WBS in Oil & Gas Projects: The #1 Mistake Killing EVM Systems — and How to Fix

 

 

By: Simao Pedro Bessala, PMP, PMI-RMP, PMI-SP — Sr. Project Controls & BI Consultant, CEO at Ekton Project Analytics (ekton.us)

 

What the WBS is not

• • Not phases (ENG/PROC/CONST/MC/COM) — those are execution lenses.

• • Not disciplines (CIV/MEC/PIP/ELE/IST/TLC) — those are performing lenses.

• • Not contractors or budgets — those live in OBS and CBS/ERP, and as attributes on work packages.

• • Not Areas — Areas are for AWP/workface flow, not scope.

Where Areas fit (without corrupting the WBS)

Areas are vital for AWP and crew flow—but Areas are not scope. Keep them orthogonal to the WBS:

Two Foundations of Work

1) Area-only (enabling/physical)

Earthworks, foundations, piperack steel, building shell, scaffolds, roads. Acceptance is geometric/physical, not by process system.

 → Host under a formal Infrastructure/Enabling System in each Unit (e.g., Unit 420 / System 420-900: Infrastructure & Enabling), so the WBS leaf remains a System.

2) Dual foundation (Area + System/Sub-system)

Scope that will be handed over functionally: piping spools & tests, mechanical hook-ups, cable pulls & terminations, loops, hydro/IR, pre-comm/commissioning.

→ Lives under the real System/Sub-system; Area stays as a WP attribute for AWP release and look-ahead.

Result: Flow by Area without corrupting scope—and clean handover by System.

Accountability lives at the WBS×OBS intersection

Control Account (CA) = System × OBS leaf (owner/team).

• • A CA fixes responsibility only (one CAM).

• • No phase or discipline implied at CA level.

• • Work Packages (WPs) live inside the CA.

Planning Packages (embrace uncertainty, govern it)

At end-of-FEED something is always missing (tags not fully mapped, IFC incomplete, hydro/loop packs open). Don’t pollute the WBS to cope—use Planning Packages (PPs):

• • PPs live inside the correct CA (so ownership is right).

• • Budgeted, time-phased, logic-tied to the System turnover.

• • Earn zero EV until converted to executable WPs.

• • Carry a ReasonCode (ENG_NOT_READY, MAT_NOT_READY, ITR_PENDING, ACCESS_NOT_READY, etc.).

• • Convert ≤90 days before execution or when maturity gates are met (≈85% tags mapped, ≈80% IFC).

Canonical Work-Package schema (simple and scalable)

WP = CA × Phase × Discipline × EV Method × Area × Timebox

• • One WP → one CA; single Phase; single Discipline; one Area.

• • IWPs are 1–2 week slices released only with Full-Kit.

Full-Kit gate (pass/fail): Permits ▢ | IFC ▢ | Materials ▢ | Tools/Equip ▢ | Access/Scaffold ▢ | Predecessors ▢ | QA/ITRs ▢ | Interfaces/LOTO ▢

Thresholds: Green ≥95% (release) | Amber 85–94% (exception sign-off) | Red <85% (do not release)

Data backbone (so leaders get real answers)

Use a tag-level EPFC (+ Pre-Comm/Comm) register keyed to Area and Unit+System/Sub-system:

• • Engineering: IFC status/holds

• • Procurement: MR/PO/delivery

• • Fabrication: spools/steel % + NDE

• • Construction: installed/NDE/reinstated

• • Pre-Comm: hydro pack ID & status, IR tests, flushing

• • Comm: loops closed, energization, function tests

With that single source, your control room can show per Unit+System:

• • Lateness in working days (longest path to turnover, native calendars respected)

• • Top-2 slip drivers (the two activities with the largest BL→FC ΔFinish)

• • Hydro/Loop readiness, punch burndown, PP exposure

 …and, in the same breath, list which IWPs in Area A06 are Green for next week.

Tiny example

Unit 420 / System 420-001 (Fuel Gas Conditioning) shows +14 WD late driven by Spool Lot C (+7 WD) and Loop FG-LT-211 (+5 WD). Yet A06 has two IWPs Green next week because they don’t depend on those items. Flow today; explainable handover tomorrow.

