Kongsberg Maritime Engineering_print_eng

Kongsberg Maritime Engineering:
ProArc fits like a glove, without customization
Kongsberg Maritime Engineering’s (KME) equipment
packs for production platforms have been
extremely successful, but an outdated document
management system was slowing the company
down. KME started using ProArc, which with
minimal customization has met their needs in full,
solving their problem. Several other businesses in
the Kongsberg Group are now looking to follow in
KME’s footsteps.
Kongsberg Maritime Engineering (KME), a subsidiary of
Kongsberg Maritime (KM), was founded at Sandefjord Airport
Torp, Norway in 2008. KME compiles and delivers complete
electronics, instrument and telecom packages (EIT) for
oil and shipping companies and rig owners.
In 2010 KME signed a substantial contract to deliver their
products to a gas production platform in Singapore. Another
two major contracts were won in the following year. In a short
space of time, KME increased to a team of 50 employees at
their Torp head quarters and a further 35 in their Singapore
department. However, in 2010, their outdated document
management system threatened to stagnate their success.
Did not satisfy all requirements
KME had inherited their software from the Kongsberg
Group where all documents for projects were managed by a
custom-built computer system. The existing systems portfolio
proved inadequate for KME. “The modifications of
equipment on the platforms in Singapore meant swift changes
to documentation. The Singapore office was forced to use
Excel spreadsheets to stay on top of their document revisions.
In spite of their best efforts, errors occurred,” says
project manager Ole Lindseth at KM IT.
Statoil put their foot down
Statoil is one of KME’s most important clients. The working
procedures in Statoil projects were intense, demanding extremely
high standards for document control and reporting.
“In the worst case scenario, Statoil could refuse to let us
change the equipment on their platforms until our documents
were up to date. This meant it was vital to improve
our document control,” says Anita Stangenes, document
controller at KME.
Product:
ProArc
Industry: Engineering /
olje og gass
About Kongsberg Maritime Engineering :
Kongsberg Maritime Engineering (KME) is a
subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime that compiles
and delivers electrical, instrument and
telecom equipment packages (EIT) to oil companies,
rig owners and shipping companies.
KME has 95 employees in Norway, Singapore
and India.
Kongsberg Maritime has 3,700 employees in
18 countries. Kongsberg Group has 6,300 employees
in 25 countries.
Summary
KME had been using a custom-made document
management solution that they could not
work with, and that could not handle numbering
systems and revisions. KME implemented
a thorough preparation project to describe how
they currently worked, and how they wanted
to work in the future. They chose ProArc, a
standardized system that met 90 per cent of
their needs without any adaptation. Any missing
functions were later added as a standard
ProArc upgrade.
Anita Stangenes, document controller, worked
with Software Innovation’s partner company
Edoc to configure the system. Three months
later the system was launched with a successful
result. Several Kongsberg businesses are in
the process of implementing ProArc.
In January 2011, a project group at KME created a complete
specification of needs for a new document management
system.

Kongsberg Maritime Engineering:
ProArc fits like a glove, without customization
Preparation is the key to success
“We had to show KM how we worked, and why our work
is so distinctive that it requires a new system,” says Anita
Stangenes. They were given the ‘go ahead’ when the project
group presented their case to KM’s board in March 2011.
Five suppliers received an invitation to tender.
Ole Lindseth was employed as the new project manager
while KME was evaluating bids from two suitable suppliers.
Ole Lindseth insists that thorough preparation is the key to a
successful project.
“Ole kept on pushing for more details – and in the end this
meant we knew exactly what we wanted to achieve and the
scope of the job,” says Anita Stangenes.
“Anita’s input was crucial,” says Ole Lindseth. “She has
worked with document management since 1985 and was
previously involved in the implementation of two similar systems.
Everyone needs an Anita.”
“And all projects need an Ole to keep pushing them,” Anita
replies.
ProArc met 90 per cent of the brief
“ProArc was a more expensive system, but required less configuration.
It fulfilled 90 per cent of our needs without much
customization. We were looking for a configured, standardized
system and ProArc fitted the bill,” says Ole. “Besides,
we were already familiar with the product, and were convinced
that Software Innovation knew what they were doing.
When we negotiated on price, they were helpful.” KME and
Software Innovation signed a deal in May 2011. The project
group had created a plan, evaluated the risk, improved the
training, and created a management group, project team and
test group.
‘As is’ and ‘To be’ processes
The project group created a business case with data from
the existing project, and drew up an ‘As is’ and ‘To be’ visualization,
outlining how KME was working at the time and
how they wanted to work in the future.
“We treated it as a change and organizational development
project. The employees were excited about the
system. The positive expectations from the employees
and the management were crucial success factors,”
says Ole Lindseth.
Anita Stangenes and Ole Lindseth at KME. (Photo: Bjørn B. Brøndbo)

