PMC contractor in Russian large-scale projects and megaprojects. Justification for involvement

Introduction
PMC (Project management contract) is a long-standing and well-proven method of contracting in world practice for the effective management of large-scale projects and megaprojects.
According to the contract, PMC contractor takes on the functions of operational project management, including resource management of the customer and contractors.
At the same time, the PMC service has not yet become widespread in Russia.
I will analyze some of the reasons for the low prevalence of PMC in Russian practice, as well as arguments in favor of PMC - attracting external project management specialists.
---------------------------------
PMC has existed in world practice for more than 20 years. Many large-scale projects and megaprojects have been implemented and are being implemented using PMC approaches.
In many Russian large-scale projects and megaprojects, customers also have a need for PMC services - the temporary involvement of external project management specialists to strengthen the team: schedule network planning, status analysis, reporting preparation, risk assessment and monitoring of contractor schedules, etc.
However, at the same time, customers often have difficulty justifying the involvement of contractors for PMC services to their management and numerous inspection bodies.
Below are some of the main reasons:


1. The cost of services scares me away - "I have the desire, but I don't have the opportunity"
Historically, when budgeting large-scale projects and megaprojects, customers do not provide for the costs of possible partial external management - the involvement of PMC services.

2. Internal policies and procedures do not allow the involvement of PMC contractors. The involvement of external project management specialists formally often means duplication of functions of services existing in the customer's staffing table.

3. There is a fear of admitting one's own incompetence - "I have the opportunity, but I don't have the desire."
According to some customers, if an external project management specialist is invited, this may indicate incomplete compliance with the qualification requirements of in-house specialists. Therefore, middle management, as a rule, is in no hurry to invite external Varangians - "we can handle it ourselves."

In our experience, unfortunately, the above reasons for refusing to engage professional PMC services often led to missed deadlines for large-scale projects and megaprojects.
Next, I will give arguments in favor of using PMC services in a project, which can justify to management (and possibly also inspection bodies) the need to attract external project management specialists, and, possibly, can save a large and mega-project from missing deadlines.

1. Managing risks leading to deadline shifts
On large-scale projects and megaprojects, each day that the target completion date of the project is delayed can cost tens of millions of rubles.

Project management services through the involvement of a PMC contractor can help the customer significantly reduce the predicted backlog, while the cost of services is only a small fraction of the cost of delays.
In our experience, PMC teams are most effective on large-scale projects and megaprojects worth more than 1 billion rubles; a separate study is devoted to this topic: the Kutuzov-Alferov cross https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrBqViYfEGU

2. Independence/non-affiliation
The PMC contractor is not affiliated with any of the project stakeholders, and therefore will not hide the risks and problems of the project from the customer. As for any contractor, reputation is important for PMC, which consists, among other things, of the ability to honestly and competently assess the health of the project - reliable status, and forecast the timing/budget of the project.

3. Unique competence and experience
In certain periods, complex large-scale projects and megaprojects require unique competencies and experience, which the owner may not have enough for effective project management.
You cannot train your own specialists in a short time, and it is not easy to find the necessary specialists on the market.
Also, no employee can know and be able to do everything. True competence lies, among other things, in the ability to soberly assess one's capabilities, as well as to constantly improve one's skills and abilities.
By engaging a PMC contractor, you benefit from the knowledge and experience of not only the specific contractor team hired, but also the extensive experience of the entire PMC contractor company. After all, the experience of the involved PMC team is the experience and knowledge of the entire company that provided the service, and not the total experience and knowledge of individual team members.

4. Smoothing out peak loads on full-time specialists.
In certain periods, a large and mega-project may experience peak load, which may lead to the need to recycle its own resources. As a result, the quality of project implementation may suffer.
During such periods, the external team PMC contractor will help the customer smooth out peak loads, reduce the level of burnout of their own resources and effectively support the management of large-scale projects and megaprojects.
One of the types of application of the PMC approach is replacement outsourcing. In this case, the PMC team works on the project until the customer's full-time specialists are hired and/or trained. Essentially, the PMC team starts the flywheel of effective project management and then leaves, leaving the customer with battle-trained staff.

5. Periodic need for external audit of project management
A fresh and "uncluttered" view of external experts often helps the customer see what "lies on the surface", but for some reason is not visible to full-time project management specialists.
By planning regular audits at the very beginning of a large and mega-project, the customer controls the quality of management and reduces the risks of failure to achieve the project's target parameters.

6. "There is no prophet in his own country."
Often, the customer's employees see and understand the problems and ways to optimize project management, but in order to convey this information to management or owners, an additional opinion of a professional third party is required. The PMC contractor will be able to provide management with a professional opinion on the status and recommendations for project management.

Each project is, by definition, unique, so each has its own reasons and arguments for or against the use of PMC services - the involvement of external project management specialists.
In any case, the decision to engage a PMC service to plan and implement a project must be balanced. And it is more correct that this decision be made by the top management of the company/project, and not descended to the middle management level.
The PMC service in Russia is still at the beginning of its journey and is becoming more and more in demand every year. You can already find publications in the media about the use of the new approach in Russia; a number of companies have already begun to offer this service to customers. The services provided are not always called PMC (the term has not yet caught on), but in fact, the totality of project management services provided often forms PMC.
I am sure that the PMC approach in Russia has a great future.