Comments on: Running on Rails: Two Kinds of Action http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2002/10/20/33/ The magazine for the project age Fri, 16 May 2008 18:49:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Buck http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2002/10/20/33/#comment-386 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2002/10/20/33/#comment-386 Hi, this must be one of the few building projects I have heard of to be running on rails. Hereabouts they are known to be notoriously way behind schedule. Why is that the case? And why might it indeed be, that your site might the exception? Three words, Project goal, line of command and good communication. Usually you have a billion sub-sub-sub-subcontractors running around the site, half of them not knowing the local language(there`s a murderous price dumping war on european building sites) and 3/4 of them not knowing who has the say, an Architect who changes the designs in midstride, even when part of the building has already been built. At least this is the case here in Germany ;-) This is the best recepie for pm desaster... Or you just live with it and take PM not so seriously, simply because tomorrow everything could just look completely different ;-) So who cares if you have calculated that the project will be at least a month late, if tomorrow the architect could barge into the office door and tell everybody, well guys, all`s off, we`re not going to build a Cinema, and 1000m2 of shopping area, nope, it`s gonna be 1500m2of shopping and the rest is for practices and office space, yeah, complete new statiks and room layout, that`s fun and keeps you on your toes ;-) So getting everything in line and running smoothly is the first step, but in an everchanging environment you have to stay flexible... I have heard that in America building projects are planned right down to the nity gritty, e.g. where the sockets go. After that has been agreed up the project starts and no changes are made to the plans until the project has been finished - is that true??? - That must be PM-heaven ;-) Ok, enough of these dreams, off to my gantt charts... Bye Buck Hi,
this must be one of the few building projects I have heard of to be running on rails.
Hereabouts they are known to be notoriously way behind schedule.
Why is that the case?
And why might it indeed be, that your site might the exception?
Three words, Project goal, line of command and good communication.
Usually you have a billion sub-sub-sub-subcontractors running around the site, half of them not knowing the local language(there`s a murderous price dumping war on european building sites) and 3/4 of them not knowing who has the say, an Architect who changes the designs in midstride, even when part of the building has already been built.
At least this is the case here in Germany ;-)
This is the best recepie for pm desaster…
Or you just live with it and take PM not so seriously, simply because tomorrow everything could just look completely different ;-)
So who cares if you have calculated
that the project will be at least a month late, if tomorrow the architect could barge into the office door and tell everybody, well guys, all`s off, we`re not going to build a Cinema, and 1000m2 of shopping area, nope, it`s gonna be 1500m2of shopping and the rest is for practices and office space, yeah, complete new statiks and room layout, that`s fun and keeps you on your toes ;-)
So getting everything in line and running smoothly is the first step,
but in an everchanging environment you have to stay flexible…
I have heard that in America building projects are planned right down to the nity gritty, e.g. where the sockets go.
After that has been agreed up the project starts and no changes are made to the plans until the project has been finished - is that true??? - That must be PM-heaven ;-)
Ok, enough of these dreams, off to my gantt charts…

Bye

Buck

]]> by: Hal http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2002/10/20/33/#comment-387 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2002/10/20/33/#comment-387 Hi Buck, Sorry, I didn't notice your comment. Projects in The States are also notoriously behind schedule. In fact, so many construction projects are late and over budget that folks have stopped complaining about it. It is the accepted case. The Milwaukee hospital project (and many others like it) uses a different project management approach The Last Planner System™. Read about it at http://www.leanconstruction.org/pdf/LastPlanner.pdf. (You'll have to register at the site to get to the paper.) You note that project participants act independent of one another changing the design without warning, not showing up to do work, or working ahead getting the project out of sequence. These issues happen in the US as well. The elegance of the LPS™ is the recognition that planning is a recurring conversation that produces coherency of commitments to deliver on the promises of the project to the customer. I know of no other approach in construction that does that. Hi Buck,

Sorry, I didn’t notice your comment.

Projects in The States are also notoriously behind schedule. In fact, so many construction projects are late and over budget that folks have stopped complaining about it. It is the accepted case.

The Milwaukee hospital project (and many others like it) uses a different project management approach The Last Planner System™. Read about it at http://www.leanconstruction.org/pdf/LastPlanner.pdf. (You’ll have to register at the site to get to the paper.)

You note that project participants act independent of one another changing the design without warning, not showing up to do work, or working ahead getting the project out of sequence. These issues happen in the US as well. The elegance of the LPS™ is the recognition that planning is a recurring conversation that produces coherency of commitments to deliver on the promises of the project to the customer. I know of no other approach in construction that does that.

]]> by: Buck http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2002/10/20/33/#comment-388 Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:00:00 +0000 http://www.reformingprojectmanagement.com/2002/10/20/33/#comment-388 Hi Hal (what was the name of the film with this computer named Hal?) ;-) Thanks for the link, I´ll check it out. Bye Buck Hi Hal
(what was the name of the film with this computer named Hal?) ;-)

Thanks for the link, I´ll check it out.

Bye

Buck

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