Insights

A solid capital improvement plan (CIP) can save you hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars in operational expenditures. When done right, this plan can help you achieve your organization’s goals and address operational challenges, while accommodating your unique needs and constraints as a business.

There is no cookie-cutter formula to producing the “perfect” CIP. Instead, it is a combination of expert insights, data-driven decision-making, and an ongoing process of reviewing strategies, implementing action plans, and learning as you go.

In this article, we explore five ways to take your capital improvement planning to the next level.

• 1. Take inventory
  Gather as much data as you can about your projects, portfolio, and organization, as well as getting input from people across your organization to validate the information.
  
  While this exercise may take time, it is important that your CIP is anchored on tangible, hard facts rather than spreadsheet figures alone.
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  2. Get rid of silos
  Collect information and save this in one centralized system to help give you a bigger and more holistic picture of your portfolio. This way you will have a better view of whether there are any gaps or overlaps in your data, how teams are collaborating, or any inefficiencies.
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  3. Set regular touchpoints 
  Monitor your progress regularly. In addition to major touchpoints like quarterly or biannual meetings, consider implementing minor but more frequent reviews like weekly or monthly catchups, especially among smaller teams working on the ground.  This ensures that you will always have a pulse on your CIP activities so you can monitor progress and respond quickly to any unexpected developments. 
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  4. Perform regular risk assessments 
  Risk assessments should be done regularly to ensure your CIP is running as it should and you are ready for any issues that may arise. These challenges will persist throughout any projects’ lifecycle, so risk assessment exercises should not be a one-time thing either.  
  
  It is also good practice to monitor challenges alongside progress and evaluate how well your CIP holds up against potential or ongoing risks.
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  5. Go digital 
  The last piece is implementing your digital transformation. Upgrading old, inefficient structures into faster, smarter, digital systems is the key to your organization’s success. 
  
  With its artificial intelligence technology, it can automatically analyze your data and generate reports and predictions to support your decision-making. Some CIP solutions can even create models and run scenarios to help you prepare for a variety of outcomes.

Take your CIP to the next level
There is no overstating the value of a solid CIP, especially for asset-intensive organizations. Therefore, investing in the right tools and strategies to produce the right one for your company is a worthwhile expense. Whether you are developing a CIP for the first time, or improving an existing plan, the same considerations apply to produce the best capital improvement plan for your needs:

• 1. Take stock of where and how things are at present
• 2. Eliminate data silos to prevent inefficiencies
• 3. Set regular touchpoints to monitor progress.
• 4. Conduct regular risk assessments risk assessments
• 5. Digitize to optimize your CIP

At Arcadis Gen, we are committed to helping asset-intensive organizations reach their full potential through data and digital solutions. Our apps and software are designed to support your strategies, help you address your unique challenges, and empower you achieve your goals. Explore our innovative digital tools or experience them for yourself with a free demo.