Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) isn’t theory for Piping Technology and Products President and COO Lloyd Kirchner—it’s lived experience. With a background spanning EPC delivery and executive leadership as president and CEO of a construction engineering firm, Lloyd has seen firsthand how fragmented information, late materials, and unclear instructions derail field productivity. His perspective bridges engineering, procurement, and construction. With his multidisciplinary background in EPC leadership, he approaches AWP as an end-to-end discipline: plan early, reduce constraints, and hand crews complete, field-ready packages so they can finish what they start.
What is Advanced Work Packaging (AWP)?
Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) is a disciplined framework for capital project delivery that aligns engineering, procurement, and construction. Unlike traditional methods, where construction often inherits the “leftovers” of engineering schedules, AWP starts with the end in mind. It breaks the project down into manageable Work Packages—starting with Construction Work Packages (CWP) and feeding back into Engineering (EWP) and Procurement (PWP). This ensures that when a crew arrives at the job site, they have the drawings, materials, and equipment needed to perform work safely and efficiently, without idle time.
Benefits of AWP in EPC Execution
The primary advantage of AWP in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects is the significant reduction in Total Installed Cost (TIC) and improved schedule predictability. By fostering interdisciplinary coordination early in the project lifecycle, AWP minimizes field rework, which is often the largest source of cost overruns. Furthermore, because AWP emphasizes “Path of Construction” planning, it enhances safety by reducing congested work areas and improves quality by ensuring that all support systems, such as pipe supports and expansion joints, are correctly staged and installed according to the engineering design.
AWP in Industrial & Energy Projects
In the industrial and energy sectors, where projects feature high-criticality piping and complex mechanical systems, AWP is a game-changer. These projects involve thousands of unique components that must be synchronized perfectly. AWP ensures that critical-path items—such as high-temperature expansion joints or custom-engineered pipe hangers—are not only procured but also tracked and delivered in the specific sequence required by the construction schedule. This “just-in-time” approach prevents the site from becoming a storage yard and keeps the focus on high-quality startup and commissioning.
Expert Insights: Q&A with Lloyd Kirchner
To better understand how these theoretical benefits translate into real-world results, we sat down with Lloyd Kirchner, a seasoned expert in EPC execution. With years of experience navigating the complexities of capital projects, Lloyd provides a boots-on-the-ground perspective on how AWP is reshaping how we think about project management and the critical role engineered-to-order components play in this framework.
In this Q&A, Lloyd explains how AWP emerged to solve chronic jobsite inefficiencies, breaks down its core components, and details how Piping Technology & Products supports EWPs, PWPs, and CWPs with the technical data, digital integrations, documentation, and delivery reliability that modern projects demand: plus the customization required to fit each contractor’s AWP ecosystem.
1: Tell us about AWP, how it originated, and why it was adopted.
LK: Advanced Work Packaging originated in the construction industry to address field inefficiencies where crews couldn’t finish planned work. Studies (e.g., CII) showed common blockers: missing tools, drawings, materials, instructions, or safety/quality sign-offs. The solution was to bundle everything a 5–7 person crew needs to complete 1–2 days of work into complete work packages, so crews start only what they can finish. Think “meal kit for construction,” enabled by planners and schedulers who verify readiness before release.
2: What are the major components of AWP?
LK: The major components of AWP map to the way projects actually unfold: engineering, procurement, and construction. In engineering work packages, the goal is to decide what you’re going to build and document it so downstream teams don’t guess. That means specifications, load tables, and decisions captured in models and drawings—often BIM content—so the design is clear and clash-free before anyone buys or installs a thing. When engineering is buttoned up, procurement work packages translate that intent into vetted purchases with the appropriate documentation and timing: quotes tied to data sheets, material certifications and traceability, and realistic lead times and delivery windows that align with the schedule.
Construction work packages then take the baton to the field. They bundle the work into scopes a crew can complete—think one to two days—with everything ready before release: installation instructions, safety and quality checks, weights and dimensions for lifts, handling requirements, and, when needed, a clear roll-down to installation work packages so the foreman can execute without surprises. When these three components are synchronized, planners can issue work that the crews can actually finish, and that’s the whole point of AWP: to organize execution from engineering through to construction. Here’s a breakdown of the major components:
- Engineering Work Packages (EWP): engineering data, models, specs, and decisions that define what’s needed.
- Procurement Work Packages (PWP): sourcing and buying the defined materials/equipment with the proper documentation and timing.
- Construction Work Packages (CWP): field-ready bundles that break down scope and, when needed, roll down to Installation Work Packages (IWP) so crews can execute efficiently with no surprises.
3: How does Piping Technology and Products support EWP—Engineering Work Packages?
