The Art of Fortune Telling:
Is Your Schedule Update Telling
You What You Think It Is?
Chris Payne, PE, CCM
Going Digital at DFW International Airport
Ben Bringardner
Primal Safety: A Gut Level Approach
Brent Darnell
The Owner/CM Relationship:
Close the Construction Productivity
Gap with Collaboration
Eric Law
5.2014
CM eJournal, May 2014
2
FROM THE CHAIR
Evaluation of Contingency Allocation Methods
for Transit Projects in the U.S. and U.K.
Payam Bakhshi, Ph.D.
System Dynamics Applied to Outsourcing
Engineering Services in Design-Build Projects
Stephen D. Lisse, P.E.
Gender-based Compensation in the
Construction Industry
Angela Smiley, BSEE, MBA, PhD
Constructibility Reviews
Stephen R. Pettee, PE, CCM
3.2014
Milo Riverso, PhD, PE, CCM
CMAA Chair
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Evaluation of Contingency Allocation Methods
for Transit Projects in the US and UK
By Payam Bakhshi, PhD
System Dynamics Applied to Outsourcing
Engineering Services in Design-Build Projects
By Stephen D. Lisse, PE
Constructibility Reviews
By Stephen R. Pettee, PE, CCM
Contact John McKeon at CMAA for more details,
or visit www.cmaanet.org/cm-ejournal.
Chairman of the Board
Milo Riverso, PhD, PE, CCM, STV, Inc.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Bruce D’Agostino, CAE, FCMAA
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CM eJournal, May 2014
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
6
THE ART OF FORTUNE TELLING:
IS YOUR SCHEDULE UPDATE
TELLING YOU WHAT YOU
THINK IT IS?
Many projects finish significantly
late in spite of repeated schedule
updates showing that all is well.
What are the root causes of these
misleading updates and how can
you make your project schedule
more trustworthy?
9
GOING DIGITAL AT DFW
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The Dallas-Fort Worth Airport
Terminal Renovation and
Improvement Program developed
an innovative system to store
documents in the cloud and access
them via iPads and other devices.
The result was a $5 million plus
savings and an ambitious plan for
the digital “next steps.”
12
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:
THE FUTURE OF COLLABORATION
PRIMAL SAFETY: A GUT LEVEL
APPROACH
The present system to ensure
project safety is a command and
control approach where strict
safety rules are implemented. This
approach has been marginally
successful, but we have reached
the limit of its success.
14
THE OWNER/CM
RELATIONSHIP: CLOSE
THE CONSTRUCTION
PRODUCTIVITY GAP
WITH COLLABORATION
By leaving a legacy of best practice
for the owner, CMs are actually
contributing back to the owner’s
budget, allowing the owner to
build more projects, resulting in
more opportunities for the CM.
CM eJournal, May 2014
4
AUTHORS
CHRIS PAYNE, PE, CCM
has more than 26 years’
experience in construction
management and design,
specializing in resolution of
construction disputes, including
analysis of delays. As MBP’s
manager for the northwest Virginia
region, he oversees a variety
of building and transportation
programs, providing direct client
coordination and quality assurance
for a staff of more than 80
construction professionals.
BEN BRINGARDNER
is a BIM Manager with Balfour
Beatty Construction for the
DFW International Airport TRIP
Project. In addition, he is a
regional technology resource
working to increase the
capabilities of Balfour Beatty’s
central region staff and to
facilitate organizational change.
Ben is focused on helping teams
access project information as
quickly and easily as possible.
BRENT DARNELL
a mechanical engineer and a
graduate of Georgia Tech, is a
leading authority on emotional
intelligence and a pioneer in its use
in the construction industry. He
is an adjunct professor at Auburn
and Penn State, and his book, The
People Profit Connection, was written
specifically for the construction
industry.
ERIC LAW
is the founder and CEO of
EADOC LLC, provider of a
complete, collaborative
CM application. Earlier,
Law was North American
Director of Professional
Services for an enterprise
information management
software firm, and served as
a project engineer for Kiewit
Corporation. He holds a BS in
Mechanical Engineering from
California Polytechnic
State University.
CM eJournal, May 2014
5
THE ART OF FORTUNE TELLING: IS
YOUR SCHEDULE UPDATE TELLING
YOU WHAT YOU THINK IT IS?
