io’s streamlined ‘smartFEED’ approach focuses on the core engineering, design and project outcomes that we know to have the greatest influence on design certainty, cost and schedule competitiveness.

Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) is a crucial component of all capital project developments. FEED completes the basic engineering, estimate, and project execution planning for the preferred development option to the extent that the project stakeholders have the confidence to authorise the final investment decision (FID); prior to the initiation of detailed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). 

FEED marks a rapid project team expansion across multiple technical disciplines and the start of many concurrent tasks. Conventional FEED studies can take a year to complete, with traditional approaches driven by legacy Capital Value Processes, perceived to be cumbersome with focus on deliverables that don’t influence the objectives of FEED, and hence take effort away from driving and protecting value. Conventional FEEDs are not suited to the changing demands of energy transition projects and there is growing appetite for a more flexible basic engineering approach that is better geared to smaller scale, readily replicable and highly cost competitive low carbon projects. The same is increasingly true for oil & gas projects, where in a world of low(er) commodity prices there is growing importance for the FEED to ensure that the Project economics for the concept carried in to FEED are protected.

Our smartFEED approach combines the best working practices of conventional FEED approaches with a relentless focus on value-add engineering practice. It is value driven rather than volume driven. Our smartFEED philosophy of ‘as simple as possible, but no simpler’ is outcome orientated rather than deliverables led which enables a more efficient workflow, shorter delivery timeline, lower cost and greater certainty. Without compromising the need for a comprehensive tender package to get firm pricing for the execution phase and upon which FID is taken. 

We integrate modern software packages with specialist project development engineers and experienced leadership to provide a ‘system wide’ view of the project design. We employ database driven and automated multi-discipline engineering tools to bring the benefits of digitisation in our execution and support our 'smart' approach. This holistic approach helps tackle complexity, de-risk the development, protect and further unlock value.

We work closely with the supply chain to find better ways to execute the project and to ensure that the design is safe and constructable. We use data from our global EPC connection to inform our cost and schedule estimates and derive real-time supply and demand insights to bring greater certainty to the final investment decision.