Report from Construction Summit 2003 — Day Two
March 11th, 2003 by HalThe construction summit opened with the first of two presentations on the Dig Big . Dan McNichol, author of The Big Dig, facilitated the presentation with Dan Wood, Federal Highway Adminsitration. While the project is notorious for cost overruns, it will become known for its technical achievements, community responsiveness, and partnership among project participants.
Take note of this bigger than big project:
- Adjusted for inflation the Big Dig is 30 times the cost of the Hoover Dam.
- Twice the cost of the Panama Canal
- At the peak of construction for 3 1/2 years 5,000 workers spending $3.5 million/day.
- Funded from over 15 sources involving over 200 contractors
What more can we say. Take a look at the book. It is as beautiful as it is informing.
Lean Construction — Challenging Current Project Management
As moderator it's difficult for me to say how well the panel came off. I can say the panelists did a wonderful job of answering my questions and those from the audience. They offered these lessons:
- Like any organization, initiative needs support. Perhaps it takes keeping the torch on the fuse, or maybe just remember it's difficult starting a grass fire after a rain.
- Be clear for the sake of what you are pursuing a lean approach. What are the issues that will make you more competitive?
- Support people while they are learning.
- Top management must be enrolled. Don't do anything else before getting their enrollment.
- Place value on your time as professionals. It allows you to assess progress you make delivering value on your projects.
- Keep the emphasis on the conversation of planning rather than the tools or artifacts of planning, e.g. schedules.
Let's see what happens. Will interest and good advice result in new users of lean approaches, or did we just entertain?
There were two other presentations. Tod Rittenhouse, Weidinger Associates, briefed us on how buildings are being designed to withstand the threats of terror. Great presentation by one of the leaders in the field.
The final presentation was by Mark Zweig an authority on construction industry management practices. While he exhorted us with platitudes of good corporate management practices, I can't say he was wrong. In short, he advised to take care of your customers, take care of your employees, invest in systems to separate you from your competitors, and share information throughout your organization. Good advice, except people are likely to walk away without taking action. That is a shame.
More tomorrow!
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