ORAT is an acronym for Operational Readiness, Activation and Transition. There is also a variation that means Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer. The idea of ORAT was created to ease the transfer from a construction site to an operating facility (though some may say from a static to a dynamic state). Planners plan, designers design, builders build, operators operate and project managers focus on time and cost, ORAT oversees project development, assuring that the needs are integrated accordingly and that the staff can operate the facility from day one.
OBJECTIVE
No matter the variation, the core objective of ORAT remains the same: to operate a new facility on day one as if it has been operated for years. In the case of an airport for example, it can be the process of taking a newly constructed building and turning it into a fully functioning airport terminal that operates business as usual from Day One.
Management of projects mostly focuses on timely completion within specified budget and covering a specified scope or quality. ORAT brings another angle to management of a project, which is operational readiness. That is, to consider the project successful, end users must be considered and made comfortable with the operating mode before opening it for use.
ORAT is a change management process: the new facility or the new infrastructure usually comes with more than new walls or concrete slab. It comes with new systems, new equipment, new regulations, new processes, new routes for users, new requirements for employers, new questions from passengers and so on. Like many change management strategies, ORAT promotes the engagement of stakeholders early in the project process. It brings the project management and operating teams together to work throughout the planning, design, construction and transfer phases.
ORAT introduces in the project management strategy the idea of ‘state’. So in addition to targeting a delivery date, the project aims to be in an acceptable state that is agreed upon and understood by all stakeholders. Timeline and budget are important, but ORAT goes beyond the lighting fixtures and the furniture installation, for example, and adds the ability of the users to operate the facilities during normal activities, with contingency and emergencies also considered.
In the case of a new airport terminal, ORAT oversees the preparation of all regular airport operations, as well as commercial operations, contingency plans and emergency plans. ORAT anticipates everything that may happen after the contractor is gone and prepares the users to be able to handle them. This throws up the necessity for airport personnel to be trained or given proper orientation on the use of facilities in the new building. in other words, for the new facility to operate effectively, airport personnel must have a detailed understanding of the facility and systems and be confident in their roles and be able to respond to any situation.
Simply put, ORAT serves to ensure that people and technology are aligned to deliver desired outcomes.
ORAT TEAM
Depending on airport size, organizational structure, project size and project complexity, ORAT can be done internally or the activities can be subcontracted. The ORAT Team can even be a hybrid of in-house and external resources. and where ORAT coordination is entirely subcontracted, it is highly recommended to work with the end users to develop the operations plans of the facility in question.
REFERENCES
www.internationalairportreview.com
www.arup.com
