Case Study: Macondo Well Project

Davidsen: Assignment 2

Boston University

MET AD 642 Project Management

(Year and Term)

Assignment 2

Case Study: Macondo Well Project

NOTE: THIS IS NOT REALLY ABOUT MACONDO! THIS IS AN OLDER TOPIC PROVIDED

TO SHOW FORMAT, LENGTH, AND STRUCTURE, AS AN EXAMPLE ONLY!!!!

Leif Davidsen

Issues:

There were several issues related to global teams working across multiple sites and time

zones.

1. The first major issue was that local sites created silos to insulate them from changes that

were not in their best interest but needed for global team to succeed.

2. The next issue was that working across several time zones was affecting work/life

balance and team performance.

3. Another challenging issue was the low cost objective that drove a disproportionate

amount of new hires and graduates in low cost regions.

4. The team also struggled with project communication and coordination.

Alternative Solutions:

An alternative solution to the first issue related to geographic silos is to increase the

team’s cultural competence. One idea is to make newsletters on global business developments

and trends available to team members, and ask them to describe the most significant implications

for each region during weekly meetings. The Overall Project Manager (OPM) should meet

regularly with the area leaders to discuss important trends, issues, and common opportunities.

The OPM should also work with HR to institute voluntary language and cross-cultural awareness

training programs.

The solution to the second issue is to work with HR to institute flexible working hours,

telecommuting, compressed work weeks, part-time hours, and job sharing programs so that team

members can adjust to different time zones without affecting quality of life. This solution needs

to include training on prioritization to ensure critical tasks are completed or escalated to mitigate

schedule risk. The third solution is to work with HR to identify skills training courses and use

technology so that a command of the company’s language is not critical. It will also be

important to establish rewards valued by each cultural group for sharing expertise, and conduct

regular skill gap assessments and development plans.

The final solution is to establish a communication plan for different levels of complexity

and frequency. For example, important technical documents should be in multiple languages,

contain pictures and diagrams to assist people who are not fluent in the company’s official

language. Moreover, complex information should be communicated face to face whenever

possible, and then follow-up with printed version, and documented minutes and action items

discussed. Videoconferencing, net meetings, and online chats should be utilized wherever travel

restrictions apply.

Analysis of Solutions:

Solution

Pros Cons

Increase cultural competence  Helps team develop a global mind-set

 Establishes common goals and objectives

 Promotes collaboration and teamwork

 Clarifies purpose & roles

 Increases market intelligence

 Increase cost of training/newsletters

 Could result in too much dialog

 Adapting to cultural differences may be

difficult for some

Flex-time & prioritization

training program  Improves morale and

workforce diversity

 Greater productivity

 Reduced facility costs and footprint

 Employees may abuse privileges

 Some cultures and demographic groups

dislike autonomy

 Increases adaptability to competing demands and

shifting priorities

Skills training courses and

use of technology & rewards  Leverages technology

 Enables mentors to focus on complex training

 Fosters knowledge sharing & development

 Reduces learning curve

 Cost & time to develop or procure technology

 Cost & time to develop training courses

 Resources design and maintain the Reward

system

Robust communication plan  Provides global access to critical information

 Encourages open exchange of information

and viewpoints

 More timely status updates

 Encourages minority opinions

 Travel cost

 IT cost for videoconferences, etc.

 Information may get lost in translation of

documents

Recommendations:

My first recommendation is to increase the cultural competence across all regions where

project teams reside. Although it’s best to conduct cultural training and review global market

trends before launching a multinational project, it will help employees look at problems within

the context of the broader global business, not just the needs of their own local site. Flex-time

and other similar resource strategies is becoming a great tool for multinational organizations to

manage time zone issues. It demonstrates that management values and embraces cultural

diversity. Leveraging technology and regular skill assessments will help new hires get up to

speed quickly and effectively, with minimal impact on the workforce. It is also essential for top

management to promote free flow of learning across geographic boundaries. Finally, a

communication plan that focuses on user access to important information and methods

appropriate for each culture will ensure management has no surprises. It also conveys the

message that every idea is worthy of consideration and fosters bottom up solutions.

