Increasing Performance Through Operational Discipline Need to run more efficiently? The time is right to invest in an operations management system
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EGULATORY BODIES ARE NOT GOING TO RELAX THEIR EXPECTATIONS because of a difficult market,” says Chris Coupal, CEO of SPAN Consulting, a company that works across oil and gas upstream and midstream and utilities sectors in Alberta and B.C. Since 2011, along with founding partners Alex Eddington and Scott Wilson, the SPAN team has been designing, embedding and sustaining operations management systems (OMS) for companies who want to increase their operational discipline and improve performance. “Companies need to maintain their regulatory focus, and improve field operations, regardless of the market,” Coupal says. “They need to demonstrate to their stakeholders that they can successfully manage risk.” SPAN’s mainstay is to help companies mitigate market complexities, volatility and other disruptive forces that push them to search for lasting ways to operate efficiently and drive performance. One of SPAN Consulting’s Tools that drives efficiency is its OMS, especially important when the dollar value of a commodity is lower. “A common perception is that ‘we can’t afford this now,’” Coupal says. “If you take it seriously and get it right, a successful OMS can change your culture and help you perform more efficiently long-term, which is good business.” To create and maintain Companies achieve sustainable operational discipline, SPAN results if they focus on creating and tailors the implementation of its maintaining operational discipline. OMS to remove complexity and increase adoption, limiting the administrative impact to the operations. “It is important that management is clear about the expectations regarding how the company should operate,” says Coupal. “It’s about assessing the organization’s maturity and risk against those expectations, and implementing improvements to close identified gaps.” Companies achieve sustainable results if they focus on creating and maintaining operational discipline, and the OMS is core to evolving the company’s culture. To enable the OMS, SPAN uses its proprietary software, called Octane, to tie together the information, dashboards and overall management of the OMS. “Octane is a differentiator for us. It sets us apart from our competitors by simplifying the implementation, delivering value sooner,” says Coupal. OMS expertise is just one of SPAN’s core services. SPAN also designs and implements operating models, and provides audits and assurance services. “We help companies structure themselves so they’re aligned and organized to deliver their services,” Coupal explains. SPAN will look at capabilities, competencies, organizational structure, management cadence, roles and responsibilities. “Our audit and assurance services backstop operational activities,” he says, “with value-added verification and performance.” SPAN Consulting was created in 2011, when founders Wilson and Eddington looked at the market through the lens of 15 years of management system and enterprise project management experience. There was no local company occupying the niche, explains Coupal. The Calgary-based company now employs a team of approximately 30 consultants. “This expertise allows SPAN to support and enable our clients to achieve their desired results in an effective and collaborative way,” explains Coupal. They chose the name SPAN to represent the company’s role as a bridge across the challenges organizations face.
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TRIPLE THREAT: SPAN Consulting CEO Chris Coupal and founders Alex Eddington and Scott Wilson bring a wealth of experience to the market. Some of SPAN’s clients include Cenovus, Suncor, Gibson Energy, Plains Midstream Canada, Husky, WSP and BC Hydro. “Our customers are from higher-risk industries like mining, upstream, midstream and utilities,” Coupal explains. “This is our niche, and we will continue enhancing our services to better serve our customers in these sectors.”
For more information: 403.705.3401 info@spanconsulting.ca • spanconsulting.ca