By Chris Payne, PE, CCM
CONSIDER THE
FOLLOWING SCENARIO
You are managing a project on
behalf of an owner. The project
contract requires that the
contractor prepare a detailed
CPM schedule which includes
cost-loading, and then submit
monthly updates with updated
costs and projections of work
to be completed. Like any good
construction manager, you
perform a detailed review of
that baseline schedule and its
subsequent updates.
Early in the project, you notice
that the contractor’s performance
is lagging behind the baseline
schedule you’ve reviewed and
approved. However, the contractor
recognizes that its performance
has not met the goals set forth
in the baseline schedule and
makes revisions showing how the
project will stay on schedule as
part of the updating process. This
pattern repeats itself for several
months, with each successive
update revised slightly to show
that the project will finish on time,
even though actual progress is
well behind what was originally
envisioned.
resources and production of the
contractor. The monthly schedule
submittal continues to indicate
that everything is fine—the
critical path is reasonable, the
remaining work is aggressive but
achievable—but your experience
tells you that the schedule is not
realistic. What do you do? Should
you report to ownership that the
project will finish late? Reject the
contractor’s schedule update?
While you are encouraged
that the contractor continues
to take responsibility for the
initial delays and report that
the project will finish on time,
you are now in a dilemma: You
start to suspect that the current
forecast contained in the schedule
cannot be performed, given the
What should construction
managers and owners do about
this all-too-real dilemma? Through
an analysis of more than 120
actual projects, MBP has identified
some common indicators that
can help you avoid some of the
delusions that construction
managers typically possess
CM eJournal, May 2014
6
when reviewing cost-loaded CPM
schedules.
COST-LOADED CPM SCHEDULES
For more than 50 years, it has
been well recognized in the
construction industry that a
well-developed critical path
method (CPM) schedule is the
best tool for managing time on a
project. Over the past 20 years,
cost-loaded CPM schedules have
become increasingly accepted as
a convenient tool for determining
progress payments and assessing
project performance. Typically,
an initial or baseline schedule
is established at the outset
of the project, which includes
the assignment of values for
each line item in the schedule.
This schedule is then updated
on a monthly basis to assess
contractor progress, establish
the basis for monthly progress
payments, and to forecast the
project completion date based on
current progress and any revisions
to the schedule that reflect the
contractor’s current plan for
performance.
Too often, however, projects finish
late in spite of these schedules.
In many such cases, schedule
updates seem to indicate that the
project is on schedule or just a
week or two behind, even when
the project in fact ultimately
finishes many months behind
schedule.
OUR RESEARCH
Using data from more than 120
projects and more than 2,400
schedule updates, MBP conducted
detailed research to see if there
were early warning signs that
might indicate when projects may
be in trouble in spite of favorable
schedule updates projecting
an on-time completion. We
collected cost-loaded schedules
from various project types,
including horizontal and vertical
construction, using various
delivery methods, primarily
design-bid-build and design-build.
We compiled the schedules into
a database in order to examine
Figure 1
A Typical S-curve
$40M
$30M
$20M
$10M
$0M
0
5
whether there were consistent
trends among the various
projects.
Our research supports the
following notions:
• Projects frequently finish late.
• Owners and construction
managers frequently
misinterpret schedules
provided to them.
• Increased use of earned value
methodologies can reduce
misinterpretations and lead
to better outcomes.
COMMON SCHEDULE
ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
On projects with cost-loaded CPM
schedules, most sophisticated
owners and construction
managers have procedures
in place to review contractor
schedule submittals. Commonly
used basic techniques include
checking for the following items
in addition to numerous others:
10
15
20 MO
progress on the project
will be controlled by major
operations that are planned
to be performed in a logical
sequence.
• The absence of negative
float, which would indicate
that an initial schedule or
update implies an anticipated
finish beyond the contract
completion date.
With cost-loaded schedules,
our research suggests that
these traditional techniques
are inadequate and should be
enhanced with additional analysis
typically associated with earned
value analysis.
EARNED VALUE CONCEPT:
THE S-CURVE
• Basic schedule quality,
including the use of correct
relationships among
activities, reasonable
durations of work,
supportable assignment of
costs, and overall coherent
organization of activities.
