no such things as ‘the best quality’ of project output in EPC projects. “In EPC projects, quality is about delivering output which meets project owner’s expectation, instead of delivering sophisticated project output with the highest up-to-date quality where it far surpasses the project specifications. Qual- ity has to highly take project cost into account, as we also have to be concern with project profitability,” admitted the PE. The QA/QCE also emphasised the impor- tance of keeping the credibility and winning the project owner’s trust by delivering a project output in accordance to the defined project specifications on budget and on time. From the Construction Department perspective, drivers to implement quality 34 5. Empirical Findings management in projects mostly comes from the QA/QC Department. According to CE1, the QA/QC encourages the Construction Team to enforce quality man- agement within the project execution. The force from QA/QC Department most likely comes because they want to promote the quality awareness for the company’s image. It also presents due to the pressure from project owner to deliver a good quality product based on the specifications. CE1 revealed that another big force for implementing quality management also comes from the partner within consor- tium, or also well-known as alliance integrated team. The alliance integrated team is where the company works together with other parties of contractors to work on one particular project. If one of the parties within the alliance integrated team has a high standard of quality management, the company would likely follow the highest standard that one of the contractor promotes. This high quality standards which are enforced by one of the contractor in alliance integrated team are sometimes even higher than the specified quality specifications from project owner. 5.1.2 Management Support and Projects’ Quality Improve- ment QA/QCE highlighted the importance of management support, particularly in solving dispute items case which still occurs once in a while and may disrupt a project. In addition to that, “management support also plays a critical role to ensure that the project is on track in terms of budget and schedule. They also monitor whether the project is going to the right direction to achieve the expected project outcome,” explained QA/QCE. The CE1 mentioned that there have been a lot of reworks during the execution in Construction phase, which is mostly caused by the substandard quality of deliv- erables. He suspected that this is caused by the lack of rigorous implementation of PMBOK which also covers Quality Management area, albeit the company refers to PMBOK as their standard and guidance for project management activities. There has not been any discourse of initiating neither Six Sigma nor any other similar quality improvement method within their project management in the near future. However, the QA/QCE argued that if there will be any intention to initiate the quality improvement methodology such as Six Sigma, the cost consideration can be overlooked. The cost consideration can be compromised if the benefits of the implementation are believed to be greater than the cost, after further study to scrutinise and to ensure that Six Sigma implementation plan is aligned with the company’s business process. Nonetheless, top management must consider the adjustment of routine for project team members if Six Sigma will change the work culture significantly. Conclusively, CE1 mentioned that albeit the company has been trying to incorporate most of the quality management aspects within their project practices, quality is not the most concerning element in the project management. 35 5. Empirical Findings 5.2 EPC Project Management Practices 5.2.1 Engineering Phase According to the QA/QCE, Engineering phase can be considered as the most influential phase in the project, as all designs and decisions made within the project planning in Engineering phase will affect other major aspects in Procurement and Construction process respectively. Project goals, scope, and specifications are mainly defined by the project owner prior to the project planning. Project specifications become the main guidelines to plan and set initial engineering drawing which serves as the basis of a project. Engineering Team will develop a comprehensive report calculation covering every division’s estimation of resources and workloads based on these project specifications, which will be checked internally to review its quality prior to handing it back to project owner for preliminary review. In planning phase, the EE1 highlighted the importance of having clear project specifications, project data and requisition documents, and existing condition of prospective project site. EE2 also supported this statement by mentioning, “The most crucial thing is we have a clearly defined project goals, (thus) we can plan ahead and have an idea of how the processes will look like and what the project will comprise of.” Beside the view from Engineering Department’s Engineers, the PCE also agreed upon the statement that the most important factor in project planning is clear project specifications, in addition to identification of client’s culture, risk, and available resources for better planning. One of the Engineering Engineers (EE1) mentioned that the work of inter- disciplinary divisions tend to be disintegrated in the organisation, and sometimes lead to conflicted engineering designs. This is caused by the lack of understanding of other interdisciplinary divisions’ specifications, as the division manager tend to put more focus only on the specifications for their particular division without really heeding other divisions’ specifications. Therefore, there could be a chance that the specifications requested by the project owner are incompatible between divisions. Hence, according to the EE1, it is essential for all managers in related divisions to scrutinise the tender proposal document and term of specifications of not only their own division, but also other divisions. This is to ensure the technical feasibility of the project and to assess if there is a need for adjustment and deviation from the initial project specifications. Additionally, “It is important to have project data, as project data serves as the basis and foundation of developing overall engineering designs in accordance to the existing field condition,” said EE1. Thus, it is also substantial for Engineering Team to be involved in prospective project site survey in order to be able to produce suitable designs for the project. Process data sheet from the initial proposal should be produced beforehand in order to start producing design and engineering drawing. Within this stage, support from management could be seen from how top manage- ment holds control of credential electronic documents in the server, as most of the documents which are going to be used for designs are considered to be vital. The Engineering Team utilises historical data and lessons learned from previous projects to produce a Project Execution Plan (PEP), which has to cover execution policy 36 5. Empirical Findings and numbers of plans. Having access to all the necessary data is one of the most critical factors for Engineering Team. This is to ensure that the project is executed in the right direc- tion, starting by providing the engineering drawings and designs to be followed by other departments. It is also necessary that all teams are aware to follow and refer to the same project documents regardless the number of its revision. EPC projects deal with numerous documents, spanning from engineering designs, data sheets and numbers of plans. In this company, there has not been a robust data management system which enable straightforward tracking and retrieval data and documents. Therefore, the EE2 mentioned that it could be challenging to keep track that all teams follow the same version of project documents. The CE2 also mentioned that there could be disintegration due to confusion of referral document, because of the number of project document updates and the quantity of the various documents itself. Project meetings are essential as the media of update and sharing project progress, and is attended by every department. Management support is also mostly shown in project meetings, where they can assign and allocate additional resources for necessary activities or merely give feedback and reviews based on routine project reports. However, CE1, CE2, and EE1 all gripe about the inefficient meeting which tend to take more time than needed. After producing designs, data sheets, and engineering drawings, the role of the Engineering Team continues in assisting the Procurement Team to purchase the required tools and equipment based on the de- signs, and also to assist Construction Team should it have any trouble or issue during the execution phase. Both EE1 and EE2 stated that good coordination and communication within intra-division are necessary to ensure the effective information flow between many internal divisions. “Coordination and excellent communication flow will minimise and reduce misinterpretation of information in form of designs, engineering draw- ings, and other project documents”, stated EE1. Beside coordination within its own department, Engineering Team also coordinates and works closely with Procure- ment Team after vendor document has been approved, and Construction Team in the project site to ensure the plant as the project output operate and function as expected according to the project specifications. In addition to that, EE2 also put an emphasis on the role of Engineering Team t