- Whether it is a whole value creating unit or not. As much as possible can you build units which can be taken to completion, so the shortest distance to value creation can take place. Instead of doing 5 things in parts, can we do one thing as a whole and take it to value creation.
- Size: While the definition of a DU will vary depending on the size of the project, as a thumb rule, it was found reasonable that the smallest meaningful size of a Deliverable Unit could be one which takes at least 3 months to build.
- Capex Value is one criteria.
- In other cases the value maybe less, but it maybe high impact. E.g. A shutdown for BF was such, that the cost of the project was not even 1 crore, but a delay of 1 hour could cost the organization 100 crores.
- There could be a geographical point of view – sometimes it has to go outside the plant cross railway lines, etc. or water for slime disposal needs to be brought from the river. For example, there is stretch which is 500m of railway line connectivity. The value may be only 5 crore, but we haven’t been able to complete it for 5 years. For the 0.3 or 0.5 acre, there are 4-5 IL2s who are engaged.
- Max. number of Levels: Practically, more than 6 levels of DUs become difficult to manage & at least 3 levels may be needed to make a DU of a manageable size.
Q: Some of these are in a single geography – like Blast Furnace, Pellet Plant, while others like the Power Distribution System, Water & Utilities System, Material Handling System, etc. may extend across the plan – i) How do you say which geography it belongs to? ii) How do you decide which Deliverable Unit it is a part of?
A PDS may not be going across the plant, but it still is located in the larger geography of the plant.
Short piping will be a part of a sub-DU. While the yard piping will be part of the larger DU.