Examples you can copy

Area-only (hosted under Unit 420 / System 420-900: Infrastructure & Enabling)

• • Piperack steel (A06):

 WP-420900–EPC.TeamStrucInst–CONSTR–STR–QTY–A06–2025W13

• • Earthworks (A105):

 WP-420900–EPC.TeamCivil–CONSTR–CIV–QTY–A105–2025W09

• • Building shell for Substation 01 (A06):

 WP-420900–EPC.TeamBuilding–CONSTR–ARC–QTY–A06–2025W17

• • Trenches & duct banks (A06):

 WP-420900–EPC.TeamCivilUG–CONSTR–CIV–QTY–A06–2025W12

 (Corridor civils = Area-only; services inside become Dual later.)

Dual foundation (under the real System; keep Area on the WP)

• • Piping install (A06):

 WP-420001–EPC.TeamPipInstal–CONSTR–PIP–QTY–A06–2025W18

 (Subsystem 420-001-210; Hydro H-420-07)

• • Electrical pulls/terms (A06, SubcontractorB):

 WP-420001–SubContrB.Electrical–CONSTR–ELE–QTY–A06–2025W19

 (Loops FG-LT-211 set)

• • Pre-commissioning:

 WP-420001–EPC.TeamPipInstal–PRECOMM–PIP–WM–A06–2025W22

 WP-420001–SubContrB.Electrical–PRECOMM–ELE–WM–A06–2025W22

• • Commissioning:

 WP-420001–EPC.Commissioning–COMM–MULTI–MS–A06–2025W24

Planning Packages (inside the right CA)

• • Piping Eng (SubcontractorA):

 PP-420001–EPC.SubContrA.PipingEngTeam–001 (ENG_NOT_READY) → converts when IFC isos mature (≤90 days)

• • Piping Install:

 PP-420001–EPC.TeamPipInstal–001 (MAT_NOT_READY / ACCESS_NOT_READY)

• • Electrical (SubcontractorB):

 PP-420001–SubContrB.Electrical–001 (VENDOR_DATA_PENDING)

• • Pre-Comm (Electrical):

 PP-420001–SubContrB.Electrical–PRECOMM–001 (ITR_PENDING)

Good vs. Bad (at a glance)

Bad

 361 Fuel Gas → Engineering → Piping → Cable trays (methods & trades).

 ↳ Mixing scope with execution. Every plan change forces re-wiring.

Good

 361-001 Fuel Gas System → 361-001-002 Distribution to Unit X (deliverables).

 Execution lives on WPs with attributes (Phase, Discipline, Area, contractor, packs, loops).

Fix it in five moves

1. 1. Redraft leaves as handover-testable scope.

1. 1. Align leaves to turnover boundaries (systems/sub-systems, packs, loops).

1. 1. Keep contractors/phases/disciplines/Areas as WP attributes.

1. 1. Use higher WBS nodes only for legitimate aggregation (packages, buildings).

1. 1. Freeze the structure; manage change via baseline control—not re-wiring.

Bottom line

A clean WBS (leaf = System/Sub-system) + Infrastructure Systems for Area-only work + CAs at WBS×OBS + Planning Packages for immaturity gives you two truths you must manage at once:

• • Flow today (AWP by Area; release only with Full-Kit), and

• • Explainable, auditable handover tomorrow (by System/Sub-system with the two biggest delay drivers named in working days).

Part 2 (next): How many CAs per leaf, zero/one/many patterns, and why one CAM per CA is non-negotiable.

Work with Ekton Project Analytics — WBS Foundations (Oil & Gas)

 We help teams design deliverable-oriented WBS structures aligned to turnover & commissioning.

• • 1-Day WBS & Turnover Design Workshop: systems/sub-systems, boundaries, packs, decision rules

• • Executive Briefing (90 min): the orthogonality principle—why phases/disciplines/Areas are attributes, not WBS branches

• • Deliverables: draft WBS leaf map, review checklist, governance playbook

Book a discovery call: ekton.us/consulting

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