LK: As a supplier, Piping Technology can help with technical data: specifications, load tables, and capacities to support proper selection. Here’s what we can deliver:
- 2D/3D CAD and BIM: models engineers can drop directly into their 3D environments to reduce rework.
- Bills of material and catalog content to streamline takeoffs.
- Engineering services when requested: Piping Technology can perform pipe support engineering (e.g., based on layouts/PSA) and provide data sheets back to the engineer of record, or quote to an engineer’s spec when engineering is done on the owner/contractor side.
- Structured digital deliverables: standard file formats compatible with common modeling/document control systems.
4: How does Piping Technology and Products support PWP—Procurement Work Packages?
LK: We can provide quotations aligned with engineering specs and data sheets, whether Piping Technology or the customer performs engineering. We can drive value by offering:
- Material certifications and traceability (including country of origin and material test confirmations, e.g., verifying 316 vs. 304 stainless).
- Lead times and delivery windows, with early identification of long-lead/custom items (often 6–18 weeks vs. “standard” 8–10).
- Manufacturing status visibility and proactive updates so buyers and planners can adjust before issues hit the field.
- Data in formats that feed AWP systems (via standard files or APIs) to reduce manual re-entry.
5: How does Piping Technology and Products support CWP—Construction Work Packages?
LK: Suppliers like PT&P can provide field-ready installation instructions and documentation for correct, predictable installations (e.g., how to install cold shoes and where to weld). We can help with the following:
- Material attributes: weights, dimensions, and handling/field-fit constraints so sites plan offloading and lifts (forklifts/cranes) without delay.
- Clear material identification and tracking: color-coded packaging (e.g., red shrink wrap) and RFID tagging when required to help link materials to CWPs/IWPs and find them fast.
- Reliable delivery commitments with early alerts if anything shifts, enabling planners to issue or hold packages appropriately.
- On-site field service support when crews need assistance installing products.
- Optional pre-assembly/prefabrication, training, mockups, and VR/AR simulations to reduce field effort and uncertainty.
6: Lloyd, we understand that most companies have adopted their own version of AWP. Can you speak more about that customization?
LK: Absolutely. Contractors use different software and adopt AWP to varying degrees. At project kickoff, we align with each customer’s workflow, document control, and modeling ecosystem. We tailor deliverables—file formats (e.g., DWG), structured data for APIs, documentation sets, labeling/traceability methods, and even packaging—to fit their processes.
For example, when a customer struggled to locate our materials in the warehouse for timely IWP release, we implemented distinct color-coded shrink wrap so teams could quickly identify our products and accelerate package issuance. The goal is to speak the customer’s AWP language and remove constraints before they reach the field.
Piping Technology & Products (PT&P) delivers measurable value to contractors practicing Advanced Work Packaging by aligning end-to-end with EWP, PWP, and CWP processes and the software ecosystems behind them. We provide standardized, yet easily customizable deliverables and data structures that drop cleanly into your AWP workflows and document control.
On the engineering front, we accelerate EWPs with engineering-grade inputs—specifications, load tables, capacities, BIM/CAD models, and bills of materials—that engineers can directly place into 3D models. When needed, our team performs pipe support engineering and returns data sheets to the engineer of record; when engineering is already complete, we quote precisely to your specification. Either way, you get structured digital outputs in the formats your systems require.
For procurement, we reduce risk with complete, transparent packages: quotations tied to engineering data, clear lead times and delivery windows, and flags for special fabrication and long-lead items. We support QA/QC with material certifications and full traceability, including country of origin and verification of alloy requirements, and we furnish structured data or API-ready files to minimize manual entry into your AWP tools.
In the field, we enhance both CWPs and IWPs with documentation and traceability that keep crews moving. We supply detailed installation instructions, including cold-shoe installation and weld locations, along with the practical attributes planners need: weights, dimensions, handling requirements, and field-fit constraints to plan lifts, staging, and sequencing correctly.
To speed identification and linkage of materials to CWPs/IWPs, we enable RFID tagging when required and use distinct, clearly labeled packaging, such as red shrink wrap, so that teams can find the right items quickly. We also capture as-built updates to reflect field changes, ensuring accurate records and efficient closeout. Where it reduces risk and effort, we offer pre-assembly and prefabrication, as well as training, mockups, and VR/AR simulations.
Execution reliability ties it all together. We make delivery commitments that protect your ability to release packages on time, and we communicate proactively with manufacturing status visibility and early alerts so planners can issue, hold, or resequence work before impacts occur. By identifying long-lead or custom items early—often 6–18 weeks, rather than the “standard” 8–10—we help you set realistic schedules and align delivery windows with site readiness.
The result is a smoother, constraint-free workflow from engineering through construction, improved predictability, and field crews equipped to finish what they start. Get started with a custom quote for your project today.