While true earned value analysis
is complex, the basic element
that can be considered is the
S-curve, or earnings curve, a plot
of cumulative cost versus time
derived from the CPM schedule
(planned or actual). The curve
derives its name from an idealized
shape, where progress would
typically start slowly, build
momentum during the middle of
the project, then taper off near
completion, thus producing an
S-shaped curve. Figure 1
• A reasonable critical
path that indicates that
Since CPM schedule activities
intrinsically possess float,
CM eJournal, May 2014
In many such
cases, schedule
updates seem
to indicate that
the project is
on schedule or
just a week or
two behind,
even when
the project in
fact ultimately
finishes many
months behind
schedule.
7
indicating a range of time in
which the various events can
occur, it is possible to plot
S-curves using early dates (the
most optimistic projection of
planned activity) and late dates
(the most pessimistic). Too often,
these curves are overlooked in
schedule analysis but provide a
rich source of data.
Figure 2
Recommended gap in early and late curves
100% COST
80%
60%
<20%
OUR PROCESS
In our research, we converted
all costs and durations from the
various projects to percentage
values to allow for a side-by-side
comparison. For example, on a
typical project, one might expect
that approximately 50% of the
cost of the work would be earned
after 50% of the time has elapsed,
regardless of whether it was a $2
million project to be completed
in nine months or a $100 million
project spanning two years.
Our strategy was to determine
whether there were certain
characteristics of successful
projects finishing on time
that would be identifiable as
compared to those that finished
late. Our hope was that in
comparing hundreds of schedules,
we might identify key warning
signs of projects going off track.
KEY FINDINGS
We found that better developed
schedules tend to correlate with
better project outcomes. For
example, one indicator for likely
success in a project comes from
comparing the early and late
earnings curves in the planned
schedule. Our research indicates
that in schedules where there
is a wide gap between the early
and late curves, the project is
more likely to finish late. The
appearance of early and late
curves too far apart can be an
indication of an incompletely
developed and/or overly
aggressive schedule. If the project
starts off slowly, the apparent
flexibility in the remaining
schedule may mask serious
performance issues that wouldn’t
readily be detected through
40%
20%
0%
0%
20%
typical analysis techniques. Our
research suggests that the curves
should be no more than 20% of
the time duration apart at their
widest gap. Figure 2
A related flaw in many schedules
we reviewed was overly steep
earnings curves, such as those
indicating that a large portion of
the work would be performed in
a very short period of time. For
example, we saw a tendency in
the earnings curves of projects
that finished late with very
aggressive performance of
40 -50 percent of the work in
just 10-15 percent of the time
allowed on the project. On most
projects, it is simply unrealistic
for production to ramp up into
such a frenzy of activity during a
limited time period. When this
anticipated frenzied period of
activity was scheduled late in a
project, the “S-curve” more closely
resembled a “J-curve”, and almost
inevitably proved unsustainable.
Our research indicates that the
maximum slope of an earnings
curve (% of cost over a % of time)
should generally not exceed three.
CONCLUSION
40%
50%
60%
100%TIME
One indicator for likely success in a project
comes from comparing the early and late
earnings curves in the planned schedule.
Our research indicates that in schedules
where there is a wide gap between the early
and late curves, the project is more likely to
finish late.
earnings data can widen over
the life of a delayed project.
Therefore, it is important that a
thorough initial schedule review,
incorporating earned value
analysis, be done when approving
a baseline schedule to verify
that the initial schedule presents
a sound basis for evaluation.
During project performance,
these analyses should be repeated
to make sure that early warning
signs of pending delays are not
overlooked. A proactive and
robust schedule and cost analysis
can be the best way to avoid the
delusions that can arise from
typical schedule reviews.
CHRIS PAYNE is a Senior Vice President
with MBP and can be reached at 800-8989088 or via email at cpayne@mbpce.com
As illustrated in the scenario at
the opening of this article, the
disparity between the typical
CPM data of dates, durations,
and floats versus the projected
CM eJournal, May 2014
8
GOING DIGITAL AT
DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
By Ben Bringardner
In 2004 when I first set foot on a construction site
fresh out of college the most advanced pieces of
technology on site were a microwave and a fax
machine. Times they are a changin’!
In 2010 when I stepped onto my current job site
as the BIM Manager for BARC’s (a JV consisting of
Balfour Beatty, Azteca, Russel, Carcon) $1 billion
portion of the DFW Airport TRIP project, things had
already changed quite a bit. With a sophisticated
team we were equipped to leverage the likes of BIM,
laser scanning, etc, but the project was still slated to
run with good old fashioned paper documents.
