Pre-execution
Early Project Optimisation
Get the foundations right, before execution locks them in.
Specialist project controls and risk embedded during feasibility and FEED, so the estimate, risk register and breakdown structure are built right the first time — not inherited and patched once execution starts.
What good looks like
- Cost and schedule baselines that hold through sanction and into execution.
- A faster, cleaner transition into delivery — no three- to six-month controls setup lag.
- Tighter contingency based on real analysis, not guesswork.
- QRA-ready data from day one, cutting weeks off downstream risk analysis.
- Lessons learned captured live and fed back into the organisation's knowledge base.
What you get
- Interim project controls team — scope, cost, schedule, risk, change and reporting, embedded from feasibility through to FID and stepping aside cleanly at execution handover
- Estimate validation and breakdown design — independent estimate review to AACE and APM standards, with WBS, CBS and Control Account Plan built to survive into execution
- Tool and system setup — Primavera P6, Safran, ARM, EcoSys, @Risk configured once, properly, so data flows cleanly between cost, schedule and risk from day one
- Lessons learned and benchmarking — structured capture and benchmarking against comparable projects, built into a client-specific knowledge base
- Commercial flexibility — fixed-price packages (£25k–£120k), day-rate embedded team (£60k–£500k over 3–12 months), or outcome-aligned against a sanction milestone
How we start
A 30-minute discovery call. We listen. If the shape of the problem matches the shape of our work, we come back within one working day with a short scoping note — scope, duration, team, indicative cost. Nothing binding, nothing fluffy.
Frequently asked
Early Project Optimisation — questions we get asked
- What does SOMA's Early Project Optimisation service include?
- Our Early Project Optimisation service covers: Interim project controls team — scope, cost, schedule, risk, change and reporting, embedded from feasibility through to FID and stepping aside cleanly at execution handover, Estimate validation and breakdown design — independent estimate review to AACE and APM standards, with WBS, CBS and Control Account Plan built to survive into execution, Tool and system setup — Primavera P6, Safran, ARM, EcoSys, @Risk configured once, properly, so data flows cleanly between cost, schedule and risk from day one, Lessons learned and benchmarking — structured capture and benchmarking against comparable projects, built into a client-specific knowledge base, Commercial flexibility — fixed-price packages (£25k–£120k), day-rate embedded team (£60k–£500k over 3–12 months), or outcome-aligned against a sanction milestone. All work is delivered by chartered practitioners with live-project experience.
- What outcomes can I expect from EPO?
- Cost and schedule baselines that hold through sanction and into execution. A faster, cleaner transition into delivery — no three- to six-month controls setup lag. Tighter contingency based on real analysis, not guesswork. QRA-ready data from day one, cutting weeks off downstream risk analysis. Lessons learned captured live and fed back into the organisation's knowledge base.
- How does SOMA start a EPO engagement?
- We begin with a 30-minute discovery call to understand the shape of the problem. Within one working day we provide a short scoping note — scope, duration, team, and indicative cost — with no obligation.
- What sectors does SOMA deliver Early Project Optimisation for?
- SOMA delivers Early Project Optimisation across UK infrastructure sectors including rail, highways, nuclear, water and utilities, defence, and energy. We work across the United Kingdom, on programmes that require chartered, practitioner-led controls.
Got a programme that needs the numbers straight?
Tell us what you are working on. We will come back within one working day with a useful answer — not a sales pitch.