Management of Change Overview:

Part 1

It has come to our attention that a large number of people in the oil and natural gas
industry are struggling with the topic of management of change (MOC). Although the
details of implementation will be very different for different situations, great MOC
programs are developed from the same basic foundation. This will be the first of a threepart overview of what is needed to run a top class management of change program.
The first fundamental aspect of MOC is the actual change request. What change needs
to be made? What are the individual specs for the materials needed? What plans and
documents need to be included in the change request to fully communicate what is
needed? If you cant clearly communicate what it is that needs to be changed, then the
change cant be implemented properly.
The next aspect of MOC that needs addressed is the reward of the change. Why am I
even making this change? Each change should be fully connected to satisfying a
business objective. Again, specificity is important in addressing these concerns. The
reward needs to clearly satisfy a business goal. If it does not, why even bother taking
the risk?
Possibly the most important foundation of the MOC program is the evaluation team. The
MOC evaluation team is responsible for the objective evaluation of the requests.
Members should represent different areas of expertise throughout the organization, with

different experiences under their belt. There shouldnt be any aspect of a request that
the team cant properly address and evaluate. Team members should be respected
among their peers, and confident enough to speak up when they have concerns. If
these criteria are used, your organization will select a MOC evaluation team that can
handle any challenge put in front of them.
Be sure to check back next week for part 2 of our overview of Management of Change.

Overview of Management of Change:

Part 2
Last week we talked about three crucial aspects of a great Management of Change
(MOC) program. Those areas were the specificity and detail in the change requests,
followed by risk and reward analysis, and the proper selection of a MOC evaluation
team. This week were going to touch base on a few more important parts to a fully
functional MOC program.
The new API Spec Q2 requirements take a risk-based approach to quality management.
When making changes, risks must be identified and measured by level of acceptability.
Risks that are deemed unacceptable must be paired with mitigation plans. These plans
are then designated to be carried out before, during, or after the implementation
process. The purpose of the mitigation plans is to help bring the risk down to an
acceptable level.
The next area we will address deals with the approval aspect of MOC. Many
organizations get into trouble in this area, confusing the need for approval with the need
to inform. Its important to note that every change doesnt have to have the same
approver. A great MOC program should have an approval matrix describing who needs
to approve which type of decisions, as well as a list of people who must be informed. If
your organization gets these steps right, the approval process will be quick and
painless.
This leads us to the communication section nicely. As stated before, there are those
who need to approve and those who must be informed. We need to track our

communication efforts with respect to the MOC. In other words, any message and
corresponding response must be documented. The person responsible for sending the
message is also responsible for getting a confirmation from the recipient. This means
after the change is communicated, a receipt confirmation should be requested. Also, it is
important to make it clear to your organization that an email response should be
expected from the recipient. Simply flagging it as Request a Read Receipt isnt going
to get the job done. Once the recipient has responded, stating that they have received
the message and understand the information, then the responsibility shifts to them to
carry out the appropriate action.

Overview of Management of Change:

Part 3
Last week we continued our discussion on more aspects of a great management of
change program. In Part 1 & 2 of our overview, we explored the actions that precipitate
making the change. Today, we will discuss the implementation of the change, as well as
required follow-up actions.
First, we will want to execute any per-implementation changes and corresponding
mitigation efforts that were identified. Subsequent to the implementation we will want to
perform any post-implementation tasks that are required. Example would include
updating procedures or modifying training materials to address the change.
Next, we need to confirm the effectiveness of the change. Once the change has been
implemented it is important to make sure that the change does what it was intended to
do. Sometimes organizations experience undesirable results. When this happens, we
must determine if the system should be restored to the old model, or develop a new
MOC to address the unintended results.
Finally, we need to follow-up and confirm the success of our mitigation efforts. This
ensures that the new system will not produce any unseen difficulties for the
organization. Also, we need to verify that the change is going to leave the system
running smoothly and safely. Once all of these steps have been completed in their
entirety, then the change can be closed.