Frustrated with the challenge of getting to the
information I needed to complete my preparation
for the BIM portion of the project, I approached
our leadership about ideas for a digital document
management system utilizing the iPad and cloud
storage. Amazingly, at the same time the airport had
begun discussions of similar possibilities and I was
given an iPad 1 to share with another developer.
After much tinkering, testing, and effort we were
able to create a system that we were confident could
replace the 60,000 E1 paper drawings projected to
be issued during the project’s seven year duration.
(As of the end of 2013 we are on track for closer to
100,000 drawings.)
In March 2011 we were given approval by DFW
Airport to purchase 15 iPads and to launch the
system before the start of phase one of the
Terminal A Renovation. This system replaced paper
documents, but equally important, it created a
centralized record set that could be distributed to
teams in real time so that we could finally all be
building from the same set of drawings, eliminating
unnecessary costly mistakes!
We launched believing that the system could be
outdated in a year. In fact, three years later digital docs
continues to be a very relevant system, and very cost
effective when compared to similar product offerings
released since March of 2011, saving the owner a
reported $5.1 million across the entire program.
CM eJournal, May 2014
9
DFW Airport TRIP Project
Managing Project Information: iPads in the Field
PHASE 2
2
PHASE 3
PHASE 1
TERMINAL A
1
3
DART RAIL
STATION
TERMINAL RENEWAL AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
- Terminal A & C Renovation (200,000 SM) - 7,700 Car Enhanced Parking (300,000 SM)
- 6 Phases in Operational Airport
- IT Infrastructure Improvements
- DART Rail Station
6 YEARS (2011-2017) $1 BILLION
1.
2.
3.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
Drawings are stored on the cloud server as PDFs
and we connect to the cloud server from both iPads
and desktops to access and edit the drawings. For
our team we use a “hybrid cloud” called Egnyte™,
which has excellent security capabilities (a must for
airport projects like ours) and offers a local cloud
option that replicates the central cloud locally
so your team never has to upload or download
anything. As drawings need editing (typically
posting RFIs or replacing an old sheet with a new
one) project engineers open the files from the local
cloud, mapped to the X:\ drive, edit them using
Bluebeam and then simply save them. The local
cloud automatically reconciles with the central cloud
server every 15 minutes.
To connect with iPads we use
an app called GoodReader. The
Bluebeam Revu app could also
be used, and it has some very
nice markup tools as well. We
establish a sync connection
from each iPad to Egnyte’s
server using Egnyte’s “webdav”
address. Most cloud storage
options have a webdav address and this is the key
for connecting the iPad to the server and setting up
a sync. Once connected, all our superintendent has
to do is hit the “sync” button in the GoodReader app
and all the latest and greatest drawings and updates
download.
The great thing is that the sync
stores the files on the iPad and
supers are never left out in the cold
when they are in the field with
spotty or no Internet.
The great thing is that the sync stores the files on
the iPad and supers are never left out in the cold
when they are in the field with spotty or no internet.
They could be on a plane, in a field, a basement, or
anywhere, and be confident that they will have the
information they need.
“I can resolve issues at the issue, it allows me to get more
done in the field.” Superintendent
“The iPad saves me 1-2 hours every day.” QA/QC
“Printing costs were reduced by $2.5 M across the entire
project.” Owner
Additionally, we have utilized Bluebeam Revu
Extreme to automatically hyperlink drawings, so
the supers can simply tap on a section cut, detail
tag or RFI and the sheet they are interested in
loads automatically. With Bluebeam Extreme the
process of creating the links that used to take days
now takes minutes. Having this linked information
available for the field teams is critical since it can
be frustrating to have to search through lists of
files to get to the one you want... and, after all, we
are asking them to view 1,260 square inches of
information on a 54 square inch screen.
To date we have 250 iPad users and 450 total users
accessing nearly 35,000 project drawings. We have
no paper set, and have even set up an area for the
code department to store the code-reviewed set
of drawings. In fact there are many participants
from all sides of the project including the owner,
QA/QC, CMAR team, sub-contractor team, code,
and designers.
While we are happy with the effort we are not
yet satisfied, and as a result we have recently
endeavored to go further. In phase two of the
Terminal A Renovation we recognized that our
system was really just digital paper. We had gone
“paperless” but wanted to “go digital” and start to
fully leverage the capabilities of digital. For example,
the system stores 35,000 E1 PDFs, digitally. But why
be bound by the 30x42 E1 size? That is a legacy
of the constraints of paper. The new constraint is
performance: Will it load in 10 seconds or less on
our field teams’ iPads? If it will and it will make
information access easier, why not do it?
