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Competition in getting a construction Project, nowadays, is Ruthless!
The construction industry is becoming more and more commoditized. As a result, profit margins are shrinking to the size of marginal ‘errors’.
Meanwhile, Planners, Estimators, Surveyors, Managers, Engineers and Economists struggle to estimate and place the lowest possible quotation in an environment full of entropy and uncertainty.
The blame for losing the Project or underperforming on the execution side … is almost always the case. In fact, ordinary professionals forecast and execute as if gambling on a game where the rules always change in favor of the Casino.
That reminds me …
“Insider” movie (1999):
Mike Wallace: Who are these people?
Lowell Bergman: Ordinary people under extraordinary pressure, Mike. What the hell do you expect? Grace and consistency?
Trying to win or manage a construction project is like trying to tame a lion! You start from specs, contracts, schedules, resources, costs, quality, safety, times etc. So, it takes a lot of market experience and expertise to orchestrate all stakeholders’ interests towards your goal: Lower costs, Increase Productivity and Get another Project, fast!
Years ago, when we studied Construction Management at university, learning GANTT and PERT, estimation, scheduling … things were much different. Back then, Performance vs Quality vs Safety vs Efficiency was somehow less highlighted, or rather less integrated.
Today, by contrast, every aspect of the Project seems far more complicated, integrated and interconnected, from contracts to project economics, quality and construction management. I describe it as a three-sided cube. In this cube, BoQs + Cost Codes + WBS Activities link closely to Quality, Time and Resources in a way that only a software system can help.
And guess what, Primavera is not enough! ERP does not have the right fit! Autocad and BIM S/W are not collaborative enough. Consequently, stakeholders do not get the right information, tailored to their needs and their role. Yet they need it to apply their experience and expertise and size the RISK!
Construction is an 8 trillion USD industry. Still, technology has a long way to go to meet these challenges.
