How to get the most from your consulting budget: consultants can offer specialized expertise, but they can't work alone.

Pulp and paper mill staffs are smaller than ever before. This does not mean the work they must do has disappeared; it means other people must do the work. As a result, more mills are hiring consultants to ease the workload and provide specialized expertise. With limited budgets, many mills are asking how they can obtain the most consulting "bang for their buck." Solutions! asked two experienced consultants to consult on this question.

How should pulp and paper mills determine which projects staff members can do and which consultants should do? Teppo Koski, executive vice president, business development, CTS Engineering Oy, Kouvola, Finland, noted that mills should seek outside help if they are not familiar with a particular technology.

"A consultant can help with projects where a mill is not currently using the technology in question or a mill wants to implement an unfamiliar technology," said Koski. "Mills often do not employ a complete staff because sufficient projects do not exist to keep the staff busy. This makes consultants preferable in key projects."

Jim Thompson, chairman and CEO of Talo Analytic International Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, USA, said that defining the project is the key to answering this question. "Consultants should be used for specific expertise or short term projects," he said. "Staff members are better for continuing work in their areas of expertise. The exception for ongoing projects may be routine tasks that can be done from anywhere such as regular market surveys. Using consultants for routine work that requires the consultant to travel to the mill regularly, such as BOD monitoring, is a bad idea. For example, mills should hire a consultant to audit the environmental activities of mill personnel but not to do them."

KEY STEPS

A good consultant should follow certain key steps in evaluating, planning, and delivering a project. "Evaluation means making sure that the concept is feasible and delivers what the customer is expecting," said Koski. "This is true in terms of investment, quality, and environmental performance. Good planning means keeping on budget and on schedule while maintaining an interactive dialogue during the work. Delivery should be on schedule and executed according to plan. Delivery must also consider the future needs of the mill."

According to Thompson, the key steps are a good objective, a good scope, an agreed-upon division of work with the client, a solid schedule, clearly defined deliverables, and pre-agreed procedures when the project does not progress according to plan.

DOS AND DON'TS

Both consultants offered a set of "Dos and Don'ts" that pulp and paper mills should follow in working with consultants. According to Koski, mills should:

* Do their homework.

* Define their targets.

* Remember priorities when making compromises.

* Keep commitments.

* Create dialogue.

* Do not change targets or scope late in the project.

* Do not leave the consultant to work alone.

* Do not ask the impossible--with a schedule, for example.

According to Thompson, mills should consider these factors:

* Make sure the consultant you choose is qualified and will be able to complete the project.

* Consultants should be "quietly confident." If the consultant is insecure, the customer will become anxious. If the consultant has an oversized ego, he or she will upset the client.

* Bad clients and bad consultants both exist. Bad clients sometimes hire consultants to prove an internal political point--not seek a solid business or scientific answer.

* Consultants should provide references and a solid, fixed-price proposal.

* Clients should have one internal manager for the project and should not let everyone have access to the consultant.

Thompson noted that many consultants are available to mills, but that mills should be careful to choose a truly professional consultant. "The professional consultant has invested in modern analytical tools and data warehousing systems to do professional work; has made a career of consulting and is not merely 'between jobs;' works for a firm fee from a proposal that clearly delineates the project objectives, scope, methodology, and schedule; and subscribes to a published code of ethics," he said. "The consultant should have a prepared, standard confidentiality agreement that is treated as if in force whether or not it has been specifically signed for a given project."

ALAN ROOKS, Editorial Director