Oceaneering couldn't keep up. The organization's main focus is launching projects that provide subsea products and services—from remotely operated vehicles to pipeline repair—for the oil and gas industry. But Oceaneering's project management maturity did not keep pace with the company's growth to almost 10,000 employees in 60 locations. So its leadership began placing greater emphasis on strategic alignment a few years ago.
Shaun Roedel, PMP, oversees the division that manufactures subsea products for 11 Oceaneering sites located in oil and gas hubs like Aberdeen, Scotland and Luanda, Angola. He also leads Oceaneering's new project management center of excellence, which launched earlier this year and supports the organization's 700 project professionals.
What led company leaders to focus on strategic alignment?
Before, every Oceaneering division came up with its own strategic projects without any real guidance. Four years ago, our CEO, Roderick Larson, who was COO at the time, said we should come up with a few strategic objectives and then flow them down to all the business units. Other senior leaders agreed that we need to cascade strategy across the entire organization, and we decided on four strategic objectives: talent, finance, growth and operational excellence.
How do you now ensure alignment of your projects?
My division has about 100 strategic projects that get senior-level sponsorship and guidance. Every month, the people managing those projects report on progress. And every quarter I report to the C-suite on the projects and how they serve larger strategic objectives.
What does your governance process look like?
We set up specific stage gates that projects must go through: to be kicked off, to move into the engineering phase and then to move into the manufacturing phase. We use a traditional waterfall approach for almost everything we do. The process ensures we identify and mitigate risks as early as possible.
Is there an example that shows this in action?
A year ago we finished a project to engineer and manufacture a new product line: a 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) steel tube that our oil and gas customers could use to pump chemicals into wells. At one of the first gates, our sales team had to show the market was there. When we passed that gate, the engineering team had to determine it could make the product. The engineers found it required a new piece of equipment that cost US$1.5 million. But because the salespeople had found customers likely to buy the product and the engineers had shown they could do it, I agreed to purchase the equipment. While the project was in the procurement phase, we won a large contract. So it delivered more profit—supporting our growth objective.
How did you communicate with the C-suite about the project's potential risks and benefits?
When I first told them, they were skeptical. The site had never made the product before, and we didn't have any customers that had agreed to purchase it. So I didn't ask for project approval. Instead, I gave them an update every quarter on our sales and engineering teams’ progress. As I showed them more progress, they got more excited. By the time I sought formal approval of the project budget, it was a foregone conclusion they would say yes.
What's the main challenge you face?
I'd like people even at the lowest level of the organization to solve problems with the information they have. Sometimes people aren't courageous enough to make a hard decision they're actually able to make.
How do you empower them to become decision makers?
When my general managers come to me with a problem, I ask them how they would handle it. When they explain, I usually say that's the right answer—do that. It's about letting them realize that I don't need to make all the decisions within the organization. They see me practice that, and then they mirror it. They do the same with their direct reports.
How would you describe the value of project management to your organization?
Project management is the lifeblood of our company. Almost all of our revenue comes from projects. So our projects have to show financial benefits. Good project management is what ensures we realize benefits.
How did the project management center of excellence come about?
After hearing our CEO say several times that we need to be really good at project management across the entire organization, I went up to him and volunteered to set up the center of excellence. We launched the center in January and have been rolling it out across the organization in phases throughout this year. It documents and promotes best practices and procedures, and will also train and develop project managers. All business units are now working together in a combined fashion in terms of project management—and knowledge sharing between units has increased significantly. If project management is the company's lifeblood, let's treat it that way. PM
Small Talk
What's the one skill every project manager should have?
Leadership. Project managers should act like the CEOs of their projects.
What do you wish you had known at the start of your career?
If you don't pay attention to all of your stakeholders, any one of them can derail your project.
What inspires you?
Excellence—the ability to do your best and to share that with others.