on this page
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Markets
Power & renewables
Buildings & places
Industrial
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Location
Georgia, United States
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Client
Hanwha Qcells
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Completion date
2024
Derrick Hengstebeck
Executive Project Manager, Atlanta, US contact form
Michael Yun
Senior Technical Director, Houston, US contact form
Deploying a tailored program management system to enable decision making and cost change management from anywhere in the world.
As climate change reshapes our world, the demand for clean energy solutions to tackle this problem is growing rapidly. But expanding the production of clean energy fast enough to meet this demand is no easy feat.
Qcells is a division of Hanwha Solutions dedicated to the production of solar modules for residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Qcells are working to meet the rising demand for clean energy by expanding their Cartersville, Georgia, solar module manufacturing facility. This will allow them to raise their solar cell production capacity to 8.4 gigawatts – enough to power approximately 840 million LED bulbs – by 2024.
It's a massive project, involving the construction of several complex new facilities to build and assemble solar cells. The AtkinsRéalis team were hired to support the management of this mammoth $2.5 billion investment by providing cost and schedule management services, as well as a Project Management Information System (PMIS).
Please note that you are now leaving the AtkinsRéalis website (legal name: AtkinsRéalis Group inc.) and entering a website maintained by a third party (the "External Website") and that you do so at your own risk.
AtkinsRéalis has no control over the External Website, any data or other content contained therein or any additional linked websites. The link to the External Website is provided for convenience purposes only. By clicking "Accept" you acknowledge and agree that AtkinsRéalis is not responsible, and does not accept or assume any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the data protection policy, the content, the data or the technical operation of the External Website and/or any linked websites and that AtkinsRéalis is not liable for the terms and conditions (or terms of use) of the External Website. Further, you acknowledge and agree that you assume all risks resulting from entering and/or using the External Website and/or any linked websites.
BY ENTERING THE EXTERNAL WEBSITE, YOU ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU COMPLETELY AND IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY AND ALL RIGHTS AND CLAIMS AGAINST ATKINSRÉALIS, AND RELEASE, DISCHARGE, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS ATKINSRÉALIS, ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS AND AGENTS FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LIABILITY FOR LOSS, DAMAGES, EXPENSES AND COSTS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ENTERING AND/OR USING THE EXTERNAL WEBSITE AND/OR ANY LINKED WEBSITES AND ANY DATA AND/OR CONTENT CONTAINED THEREIN.
Such waiver and release specifically includes, without limitation, any and all rights and claims pertaining to reliance on the data or content of the External Website, or claims pertaining to the processing of personal data, including but not limited to any rights under any applicable data protection statute. You also recognize by clicking “Accept” that the terms of this disclaimer are reasonable.
The information provided by Virtua Research cited herein is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranty of any kind. Use of any Virtua Research data is at a user’s own risk and Virtua Research disclaims any liability for use of the Virtua Research data. Although the information is obtained or compiled from reliable sources Virtua Research neither can nor does guarantee or make any representation or warranty, either express or implied, as to the accuracy, validity, sequence, timeliness, completeness or continued availability of any information or data, including third-party content, made available herein. In no event shall Virtua Research be liable for any decision made or action or inaction taken in reliance on any information or data, including third-party content. Virtua Research further explicitly disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
The consensus estimate provided by Virtua Research is based on estimates, forecasts and predictions made by third party financial analysts, as described above. It is not prepared based on information provided by AtkinsRéalis and can only be seen as a consensus view on AtkinsRéalis' possible future results from an outside perspective. AtkinsRéalis has not provided input on these forecasts, except by referring to past publicly disclosed information. AtkinsRéalis does not accept any responsibility for the quality or accuracy of any individual or average of forecasts or estimates. This web page contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by third parties. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between AtkinsRéalis' actual future results, financial situation, development or performance, and the estimates given here.
Building the tech stack
To meet the ambitious project timeline the client needed an effective PMIS that would both meet their project requirements and could be rapidly deployed. To deliver this, our team utilized their extensive project management experience to produce a plan and presented a project controls system template to the client. This substantially reduced the decision-making burden for the Qcells team, allowing them to focus solely on what they needed to support their unique requirements, and helping us more quickly and effectively deploy the PMIS system.
Once this approach had been agreed upon, we deployed our rapid mobilization template, utilizing the Oracle Unifier platform to setup project controls for cost and change management. This was then integrated with our Advanced Analytics Control Center, providing a user-friendly front-end for data visualization and interrogation. We also configured a BIM360 workspace for the team to store and manage documents such as daily reports and design reviews.
