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MINING SOF TWARE neering procurement and construction (EPC) firms, 23 of the 25 leading global design firms, and nearly all Fortune 500 construction and engineering firms. Taking another approach to solve a project information management problem, Anglo American selected Intergraph's SmartPlant Foundation to support the information handover process for its Los Bronces mine development project. Gerhard Sallinger, president of Intergraph Process, Power & Marine, said, "SmartPlant Foundation provides Anglo American the technology and capabilities of the industry-standard solution for information management, used by engineering, procurement and construction companies and owner operators globally. The implementation of SmartPlant Foundation at Los Bronces Development Project gives Anglo American fast, easy and intuitive access to engineering documentation, allowing it to execute projects and operate safer while increasing quality and productivity." Intergraph, a division of Hexagon, said SmartPlant Foundation has the broadest solution footprint in the industry with capabilities that span the entire project life cycle, ranging from simple document management to configuration management. Its forte is the ability to manage massively interrelated, interdependent and rapidly evolving data that is the backbone of SmartPlant Enterprise, Intergraph's multi-discipline integrated engineering suite, as well as being the platform for integrated applications such as SmartPlant Construction and SmartPlant Enterprise for Owner Operators. Getting a Grip on Cost Management EcoSys, a Denver, Colorado-based developer of project controls software, said it has implemented enterprise solutions for more than 250 private and public organizations, and recently assisted Tahoe Resources in a program to help the junior silver exploration and development company gain control of its project cost management. Tahoe's Escobal project—its first producing mine—is located in southeast Guatemala and offers an estimated life of 18 years at a capital cost of more than $325 million. Construction is under way and production is expected in late 2013. Given large capital expenses before the mine starts producing and a finite lifespan, the effective control of costs is imperative to the overall profitability of the project. Consequently, Tahoe sought a streamlined www.e-mj.com Tahoe Resources turned to EcoSysÕ project control software to manage the many forms of documentation required for constructionÑsuch as for the water treatment storage ponds shown hereÑand startup of its Escobal project in Guatemala. system for cost management on this project which would then serve as the cost controls foundation for future mining projects. Starting from scratch, Tahoe required a system to support cost control best practices "out of the box," but with the flexibility to meet its specific and unique requirements. They wanted a single system that could support budgeting, change management, commitments tracking, reconciliation of actuals, performance measurement, forecasting, as well as provide an integrated reporting solution. Tahoe also would need a method to aggregate its own internal commitments and transactions with those initiated externally by its engineering, procurement, construction and management consultant. And, as an international company, Tahoe required a system that could easily support the multiple currencies it regularly uses in its operations. In conjunction with global construction consultants Turner & Townsend, Tahoe selected EcoSys EPC (Enterprise Planning & Controls) as its project cost management solution for Escobal, which also provided the scalability to grow for future projects. Tahoe will use the EcoSys system to: • Function as a central repository to aggregate data for project controls reporting; • Exchange budget and actuals data with Tahoe's Microsoft Dynamics accounting system; • Provide detailed budget tracking including original and current budgets on annual and Life Total bases; • Implement a budget change management process with an auditable workflow; • Manage all commitments within EPC and reconcile against actual costs; • Model forecasts based upon multiple approaches including direct, time-phased estimates or earned value methodology; • Allow for planning, forecasting and recording actuals in multiple currencies, as well as adjusting for exchange fluctuations and converting foreign currencies into the reporting currency; and • Provide comprehensive reporting capabilities (e.g. monthly cost performance, change order logs, 12-month rolling cash flow forecast, earned value by area) and allow endusers to create new reports as needed. EcoSys notes that Tahoe's now-scalable cost controls system is able to support multiple projects and portfolio level analysis. It provides visibility into project performance with easy drill-down into details to isolate variances, allowing for rapid corrective action. Its automated report generation capability reduces labor and potential errors associated with manual collating and building of reports. Implementation of EcoSys EPC, said the company, has provided Tahoe Resources with a full-featured cost controls software solution that supports its need for budgeting and forecasting, change management, commitments tracking, reconciliation of actuals, performance measurement including earned value, and reporting. As a result, the organization has enhanced its ability to proactively address project change and variances. APRIL 2013 • E&MJ; 67