|  | Project Management - efficiency for business gain
| | I am indebted to the project management proverb web site (www.project-training-uk.freeserve.co.uk) for providing me with a thought provoking opener to this article on project management. It seemed to sum up the fundamental need for suckers' everywhere not to fall foul of efficiency and productivity problems that technology can so easily solve for them. |  |
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Industry commentators estimate that the worldwide construction industry spends more than $3.9 trillion per year during the construction phase. With the vast majority of these projects offering only single-digit margins (1% to 2%) it is imperative that AEC companies avoid inefficient planning and information flows that can result in extensive delays, costly errors and loss of overall project control.
OK, so we all buy the need for such control, but what sort of project management software is best for an individual business and how do you make a judgement in a market now flooded with offerings, let alone whether the solution should be enterprise or web-based or both.
There are some obvious pre-requisites that are not so different across any industry including construction.
Adapting to existing practices
Perhaps the most significant is that the solution must adapt to existing business practices because the closer the match in terms and workflow, the more quickly accepted and adopted the solution will be in the workplace. Established ways of working have also become accepted because they contain much that is truly effective and you don't want to throw the existing efficiency baby out with the bathwater.'
Crest software developed project management tool CS Project through close co-operation with construction users. This approach resulted in what claims to be a unique combination of ease of use as well as undoubted power and processing speed.w
Secure, scaleable & flexible
Next, systems must be secure, scaleable and flexible and their provider must also be able to deliver proper training, consulting and technical support to deliver a successful implementation.
Again Crest agree that this means novices can start with a system which need not be discarded when faced with more challenging projects to monitor and control.
Total life cycle management
However, perhaps the most important decision making criterion is that the solution works for the entire life cycle of the project being managed. That means that not only does it allow a company to perform their own internal functions such as payroll, task/time management, equipment and resource management with maximum efficiency, but it also then allows multiple parties to integrate efficiently once the project opens up to external parties for functions such as design reviews, circulating latest drawings and contract changes.
Mike McCullen of Asta Development plc agrees: "with PowerProject Teamplan, we have harnessed new technologies, like WAP phones and distributed document exchange, to enable planners to control projects more tightly from a central server whilst, at the same time, giving mobile workers and geographically dispersed teams the ability to view and update project details 'on the fly'."
"Project managers can use PowerProject Teamplan to delegate responsibility for maintaining and updating parts of a centrally-held project to local managers working in the field. Sections of a project can be booked out' and sent to managers for local revision and then booked back in to update the master schedule. This solution is particularly appropriate to the construction industry where everyone needs to be sure that they are working from the latest revision of project documents - whether it be architect drawings or supplier requisitions."
And finally, two interesting stories I came across relating to project management:
Firstly, its retrospective use in arbitration in the days before the widespread use of computers to manage a building programme. Primavera's Project Planner software was used to model a contract programme retrospectively, allowing everyone to work through the effects of changes that had been made on site and seeing whether they should have entitled the contractor to extra time and money. The resulting model showed where float time on the job had been used up, entitling the contractor to extra money and extensions of time - some £156m on top of the original $100m project cost - nice!
Secondly, in an open letter written to Ken Livingstone Mayor of London, regarding Ken's criticism of UK project management as inadequate and incapable of successful completion of the major infrastructure projects,' Mike Casebourne, Chief Executive of the Institution of Civil Engineers, points out that major infrastructure projects are an alliance between politicians, civil servants, project managers, designers, contractors and financiers. But in particularly, strong political leadership is needed to maintain the focus of the civil servants on the same plan throughout the project. He ends by saying that the civil engineering profession have demonstrated their project capability to better effect on major overseas projects where the necessary strong political alliance is sustained throughout the enterprise.
I have just three words to add to this: Wembley' and Picketts Lock'.
IT Construction Best Practice learning on selecting project management tools:
- Undertake an audit of areas where there could be tangible benefits through improved knowledge management.
- Select an appropriate IT platform for short-term gain / long-term investment
- Work towards a system integrated with other processes in the practice
- Be realistic about the amount of information that can be managed or kept-up-to-date
- Encourage a knowledge sharing culture. |
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