What the utility needed was a platform to enforce a lifecycle-based Management of Change process to control asset changes, large or small, while remaining flexible enough to accommodate diverse engineering practices across dozens of sites. FACILEX® became that platform.
Creating Consistency at Fleet Scale
In a large generation portfolio, configuration changes can affect drawings, procedures, setpoints, protective systems, training requirements, and vendor documentation. Historically, each site approached these changes differently, making it difficult to maintain:
- A credible and accurate as-built record
- Consistent procedural execution
- Traceability of who initiated, reviewed, and approved each change
- Confidence that downstream impacts were properly evaluated
FACILEX® addressed these challenges by establishing a common, lifecycle-based MOC process based on their approved procedures along with the ability to configure any site’s unique business process rules, forms, reports, etc. FACILEX® MOC supports change initiation, risk assessment, scoping, change design, impact analysis, approvals, implementation, PSSR’s, and completion of follow-up action items prior to close-out.
This lifecycle approach delivers consistency across dozens of facilities while preserving the flexibility needed to manage diverse engineering practices.
A Temporary Workspace for Managing Impacted Information
One of the most powerful capabilities deployed across the fleet was the creation of a temporary workspace for each configuration change.
This workspace:
- Holds impacted documents, drawings, redlines, markups, and vendor packages
- Captures discussions across engineering, operations, maintenance, and safety
- Supports the procedural activities required by the lifecycle
- Provides structured access for external service providers
- Ensures only approved, final revisions flow back into the permanent system of record
Instead of uncontrolled email threads and file shares, every participant works from a single, authoritative location, with complete revision control and an audit trail.
This is the practical heart of configuration management: keeping all transient information organized and governed until the change is fully validated and closed.
Enabling Secure, Structured External Collaboration
Large utilities rely heavily on engineering firms, EPCs, OEMs, and specialist service providers. FACILEX® made this external collaboration safe and traceable by:
- Providing secure, limited-scope access to the temporary workspace
- Enforcing document states (WIP → Review → Approved → Archived)
- Maintaining a full audit history of external contributions
- Ensuring confidential or site-sensitive information remains protected
This allowed the utility to integrate contractors directly into the process, without sacrificing control or exposing the enterprise to unnecessary risk.
Credible As-Built Information: The Cornerstone of Safety
After ten years of operation across more than a hundred facilities, the most important lesson is simple: A controlled, robust configuration management process is essential to credible as-built information, and credible as-built information is essential for safety.
FACILEX® helped the utility achieve that by ensuring that:
- Drawings reflect the plant as it truly exists
- Procedures match the physical configuration
- Protection logic, alarms, and interlocks are documented and reviewed
- Operational risk is reduced by eliminating ambiguity
- Engineers and operators trust the information in front of them
When personnel have confidence in their engineering data, they make better decisions.
Better decisions lead to safer, more reliable operations.
Driving Efficiency and Reducing Lifecycle Cost
Beyond safety, consistent configuration management has delivered measurable operational benefits:
- Faster engineering reviews
- Reduced rework caused by outdated information
- Fewer documentation gaps during maintenance or troubleshooting
- Streamlined turnover and commissioning
- Improved readiness for regulatory audits
- Simplified onboarding for new engineers and operators
At enterprise scale these gains compound and generate long-term strategic value.
Conclusion: Discipline at Scale Is Achievable
Managing configuration changes across a vast and diverse generation fleet is inherently complex.
But with the right digital foundation, it becomes a manageable, predictable process.
The experience of this major utility demonstrates that implementing MOC for configuration management:
- Strengthens operational safety
- Protects engineering data integrity
- Reduces operational and maintenance risk
- Enables secure contractor collaboration
- Supports efficient, reliable plant operations
After a decade of real-world use, the message is clear: a robust configuration management process using FACILEX® MOC has produced great rewards.