As a result we stitched together our floor plan
sectors into single mega PDFs 30x85. Each floor has
ten sectors (pieces of the whole issued on individual
sheets) which need not be pieces any longer. This
CM eJournal, May 2014
10
DFW Airport Project Team
SUBCONTRACTOR TEAM
CODE INSPECTORS
OWNER TEAM
CONSTRUCTION TEAM
New Paradigm: New Opportunities
OLD PARADIGM: 10 INDIVIDUAL SHEETS
NEW PARADIGM: 1 MONSTER SHEET
DESIGN TEAM
The system stores 35,000 E1 PDFs,
digitally. But why be bound by the
30x42 E1 size? That is a legacy of
the constraints of paper.
reduced the floor plan drawing count from 1,000
to 93. Then a “navigator” was added, a matrix
of hyperlinks that allows supers to go from any
drawing to any drawing with a single click.
The system cost a fraction of the cost of its paper
equivalent. In an ROI study for a typical 200 sheet
project we calculated the payback period of iPad
deployment with this system to be about three
months. The time saved by being able to resolve
issues at the site of the issue (as opposed to
having to walk back to the drawing set) alone was
significant enough to justify the cost.
I want to challenge you to start thinking about
going digital! The rewards for the entire team can be
significant, and you may find a unique way to apply
the same technology that pushes us all forward in
leaving behind the old constraints and truly living in
our new found digital home.
BEN BRINGARDNER is BIM Manager Balfour Beatty Construction.
He can be reached at BBringardner@Balfourbeattyus.com.
CM eJournal, May 2014
11
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: THE FUTURE OF COLLABORATION
PRIMAL SAFETY: A GUT LEVEL APPROACH
By Brent Darnell
Anyone who has ever been on a project where there
was a serious accident knows that horrible feeling
in the pit of your stomach when the radio crackles
with the news that someone has been badly injured
or killed, and you hear the siren of an ambulance
in the distance. No matter how successful the
project is, that is the one thing that will always be
remembered.
SAFETY IS A HUGE ISSUE.
If the rules are not followed, the offending employee
is reprimanded or fired. This approach has been
marginally successful, but because we have only
focused on the objective side of safety, we have
reached the limit of its success. To achieve the next
level, we must tap into the subjective side and use
emotional intelligence.
A LETTER FROM YOUR WIFE
What is the problem? Do people want to work
unsafely? If you ask them this question, their answer
is a resounding “NO!” When you ask top managers
if they want their people to work unsafely, they
answer, “Of course not!”
A contractor had five elevator workers that were
not working safely. They were not tying off as they
should. The superintendent called them into the
trailer and had a talk with them. He sent them
home and told them to get a letter from their wives
saying that it was okay for them to work unsafely.
As soon as he had those letters in his hands, they
could go back to work. The elevator guys were a little
stunned, and sheepishly went home early. The next
day, four of the wives visited the project, and the
other one called. They told the superintendent that
their husbands had a responsibility to their families
to come home alive and unhurt each day, and if their
husbands were not working safely to please call
them, and they would straighten that situation out
in very short order. This is a great use of emotional
intelligence with regard to safety.
So what is the problem here? The present system
to ensure project safety is a command and control
approach where strict safety rules are implemented.
When you think about it, every person on every
project has loved ones: a family, a spouse, a partner,
a friend. When you look at safety from this highly
Not only is there a moral imperative to improve
safety, but accidents and other safety issues cost
the industry billions of dollars per year in high
insurance costs, lawsuits, Occupational Health and
Safety Administration (OSHA) fines, and image
problems. We all know that construction is a
hazardous occupation. In the United States, during
the period from 1980 through 1995, at least 17,000
construction workers died from injuries suffered on
the job. Can you imagine what these statistics are
worldwide through 2013?
CM eJournal, May 2014
12
ALPHA MALES AND SAFETY
The present system to ensure project safety is a command
and control approach where strict safety rules are
implemented. This approach has been marginally
successful, but we have reached the limit of its success.
personal perspective and make the emotional
connections, when you put it in those personal
terms, safety becomes much more than rules
and regulations. Specifically, social responsibility,
interpersonal relationships, and empathy skills
are the keys to a safer work environment. But it
all starts with emotional self awareness. When
everyone is aware moment to moment of their
surroundings and are able to discern when they are
too tired or too stressed to work safely, then you take
safety to a whole new level.
