Organisations may be considering committing to a major undertaking or project with uncertain risks and returns. HVR utilise their engineering and business management skills to conduct independent audits of projects in order to evaluate the programme deliverables, the associated risks, the expected revenue, any gainshare or sharing of opportunities and an assessment of the penalties and liabilities.

Due Diligence can be understood as ensuring that any undertaking examined is being approached in a careful and conscientious manner and that it is fit and proper for the task(s) envisaged. In the context of project management, Due Diligence can be defined as ensuring that the proposed scope of work is factually correct and achievable, or :

• Ensuring that all technical and programme risks have been addressed and adequately accounted for in the proposed solution.
• Ensuring that the proposed technical solution is feasible.
• Ensuring that any development and production programmes (schedules) are achievable.
• Ensuring that the project costings are realistic.
• The availability of any off-the-shelf solutions that would meet the project requirements.
• The identification of any performance or safety improvements.
• Ensuring that any investors fully understand the technology issues and are in a position to take an informed view on the scale of the challenges prior to investment.

The exact scope of work for any Due Diligence study will be defined by the specific requirements of the sponsor. The timing of the work, and the necessity of conducting future reviews and updates, are also driven by the need to progressively reduce risk throughout the life cycle of the project as illustrated below.

Contact: arthur.griffiths@hvr-csl.co.uk