Improving AEC Project Execution

What could you do to implement more productive, profitable work practices? That’s the topic of a new white paper, Improving AEC Project Execution: Lessons from 11 Industry Leaders, sponsored by software developer Newforma Inc. and conducted by Spar Point Research. The white paper is a compilation of remarks by leading architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) executives discussing the work process issues they’re facing today.

Participating executives represent North American A/E/C firms in five market segments: architecture, building engineering, civil engineering, design-build, and transportation infrastructure. Alphabetically by company, they are

• Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell (BNIM) Architects, Director of Information
Services: Aaron Kivett
• Bohannan Huston, Vice President of Facilities Planning and Engineering: Jim Flint
• Burns & McDonnell, Vice President and Chief Technical Officer: Greg Gould
• Dynasty Group, Senior Engineer: Chris Siebern
• Ghafari Associates, Senior Vice President: Michael Ryan
• HOK Sport ,Senior Principal: Ben Barnert
• Jaros Baum & Bolles, Partner: Scott E. Frank
• Jordan, Jones & Goulding, Senior Vice President: John Watkins
• Psomas, Chief Executive Officer: Blake Murillo
• The Walsh Group, Director of Career Development: Craig Atkinson
• Walter P. Moore and Associates, Principal and Chief Information Officer: Jim Jacobi

The most-mentioned problems A/E/C firms face included scarce human resources, compressed project schedules, culture gaps between companies on the project team, incompatible work processes and fragmented software environments. Building information modeling (BIM) also ranked high among factors affecting A/E/C work processes, if not now, then in the near future.

The report presents direct quotations of the executives’ thoughts about their businesses. For example, Burns & McDonnell’s Greg Gould summed up the human resource issue by saying, “Having enough people to get the work done is the biggest pressure we have on project execution.”

The sheer volume of A/E/C project information is another productivity problem. BNIM Architects’ Aaron Kivett said, “There is too much information, it’s difficult to organize, and it’s difficult to get a lot of the information that teams need to share to each other.”

The research and its resulting white paper do more than merely list problems. The executives interviewed discuss the various metrics they use to gauge success. HOK Sport’s Ben Barnert, for instance, said the key indicator of successful work is more work. “I know a successful project because [the owner] continues to call us. The clients who stay with you, who always think of you when they’re ready to do something, are the best gauge.”

The executives interviewed in Improving AEC Project Execution discussed the role of cultural factors and software in identifying and removing risks. For example, Jordan, Jones & Goulding’s John Watkins said mitigating risk first requires perceptiveness on the part of project managers who “get their eyes and ears open to sensing risk. After that, managing risk probably involves software, but identifying risk is not a checklist activity.”

While the executives agreed on the business pressures and project risks their organizations face, no consensus arose over how best to tackle key challenges such as resourcing growth, managing risk, maximizing productivity, and implementing efficient project processes to raise profits.

Most executives felt the scope of the problem deserved more drastic measures than they were willing or able to undertake. Instead, 10 of 11 firms were pursuing software initiatives to raise process productivity without disruptive reengineering of work practices.
“We detected an industry mindset that improving the way projects are executed will require heavy doses of process reengineering,” Spar Point Managing Partner Bruce Jenkins said. “But despite this preconception, we also discovered many firms do have some kind of software initiative either implemented or planned to help team members handle project information better—without major surgery on current work processes.

“The common thread: most are based on, or work with, software already in everyday use—Microsoft Outlook, Windows directory folders, Exchange Server, Microsoft Project, Deltek Vision,” Jenkins says. “The emphasis is on minimizing change and disruption for users.”

The full research paper can be requested at the Newforma Web site.