NOTE TO STUDENTS: The example above is not from the Macondo Well Case (for

obvious reasons). The long list below does not mean you need to have dozens of references.

However, the references below are possible sources of information for the Macondo Well

case, above and beyond what was provided from MIT/Sloan and from the US Government

Appendix J Risk Register.

References:

1. Smith, D. K. 1990. Cementing. SPE Monograph Vol. 4. Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, Tex., pp. 82-122.

2. Transocean. 2008. Well Control Complications/Emergency. HQS-OPS-HS-01. http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/documents/20100512/TRO-

Surface.BOP.Operations.From.Floating.Vessels.pdf. Most recently accessed Jan. 17,

2012.

3. Transocean. 2011a. Macondo Well Incident. Transocean Investigation Report Vols. I and II (Appendices). http://www.deepwater.com/fw/main/Public-Report-1076.html. Most

recently accessed Jan. 17, 2012.

4. Transocean. 2011b. Response to Coast Guard Draft Report by Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc. and Transocean Holdings LLC.

http://www.deepwater.com/_filelib/FileCabinet/pdfs/Response_to_USCG_Draft_Report.

pdf. Most recently accessed Jan. 17, 2012.

5. USCG. 2011. Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Explosion, Fire, Sinking and Loss of Eleven Crew Members Aboard the Mobile Offshore Drilling

Unit Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico April 20-22, 2010, Vol. I.

http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=6700. Most recently accessed Jan. 17, 2012.

6. U.S. NRC. 2009. Internal Safety Culture Task Force: Final Report. April. 7. U.S. NRC. 2011. Safety Culture Policy Statement. NUREG/BR-0500. June.

http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1116/ML11165A021.pdf. Most recently accessed Jan.

17, 2012.

8. Weick, K. E., and K. M. Sutcliffe. 2001. Managing the Unexpected. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, Calif.

9. West Engineering Services, Inc. 2002. Mini Shear Study for U.S. Minerals Management Service. Requisition No. 2-1011-1003. Dec.

http://www.boemre.gov/tarprojects/455/Final%20Report.pdf. Most recently accessed Jan.

17, 2012.

10. West Engineering Services, Inc. 2004. Shear Ram Capabilities Study for U.S. Minerals Management Service. Requisition No. 3-4025-1001. Sept.

http://www.boemre.gov/tarprojects/463/(463)%20West%20Engineering%20Final%20Re

port.pdf. Most recently accessed Jan. 17, 2012.

11. Zoback, M. D. 2010. Reservoir Geomechanics. Cambridge University Press.

12. Paté-Cornell, M. E. 1993. Learning from the Piper Alpha Accident: A Postmortem Analysis of Technical and Organizational Factors. Risk Analysis, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 215-

232.

13. Presidential Commission. 2010. Causes of Blowout and Drilling Safety. Presentation at the5th Meeting on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, November

8-9, 2010, Washington, DC.

http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/sites/default/files/meeting5/Master_Presentation_v2.

pdf. Most recently accessed Jan. 17, 2012.

14. Presidential Commission. 2011. Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling. Report to the President.

http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/sites/default/files/documents/DEEPWATER_Reportt

othePresident_FINAL.pdf. Most recently accessed Jan. 17, 2012.

15. Presidential Commission Staff. 2011. The History of Offshore Oil and Gas in the United States. Staff Working Paper No. 22.

http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/sites/default/files/documents/HistoryofDrillingStaffP

aper22.pdf. Most recently accessed Jan. 17, 2012.

16. PSA. 2004. HSE and Culture. Petroleum Safety Authority Norway. http://www.ptil.no/get-

file.php/z%20Konvertert/Products%20and%20services/Publications/Dokumenter/hescult

ureny.pdf. Most recently accessed Jan. 17, 2012

17. PSA 2011a. Technical Report/Seminars/R&D. Petroleum Safety Authority Norway http://www.ptil.no/technical-reports-seminars-r-d/category162.html. Most recently

accessed Jan. 6, 2012.