Thanks to this approach, we were able to deliver the PMIS solution on schedule.
Visible, accountable, and easy
Our integrated tech stack was key to delivery, supporting coordination, progress tracking and easy access to authoritative data.
The cost and scheduling modules make quick and accurate reporting easy, instantly collating and crunching project data for a real-time look at project progress. It also supports comparison on a monthly basis and against the project schedule. This not only significantly reduces the amount of time the project team need to spend on reporting (freeing up more resources for higher-value strategic activities), but allows them to easily understand project progress, troubleshoot, make decisions, and collaborate with the contractor.
The client also needed a way to manage change requests, without the hassle and document control issues of emailing excel files backwards and forwards. To facilitate this, we developed additional functionality to allow the general contractor and client to submit invoices and change orders directly through the PMIS. By doing this, we can also track the real-time progress of each change request – including who is currently waiting to approve it, how long they’ve had it and if that request has fallen behind schedule. This allows the client to easily manage these requests, identifying blockers and potential issues before they cause expensive delays, preventing errors, and supporting visibility and accountability across the project.
Please note that you are now leaving the AtkinsRéalis website (legal name: AtkinsRéalis Group inc.) and entering a website maintained by a third party (the "External Website") and that you do so at your own risk.
AtkinsRéalis has no control over the External Website, any data or other content contained therein or any additional linked websites. The link to the External Website is provided for convenience purposes only. By clicking "Accept" you acknowledge and agree that AtkinsRéalis is not responsible, and does not accept or assume any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the data protection policy, the content, the data or the technical operation of the External Website and/or any linked websites and that AtkinsRéalis is not liable for the terms and conditions (or terms of use) of the External Website. Further, you acknowledge and agree that you assume all risks resulting from entering and/or using the External Website and/or any linked websites.
BY ENTERING THE EXTERNAL WEBSITE, YOU ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU COMPLETELY AND IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY AND ALL RIGHTS AND CLAIMS AGAINST ATKINSRÉALIS, AND RELEASE, DISCHARGE, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS ATKINSRÉALIS, ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS AND AGENTS FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LIABILITY FOR LOSS, DAMAGES, EXPENSES AND COSTS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ENTERING AND/OR USING THE EXTERNAL WEBSITE AND/OR ANY LINKED WEBSITES AND ANY DATA AND/OR CONTENT CONTAINED THEREIN.
Such waiver and release specifically includes, without limitation, any and all rights and claims pertaining to reliance on the data or content of the External Website, or claims pertaining to the processing of personal data, including but not limited to any rights under any applicable data protection statute. You also recognize by clicking “Accept” that the terms of this disclaimer are reasonable.
The information provided by Virtua Research cited herein is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranty of any kind. Use of any Virtua Research data is at a user’s own risk and Virtua Research disclaims any liability for use of the Virtua Research data. Although the information is obtained or compiled from reliable sources Virtua Research neither can nor does guarantee or make any representation or warranty, either express or implied, as to the accuracy, validity, sequence, timeliness, completeness or continued availability of any information or data, including third-party content, made available herein. In no event shall Virtua Research be liable for any decision made or action or inaction taken in reliance on any information or data, including third-party content. Virtua Research further explicitly disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
The consensus estimate provided by Virtua Research is based on estimates, forecasts and predictions made by third party financial analysts, as described above. It is not prepared based on information provided by AtkinsRéalis and can only be seen as a consensus view on AtkinsRéalis' possible future results from an outside perspective. AtkinsRéalis has not provided input on these forecasts, except by referring to past publicly disclosed information. AtkinsRéalis does not accept any responsibility for the quality or accuracy of any individual or average of forecasts or estimates. This web page contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by third parties. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between AtkinsRéalis' actual future results, financial situation, development or performance, and the estimates given here.
Setting up the project for success
The PMIS is now operational, and construction is well underway.
As part of our ongoing support, we have also run in-house training sessions for the Qcells team and general contractor so they can be confident they are receiving the maximum value from the PMIS system. This will help them make informed decisions, keep track of costs, manage their schedule and change orders, collaborate with partners and contractors, and efficiently navigate this complex construction project.
The data from this project is being hosted in our data analytics warehouse. This means that learnings from the project can be used to support future ones – helping us improve our predictive capabilities and deliver solutions that really make a difference.
The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2024, significantly improving Hanwha Qcells solar production capabilities in the US. This will also support other emerging solar and clean energy innovation in the region. Our team will continue to provide support configuring, maintaining, and managing the tech stack for the length of the project.
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