Kongsberg Maritime Engineering:
ProArc fits like a glove, without customization
Success criteria for an effective acquisition
and implementation project
“We are reaping the rewards of thorough preparation.
Some start with the roof - we chose to
build a strong foundation instead,” says project
manager Ole Lindseth from Kongsberg Maritime.
Here are the elements that he believes
were most critical to the project’s success:
• Establish an expert, dedicated project
team
• Establish clear goals for the system
internally and in front of clients
• Engage the management and make them
believe in the system
• View the project as a change/
organizational development
• Create a project plan and stick to it
• Implement systematic selection of
alternative tools
• Choose standardized tools requiring
minimal configuration
• Collaborate closely with a resource person
from the supplier
• Allocate experts in all fields
Collaborative configuration
June, August and September 2011 were set aside for implementing
the application. Anita Stangenes worked side by
side with a consultant from Edoc, Software Innovation’s local
partner.
“The configuration was based on this specific project, to
meet our exact needs. I described how the system should
work and the consultant configured it as we went along. We
tested it, corrected the errors and it wasn’t long before we
saw results. It was an extremely efficient way of working –
and made it possible to meet our deadline,” says Anita, who
cannot praise the implementation procedure enough.
“In previous system implementations the consultant has configured
from a distance, but describing what you need is not
always easy! It is so much easier when working together.”
Eliminating the need for adaptations
KME’s new document management system was in operation
by 1 October 2011. “Nearly everything worked as it was
supposed to. Some less vital functions were missing and we
had to go through our processes in depth. The missing functions
are part of the standard ProArc updates coming later.
This means we will not have to make any major adaptations,”
says Ole.
An update integrating ProArc with KME’s email system IBM
Lotus Notes arrived at the beginning of 2012.
• Create a management group, project team
and test group
• Document the As-is-processes
• Create To-be-processes with the new tool
• Configure the system based on a specific
project
• Design a systematic plan for training and
support
• Base training on established project
documentation

Kongsberg Maritime Engineering:
ProArc fits like a glove, without customization
“The users were involved from early on and trained along the
way. We have a support service, but leave the majority of
problem-solving to our ‘user champions’, who step in when
colleagues have questions,” says Anita.
Starting from scratch with ProArc
In January 2012 the Singapore team were trained to use the
database as a new project was launched. “Implementing a
structure like this from the very beginning of a project is ideal,
and it will be interesting to see if the reward will be apparent
immediately. Old documentation from previous projects will
not be converted – but we will just have to live with that,”
says Anita.
KM has an office in India with 21 employees who have
contributed with technical drawing resources. “Exchanging
drawings via ProArc instead of email has worked extremely
well. We have also been able to preserve the activity history
with changes and comments.”
Training, support and tips
ProArc has made the KME employees’ workday a lot simpler.
The internal control of documentation and progress has
improved immensely and customers are delighted to receive
updated, professional reports instead of Excel spreadsheets.
“The system will not be entirely successful until the users
master it completely. We should probably have spent
some more time on training, support and tips,” says Anita
Stangenes.
“We often forget that technology is only one part of the
puzzle. It takes hard work to reap the rewards, and you
may have to spend more time on the human resources,”
says Ole Lindseth.
Software Innovation is a Scandinavian company and a leading international software vendor for document control, information and case management.
With 25 years of experience and competence in business-oriented content applications, we are committed to delivering futureproof,
flexible and highly user-friendly solutions for our customers and partners. Our application suites create excellent information sharing,
efficient collaboration, business control and improved service for both private and public organizations. The packaged business solutions
are built on Microsoft SharePoint and Office, the market leading platform for collaboration and business productivity.
Software Innovation AS | Rolfsbuktveien 4C | N-1364 Fornebu | +47 23 89 90 00 | www.software-innovation.com