Competent Consultants using Pims as their tool

Published: 23.12.09 (updated: 09.02.11)

DONG Energy is the Danish state’s oil and energy company, with more than 6000 employees on offices around Northern Europe. Sven-Olaf Jørstad is located outside Copenhagen, in an assignment for DONG with three other Omega consultants, showing what Omega can offer in the field of project management.

New project model based on Pims

“I started in Omega in June 2008, and have been at DONG for 15 months. However, project management has been my field for almost 30 years, since I started in Statoil in 1980,” Sven-Olaf says.

He tells us about busy days at the office in Hørsholm outside Copenhagen, where there are some big changes afoot for one of Omega’s newest clients.

“At DONG I have two positions, one at the Hejre project and one at the department for project services. In the department we are establishing a new project model, new procedures and a new project management system. We only wanted to use the best, so it had to be Pims from Omega.”

He leads a team responsible for implementation of Pims at DONG Energy, where Omega also contributes with Carla Canestrari, Johan Bengtsson and Sam Afsharpour.The project model has been imported from Statoil and Hydro, companies with decades of experience with running oil and gas projects. Systems and personnel from Omega play a vital part in what will be a significant change for the organisation.

“Pims is important to visualise this new project model, as it supports the model in practical use and visualises the process for the user. Today, we are running Pims in two relatively large projects that are run from Stavanger, Sam is managing the system side of this. In Copenhagen we have two projects running Pims while a third one is in the works, and we have Johan running the systems,” he tells us.

In his daily he emphasises the use of a service-minded approach, and being one step ahead of any problems that might arise for the client.

“We always try to give our full attention to the client’s needs. It is important that our contractors feel that they get the most out of their external resources.”

The combination of trade and system knowledge is an important element of Omega’s success. Sven-Olaf remarks that our developers would benefit from having competence in both systems and the applicable trade, an aspect that still has great potential for improvement at Omega.

Omega consultants at DONG Energy

Omega consultants at DONG Energy (left to right): Sven-Olaf Jørstad, Johan Bengtsson and Carla Canestrari. (Photo: Torben Vinther / DONG Energy)

Expanding our market

“Every new customer is a showroom display for our products and services,” says Petter Aalvik, CEO at Omega.

Aalvik tells us that DONG decided to run Pims for their large projects, thanks to very good references from former Statoil and Hydro employees familiar with Omega’s system. In this case, Omega was not only delivering Pims, but also the right person to take charge of implementing the system and running the project management functions in the unit.

“We were especially happy when Sven-Olaf, after leaving Statoil, wanted to join Omega and take on the assignment as project control manager at DONG,” says Aalvik.

Sven-Olaf was one of the Statoil people behind the decision to start using Pims 15 years ago, and he has been an important person in making Pims the success story that it has been for Statoil. He came to DONG from a position as coordinating consultant for project management.

“With Johan, Carla, Sam and Sven-Olaf on our team at DONG, we are in a good position to repeat the Statoil success. Progress in DONG means new Pims users, a larger network around our consultants, good references and growth in the Danish market. This might give us new and exciting possibilities going forward. Our presence is primarily in the oil & gas field, but we also deliver our services to wind and solar energy projects, and DONG has a significant presence in the power distribution and renewable energy markets,” Aalvik explains.

“Omega’s people have a reputation for being knowledgeable and proactive, and being part of something they believe in. This hallmark is something we need to work to maintain in the future as well,” concludes Sven-Olaf Jørstad, one of our many great ambassadors.