Operations Due Diligence

Abstract

With limited resources available for organisations to deliver sustained prosperity and safety there is a need to ensure assets and processes are being utilised efficiently and effectively. To meet the expectations of shareholders, boards, customers and regulators, this needs to be demonstrated in a diligent, transparent and robust manner. The operations due diligence process for a site, plant or process, addresses issues from a strategic viewpoint by determining the actual plant efficiency in the context of all of the credible risk issues and system characteristics to which the site is exposed. It highlights the areas of greatest concern. Precious resources can then be targeted to optimise existing assets and processes to get maximum net outputs from the plant. A case study of the operations due diligence process as applied to the Gladstone Area Water Board for critical infrastructure is presented. The Queensland competition regulator (Queensland Competition Authority, 2012) has published the full report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]