COMMUNICATION AND TEAMWORK
As we saw in the first article in this series, the
typical emotional profile for most construction
managers shows lower empathy (listening and
communication), lower social responsibility
(teamwork), and lower emotional self-awareness.
Communication and teamwork are vital to working
safely. Poor communication and ineffective
teamwork can contribute to poor safety practices.
Controlling stress and burnout can also be a
significant factor in preventing accidents. When we
are tired or stressed, we have a greater tendency
to make mistakes. And mistakes on a construction
project can be fatal. We have found that stress is
epidemic in the industry. Many of the workers are
overweight, out of shape, use alcohol and tobacco
frequently, have poor diets, poor sleeping habits,
and poor stress management skills. Imagine a guy
waking up after a night out with the boys. He’s a
little hung over as he wolfs down a couple of cups
of coffee and three or four donuts. During the
morning break, he chugs a couple of Red Bulls. He’s
tired. He’s sleepy. He’s worn out. He’s stressed. Now
imagine that this guy is your crane operator. By
teaching employees the basics of nutrition, sleep,
exercise, and stress, this stress factor that may lead
to accidents can be addressed head on.
We have developed a program called Primal Safety,
which taps into this emotional side of safety. We
have heard of contractors using this approach very
effectively, decreasing their Experience Modification
Rate to as low as 0.34. These contractors are not
only saving lives and reducing emotional turmoil,
but they are saving money and improving their
bottom line. Imagine if the entire industry used
this approach. The potential cost savings would be
staggering, but the potential to decrease human
suffering due to death and disability would be
even greater.
There was an article in the July/August 2008 Harvard
Business Review called “Unmasking Manly Men” by
Robin J. Ely and Debra Meyerson. The article focuses
on how roughnecks and roustabouts on oil rigs
improved their safety by softening their approach
and focusing on the safety and well-being of the
workers. The supervisors showed the workers that
they actually cared about them in a very personal
way. According to Ely and Meyerson, “Over the 15
year period these changes in work practices, norms,
perceptions, and behaviors were implemented
company-wide. The company’s accident rate
declined by 84% while productivity (number of
barrels produced), efficiency (cost per barrel), and
reliability (production ‘up’ time) increased beyond
the industry’s previous benchmark.”
The key to this approach to safety is the emotional
intelligence of the people on the projects; therefore
the typical construction worker profile must be
addressed first. We must start with emotional selfawareness so that workers are more aware of their
surroundings, their bodies, and their levels of stress
and fatigue. Then we should increase empathy
skills, relationship skills, and social responsibility.
Then, teach them how to manage their stress. That
will make these types of programs successful. If we
address these core issues, identify them, and take
steps to improve them, we can create fundamental
change that will help to take safety to a new level.
When people actually make
emotional connections and care
about each other, they look out for
each other and work safer naturally.
When people actually make emotional connections
and care about each other, they look out for each
other and work safer naturally. And when people
work more safely, companies will save millions
by lowering insurance rates, reducing worker’s
compensation claims, decreasing wrongful death
lawsuits, and increasing productivity.
We have created a Primal Safety Coloring Book. The
book teaches the workers’ children how they stay
safe while working. It’s in both Spanish and English,
and all profits go to a foundation that helps workers
who have been injured and families of workers who
have been killed on projects. The kids color the
pages, which are laminated and placed all around
the project as a constant reminder of what is really
important. For more details on Primal Safety, look at
the safety chapter in The People Profit Connection.
BRENT DARNELL is the founder of Brent Darnell International,
Atlanta, GA. He can be reached at brent@brentdarnell.com.
CM eJournal, May 2014
13
THE OWNER/CM RELATIONSHIP:
AN OPPORTUNITY TO CLOSE THE
CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY
GAP WITH COLLABORATION
By Eric Law
RECLAIMING
PRODUCTIVITY WASTE
It’s no secret that productivity in
the construction industry is on
the decline. In fact, construction
is one of the ONLY industries that
continues to become less efficient
(to the tune of $19 billion in
waste each year) due to a lack of
interoperability, according to the
National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST)1. On the
positive side, this state of affairs
provides construction managers
the chance to deliver more than
the traditional construction
management services.
