How an EPC company is structured

Org chart

The project site branch is shown in depth, from the projects head to a project manager and the construction, site and planning engineers. Engineering, procurement, tendering, quality and safety, HR and finance are drawn one level down. Head office and site teams work in different environments.

Levels and designations

Approval chains

How the structure works

The three letters, engineering, procurement and construction, are the three main functions, joined for each job by a project manager. Engineering produces designs, drawings and specifications from the head office. Procurement sources equipment, bulk material and subcontractors against those specifications. Construction executes on the project site through a construction manager, site engineers for civil, mechanical and electrical work, and supervisors leading contract labour. A planning team tracks schedule and cost against the plan. Tendering estimates and bids for new work, quality and safety hold standards, and finance manages project cash flow. The project manager owns delivery and coordinates all functions for that job.

How it changes with size

A small contractor may run one project at a time with a project manager, a few engineers and hired labour. A mid-sized EPC firm runs several projects together, with head office engineering and procurement serving all of them, and a planning desk. A large contractor builds business units by sector, such as power, water or roads, each with its own projects and engineering, plus central procurement, a dedicated safety department, and a proposals team for big tenders. Head office and site teams stay distinct throughout, because design runs on office hours while sites run on daily execution.

Common problems

The company lives in two places at once. Engineering and procurement staff work office hours at the head office, while construction staff work long days on remote sites with no shared biometric. Staff and engineers transfer between projects as jobs start and finish, which breaks reporting lines. Contract labour dominates the site headcount but sits outside the direct hierarchy. Overtime rises near milestones. The steady fixes are site or app-based attendance for project staff, one project manager as reporting manager per site person, and clear records for contract labour beside direct staff.

• Office attendance for engineering and site or app attendance for projects
• Reporting lines reset when staff move between projects
• Contract labour recorded alongside direct site staff
• Overtime near milestones approved against clear rules

Set up this structure in ZeniaHR

1. Add the head office and each project site as a branch, and create departments like Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Tendering, Safety, HR and Finance.
2. Create designations such as Site Engineer, Design Engineer, Planning Engineer, Construction Manager and Project Manager, and use grades to hold pay bands.
3. Give every person a reporting manager, the project manager for site staff and the function head for office staff, each with an HR partner.
4. Use the org chart to fix broken reporting lines when staff move between projects, and confirm no one is left without a manager.
5. Set a General shift for the head office, and use mobile app punches with a check-in spot per project site where there is no office biometric.
6. Keep leave, corrections and overtime on the reporting manager then HR route, and add the projects head as a hiring approver above project managers.

Frequently asked questions