1) Capital projects are becoming more digital but are still often too expensive and late. Data quality and use varies across companies with only 3 out of 10 reporting success on key performance indicators. 2) The top challenges preventing better digital transformation are a lack of strategy, understanding how to use available data, siloed teams, lack of skills to analyze data, and limited interest from project teams. 3) The document recommends two approaches to capture more value: instituting data sharing and building insights from shared data; and explicitly focusing on time and budget through data, technology, and decision making. It also introduces the "CAPSTONE" approach to increase returns through data-driven transformation.

1. Building More
Value With
Capital Projects
Project-owner
edition.

2. Capital projects are already fairly
digital… but they‘re also still often
too expensive, and too late.
9 out of 10 3 out of 10
So clearly – there‘s more value to be had.
owner-operators and EPC's used
average or good quality data for
recently executed capital projects
of the companies reported success
around many of the key performance
indicators (KPI).

3. The Top 5 challenges that prevented owner-
operators from digitally transforming their most
recently completed capital projects
Where owner-operators are struggling:
Absence of a stakeholder-driven strategy to execute data-driven
digital transformation across the project value chain
05
Poor understanding of how available data can be deployed for
generating critical and operational business insights
04
Siloed teams within and across
project stakeholders
03
Absence of a strategy and skills to build and deploy
actionable insights with digital technologies
02
Limited interest and patience within on-ground project teams
to drive data-driven digital transformation
01

4. So, how capture it?
Our research points to two value drivers:
• Institutionalize data ownership and sharing; build
the right operating environment to turn shared
data into shared insight – and then into
collaborative action.
• Explicitly focus the use of data, technology and
decision making on delivering projects on time,
and on budget.
Our findings also indicate that most companies are
struggling with both.
How could they improve?

5. Introducing
„CAPSTONE“:

6. Delivering up to 6.6% points ROCE increase
Our data shows how
"CAPSTONE" increases
returns on capital
expenditure:
Impact of data-driven digital
transformation on the ROCE
for owner-operators
+6.6%
0.6%
1.0%
1.8%
2.8%
1.0% 7.2%
No actions Data-sharing
infrastructure
and capabilities
Data-centric
talent
Incentive-
based
contracts
Combined
effect
Total

7. Data-committed c-suite
of owner-operator outperformers have
a C-suite and senior business unit
leaders take full ownership of data-
driven digital transformation of their
capital projects.
57%
Capstone part #1

8. Data-sharing infrastructure
Outperforming owner-operators
invest heavily in data-sharing
infrastructure – over US$10
million into data lakes and cloud
platforms in 2015-2019.
Their key digital capabilities by
project phase:
FIGURE: Capabilities to build on
Top 2 advanced digital capabilities deployed for executing capital projects by
Outperforming owner-operators
Project phase Top two digital capabilities deployed across
project stages
Business Planning | LCOE optimization
| Intelligent estimating & estimation analytics
Engineering &
Procurement
| Supplier intelligence
| Software verification of design
Project & Contract
Management
| Prescriptive project analytics
(e.g., next best action)
| Smart contracts
Constructive &
Handover to Operations
| Reality capture & Augmented Reality
| Dynamic next best action scheduling
Capstone part #2

9. Data-centric talent
Outperforming owner-operators
identify data stewards and data
coaches across different levels.
These coaches then work to
infuse a culture of timely and
productive use of data-driven
insights to solve key strategic and
operational challenges.
FIGURE: Tackling strategic issues using data-driven insights
Top 2 types of data leveraged by project teams from Outperforming owner-operators
Project phase Data types used to generate insights
Business Planning | Project financing
| Regulatory data
Engineering &
Procurement
| Historical reliability
| Procurement category intelligence
Project & Contract
Management
| Disputes
| Schedule management
Constructive &
Handover to Operations
| Site security
| Productivity
Capstone part #3

10. Contract idea:
Owner-operators could include considerations,
such as adopting a total cost of ownership
approach rather than a low-cost bid process. This
can make owneroperators commit EPCs to
schedule rather than costs, which gives EPCs a
greater bandwidth to innovate, requiring them to
adopt a more data-driven approach of engagement
with their sub-contractors and suppliers.
Incentive-based contracts
Our survey shows that
of the Outperformers currently
engage in incentive based
contracts.
over a fifth
Capstone part #3

11. PDF link
Intriegued by CAPSTONE?
Read the full report!

12. Authors
Tracey Countryman
Strategy & Consulting,
Industry X Europe and Digital
Manufacturing & Operations Lead
Franz-Josef Pohle
Strategy & Consulting,
Industry X Capital Projects ASGR Lead Building
Raghav Narsalay
Accenture Research,
Industry X Global Research Lead
Andy Webster
Strategy & Consulting,
Industry X Capital Projects Global Lead
Preeti Bajla
Accenture Research,
Industry X Associate Principal
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