NIST defines interoperability as the
“dynamic and seamless exchange
of accurate, useful information
on the built environment
among industry stakeholders
throughout the facility lifecycle.”
So clearly, owners and CMs have
an opportunity to become more
of an “interoperating” force that
determines more of how the most
efficient processes shake out
across the project team and all of
its members, and for the duration
of the project. To begin, owners
and CMs should plan to create
repeatable systems and processes.
Recreating the wheel on every
project just isn’t a good use of the
owner’s dollar.
Creating this new owner/CM
“force” requires project role
adjustments that will take some
getting used to. After all, the
CM wants repeat business from
the owner, and may fear that
the establishment of repeatable
best practices may decrease their
contract size on the next project.
It’s the nature of private business.
But in many cases the CM, acting
as the “owner’s representative,”
has an opportunity to be more
than just a chosen bidder for the
owner. The CM can advise owners
on more repeatable, efficiencygaining practices that become a
standard requirement for the next
project, thereby contributing to
the productivity of the industry,
and their client.
OWNING THE INEFFICIENCY
AND THE LONG-TERM
SOLUTION
As holder of the project’s budget,
the owner unfortunately pays for
every bit of waste created across
the project’s team members. On
CM eJournal, May 2014
14
BUILDING A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION
Three steps to help build a more collaborative team culture:
1.
2.
3.
Document collaborative processes and procedures
upfront to be used across the team.
Develop efficient processes that eliminate redundancy
across the team in the following areas: scheduling, cost
control, risk management and document management.
Choose a collaborative construction management
technology that provides efficiency
and benefits to all project participants.
the other hand, holding the purse
strings give owners the ability to
require more consultative training
and guidance from their CMs.
CM expertise traditionally
includes choosing a contract
type and project delivery
method, establishing projectwide processes and managing
those processes from inception
to delivery. To this end, it would
make sense for CMs to guide
owners in making those processes
repeatable, collaborative, and for
long-term gain.
For example CMs could help
owners by:
• Writing contract requirements
that reduce inefficiency across
the entire project team.
• Establishing contract
specifications with electronic
information deliverables (not
paper).
• Defining efficient processes
for document and
communication management
that leverage new
technologies.
• Providing visibility into
common project risks and
where they usually occur in
process workflows.
In this way, the CM becomes a
trusted advisor for the owner and
delivers long term value beyond
the current project.
LEAVING A CM LEGACY
Though it may seem that
delivering long term solutions
as part of a short term project
may reduce the amount of work
available to the CM on future
projects, it’s actually quite the
opposite. By leaving a legacy of
best practice for the owner, CMs
are actually contributing back
to the owner’s budget, allowing
the owner to build more projects,
resulting in more opportunities for
the CM.
Some re-useable deliverables the
CM can leave behind for the owner
to carry forward on future projects
include:
1. Efficient contract
specifications
Contract specifications that
drive efficiency include clear
definitions of project roles,
ownership of workflow
steps, and timelines/
communications required for
documentation like change
orders. Some progressive
CMs also include definitions
of and requirements for
data delivery. This allows
CMs to define reporting and
communications guidelines
that eliminate redundancy
across multiple parties. Data
delivery requirements may
also define specific methods
for sharing information like
schedules, submittals and
close-out materials. CMs
may also choose to define
acceptable versus nonacceptable RFI submissions,
define required response
times, and include the ability
for the CM or owner to reject
an RFI if it does not follow
proper format.
2. Technology recommendations that can be re-used
across a program or
portfolio of projects
As construction managers are
typically engaged on a project
by project basis, they have
the opportunity to introduce
their clients to new tools for
improving project delivery.
This provides the client the
opportunity to evaluate tools
for a single project, and then
decide which ones to continue
with. In this way the CM
demonstrates expertise in
delivering traditional services,
while showing the additional
value they can provide.
One of the ways to deliver
long-term value is to leave
the owner with tools to
automate, track and enforce
contractual requirements.
Construction management
or project management
applications that support all
defined contract requirements
can easily be implemented
on a single project and
left behind to manage the
client’s entire CIP program.
The most efficient systems
provide a single source for
functional construction
management, including
cost control, document
control, risk management,
schedule integration, team
communications, automated
workflows, and reporting. A
single repository for project
information is also more
cost effective than separate
systems that don’t tie all of
these pieces of data together.
