Abidance Consulting

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a compliance auditor for a major energy company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Abidance Consulting?

We contacted abidance because there were new NERC reliability standards specific to critical infrastructure protection that were being introduced to the electric industry. They needed to be rolled out, so we needed training, understanding, and interpretation of each standard and requirement, to ensure compliance for out company.  

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Abidance Consulting provided a program plan to us. The program plan and content was first and foremost They provided an overview of the new standards, and then provided more detailed descriptions, provided alternative interpretations because few people in the industry understood the rules being enforced by FERC and NERC.

It was important and necessary because we wanted to agree on the scope of what they were going to do for us. As a result, we were able to determine the number of resources and the commitment that was needed on our end in order to have a successful engagement.  

Then we arranged for Abidance Consulting to deliver training sessions to our subject matter experts who are subject to the new requirements.

After the training, they did further work to document our operating procedures, ensure compliance, and performed ad hoc audits to determine where we needed to improve to sustain compliance.

They identified and reported gaps where we had either controls that enabled compliance or fell short.

What is the team composition?

We just worked with James (Principal & Owner).

How did you come to work with Abidance Consulting?

The decision was made by our VP of our business unit and director of reliability compliance.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2009 and, because regulatory rules continue to change, we continue to work with them.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

It was a superb experience. He took me and the rest of my company from a point of zero knowledge to full compliance. It was a journey, and in some cases it was a sprint because we were behind. It was a lot of work that we needed to do in  a short period of time.

No one complained about their training. Our team was enthusiastic and engaged in their training. Overall, our subject matter experts were able to ask a lot of questions.

Overall, the engagement was a tremendous value for the company I work for and a very good experience, both professionally and personally. I learned a lot from them, especially when it comes to methodology.

How did Abidance Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

James is a great project manager. He was able to break the program into different sections and projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

James is a unique individual. He focuses on the work at hand, sets the program, identifies the resources, and organizes each project and the delivery. Not only does he manage the project, but he provides the guidance needed to complete the project. He worked side by side with us to make sure we were on the right track.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not that I can think of.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of utilities for a municipal government. We own water, sewer, and electric distribution facilities within the city limits, and we supply customers with those services.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Abidance Consulting?

We became a SERC (Southeastern Electric Reliability Council)-listed entity, both as a distribution provider and as a load-serving entity. We are a small organization, and we needed assistance with SERC compliance, policies, and filings.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provide many services. They handled all of our SERC filings and created all of the policies that we needed to put in place. They did a mock audit and came and did annual reviews, and then they updated those policies. When we had our SERC audits, both on- and off-site, they participated to make sure that we understood what SERC was asking and that we provided the correct documentation. If any changes or updates needed to be made, they quickly responded so that we could get those in-line and supplied.

When NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) and then SERC passed on changes in registration requirements, James was able to get us delisted as a registered entity on both of those ports. We continue to have him come in and review our policies; we keep him in place and up to date just in case anything changes, so we don’t have to start over.

They’ve helped us look at some things from a security perspective and done a physical security audit. Within the last year, they helped us with PCI (payment card industry)-compliance. They made sure that we had policies and training and things of that nature in place. 

What is the team composition?

We have just worked with James (Director of Regulatory Compliance). 

How did you come to work with Abidance Consulting?

It has been a while, so I don’t remember how I first came across James. However, I talked to him and realized he had expertise in that field in particular and other security compliance areas. He was very knowledgeable, and he has a wealth of contacts throughout the industry that have proven helpful at times to us. We made a decision to go with him, and we’ve been using him for a good while. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent between $20,000–$50,000 a year, which varies based on services we’ve added or changes we’ve made.

What is the status of this engagement?

I’ve been with the city since 2007, so we probably started working together in 2009 or 2010.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They’ve been a great help. We’ve been really pleased with everything that James does.

How did Abidance Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate over email or phone, depending on how urgent the need is. However, most of it is through email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

James has extensive knowledge and background, and he’s been a subject matter expert on everything that we’ve worked with him on. Whatever the problem, issue, or concern is, he immediately knows what steps we need to take, what policies we need to put in place, and what documents we need. It’s been rare that he’s had to dig in order to find something out; normally, he knows pretty quickly what direction we need to proceed in.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so. We’ve been very pleased with them, and we have a great long-standing relationship.

Any advice for potential customers?

Investigate and do your due diligence. Get to know James both personally and professionally; he’s a good guy. Reach out to people like me who have worked with or known him for a while. That’s what I did to start — I called some of his references, and some of his future clients have called me.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP of strategy for an energy consulting company. We work in enterprise asset management, but from the work management and asset management side. Then we do project and program implementations. Finally, we consult on both physical and cybersecurity. We focus on electric power, natural gas, and water sectors.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Abidance Consulting?

I engaged with Abidance Consulting as an expert on cybersecurity for electric utility companies.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

 He has provided guidance on regulations in the electric utility industry regarding cybersecurity. He has done some gap analysis on documents and procedures, done quality reviews, so they can be remediated from a customer’s perspective.

What is the team composition?

James (Director of Regulatory Compliance) was our primary contact

How did you come to work with Abidance Consulting?

I worked with them at a previous company.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in February 2015 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We’ve had positive feedback from our customers. The remediation activities are very positive because it show that our customers are addressing gaps and correcting them for future audits. That can result in saving money on fines, which could amount to tens of thousands of dollars.

How did Abidance Consulting perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicate primarily through phone calls. We go back a long time now, so we can communicate openly and transparently through the phone. We’ve built a relationship of trust and honesty over the years.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their knowledge of the industry and their experience. James has a lot of experience in both the government and private industry, which has been very valuable.

Are there any areas they could improve?

James is very transparent and honest, but sometimes he could word things differently. He still gets the point across.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Understand what you want done and have a clear scope of the deliverables. You can also ask him to provide feedback towards the end of the project. They’re also capable of delivering at a very granular level, so it’s important to outline your expectations.