CM eJournal, May 2014
15
Workflow Structures
One way a CM can drive repeatable efficiencies for owners
is to establish workflow structures that mirror contractual
relationships and integrate the project team.
Further, the owner has more
control and visibility into
project risk, and with it the
ability to act on risk sooner.
To encourage collaboration,
CMs may select tools that
encourage adoption and use
from any location. Webbased systems provide access
from any location, which
helps to integrate the team.
Employing technology that
allows unlimited users will
also keep costs down while
at the same time supporting
a collaborative culture
where project information is
accessible to anyone on the
project when they need it.
To foster that culture of
collaboration and trust,
project participants should
always have access to an
export of project data when
the project is complete.
This allows team members
to comply with their own
company’s document
archiving requirements.
Clients also benefit from
retrieving their data from the
construction management
system for their operations
and management team to use
within their applications.
3. Methodology for efficient
communication structures
that mitigate potential
claims
Leveraging the CM’s expertise
with past projects will allow
them to provide a great level
of insight into preventing
claims for their client.
Here are three practices that
a seasoned CM will be able to
deliver:
• Map project workflows
directly to contractual
requirements to make it
easier for participants to be
compliant.
• Set up workflow processes
with alerts for actions
required in your CM system to
prevent missed deadlines.
• Capture all documents
and communications from
all project participants to
create a complete project
record. This record serves as
the timeline of events and
communications to evaluate
and defend against claims
should they occur.
REFERENCES
1. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Cost Analysis of
Inadequate Interoperability in the US Capital Facilities Industry, 2010.
ERIC LAW is the founder and CEO of EADOC LLC. He can be
reached at eric.law@eadocsoftware.com.
CM eJournal, May 2014
16
FROM THE PRESIDENT
The interest in new delivery methods is global and growing,
and it confronts owners with a bewildering array of options.
The Certified Construction Manager, delivering a standardsbased professional service, is a true navigational beacon in
this stormy sea.
Bruce D’Agostino, CAE, FCMAA
CMAA President
A BETTER GLOBAL VIEW
At our recent Capital Projects Symposium
in Baltimore, we staged a special
presentation by ProMexico, the arm of
the Mexican government responsible for
strengthening that nation’s involvement in
the world economy. The program focused
on the large and growing opportunities in
helping Mexico repair, upgrade and expand
its infrastructure.
A ProMexico delegation visited CMAA
headquarters not long ago for a very
informative and productive meeting. In
addition, the Mexican Chamber for the
Construction Industry (CMIC) is strongly
interested in establishing a collaborative
relationship with CMAA and facilitating the
growth of our Standards of Practice and
certification program in Mexico.
CMAA has also begun working to expand
the impact of our SOP and certification
program in Canada, beginning with a
collaboration with professionals at Ontario
Power Generation and other organizations.
In addition, I recently took part in ConsMa
2014, the international construction
management conference in Seoul,
Republic of Korea.
These recent activities reinforce my belief
that there is a tremendous worldwide
potential interest in CMAA’s Standards of
Practice. In fact, our SOP has become the
effective world standard for professional
construction and program management.
Major owners want the benefits the
SOP can produce on their programs, and
service providers want to meet this need.
Companies located in other nations have
concluded that incorporating our SOP
into their operations helps them compete
internationally. It demonstrates that they
can work to global standards. At the same
time, American firms looking for business
in other markets often find that having a
roster of Certified Construction Managers
(CCMs) opens doors for them.
CMAA, with our limited resources, has
not mounted a concerted international
promotion campaign. We have responded to
specific opportunities, for instance when we
translated the SOP into Brazilian Portuguese
last year (with a big thank-you to Hill
International!) A corresponding translation
into Latin American Spanish is under
consideration for 2014.
We may actually be entering a very
favorable environment. The world is at
least beginning to “beat a path to our
door,” drawn by the promise of better
project outcomes based on standards and
certification.
The Construction Industry Institute’s (CII)
adoption of the CCM as its preferred
credential can’t help but accelerate this
trend. CII’s corporate members include both
owners and contractors with operations all
over the world. The CCM offers them a way
to standardize these operations—not only
across countries but also, most importantly,
across project delivery methods.
The interest in new delivery methods is
global and growing, and it confronts owners
with a bewildering array of options. The
Certified Construction Manager, delivering
a standards-based professional service, is a
true navigational beacon in this stormy sea.
CM eJournal, May 2014
17
CM eJournal, May 2014
18
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