Lessons learned in Project Management
Submit deliverables to the client (if that is required) before invoicing them.
Don’t make the mistake of not submitting deliverables, as it will delay payment.
Tagged with: deliverables • invoice • payment
Recognize when you or your team don’t have the expertise to accomplish something and get help.
This could be either within the company or from outside experts.
Check with internal experienced people first for contacts.
When buying specialized equipment, make sure the supplier is available for installation advice and commissioning assistance (It is often preferable to get them to commission)
Tagged with: commissioning • contacts • equipment • expertise • experts • installation • supplier
Filed under: Procurement
Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) are important.
Doing all this will make client audits of the project much smoother and easier.
Even if clients often don’t do a QA audit, you should work on the assumption that they will do one. Plan for internal QA reviews at the start, in the project planning.
Compliance with the quality plan should be monitored both internally and for the sub consultants / subcontractors.
Subcontractors poor work will reflect badly on your company, so it is important that their quality is monitored.
Tagged with: audit • auditor • QA • quality assurance • quality control
Filed under: Contractors • Documentation • Planning • Quality
For controversial or difficult projects, turn potential enemies into allies by including them in the project team.
They may come up with better ideas to get the project done, and they will then take ownership and work to convince other enemies of the project that it can work.
Environmental concerns are a big one here. If you can include the client or other stakeholders in the process (not just the contract negotiation project review), you will be more likely to get acceptance.
Don’t exclude input from people who have a say in the approval of the project.
Tagged with: acceptance • difficult projects • environment • ownership • project approval • stakeholders
Filed under: Communication
Remember that the larger the organisation you work in, the longer it will take to get paperwork processed.
This is not always the case, but extra time needs to be allowed for anything that needs authorization signatures from managers senior to you.
Steps that may be common are:
This process could take as little as 1 or 2 days, but up to weeks if there are many levels.
As a general rule, this problem doesn’t usually happen in a small company. You would simply walk the form to the correct person yourself. Get them to sign it, and then take it yourself to the right place to be processed (e.g. purchasing).
A large company with a good system in place can reduce this time a lot, but it is rarely quicker than when you can do it yourself.
Remember this when you are dealing with a supplier, contractor, or client. They may have similar processes in their organisation. You need to allow time for this in your planning.
Are your experiences in this different?
Tagged with: authorization • big company • large company • paperwork • purchase order • small company
If a partly completed project is put on hold (deferred project) by the client, when it is restarted it should be treated as a new project.
This includes reviewing and redeveloping the scope, project plan, schedule, and budget.
The original project team may not be available anymore, so new people will take time to get familiar with the project.
The project should be renegotiated with the client.
Make sure language in the original contract does not say that no additional costs are allowed due to delays, as the client may use that clause to refuse to renegotiate the price.
Tagged with: deferred project • delays • renegotiate • restart
Filed under: Client • Contract • Cost • Planning • Scope • Tender • Time
Review test results before samples are destroyed.
It is too late to get them retested later if they have already been destroyed or disposed of.
It is best to review test reports as soon as they are received.
Test reports and results should include descriptions of test methods so that they can be compared to what is expected.
Tagged with: reports • samples • test method • tests
Filed under: Testing
Take up offers or opportunity in any training offered by your company or by a head contractor.
Benefits include:
Make sure to document all training, and keep copies of certificates or letters proving you did the training.
Extra training also opens up more projects to you.
Make sure your company is aware of what training you have had (possibly by a training register or internal CV system). Senior managers often use these to allocate staff to projects and also on who to fire in a downturn.
Tagged with: certificates • CV • downturn • recognition • skills • training register
Filed under: Documentation • Human Resources • Training
If your company is not involved with construction (but just design or inspection), make sure the contract states that the construction contractor is responsible for site safety, not the “engineer” or your company.
There should also be clauses so your company is also indemnified.
The construction means and methods and related safety should be the responsibility of the construction contractor. This must be in writing in the contract.
Your company should be included as additional insured on the contractor’s general liability insurance.
Liability coverage should define who it specifies as being covered. If it covers the “engineer” your company must document and include that it includes your company as well.
Tagged with: indemnify • insurance • liability
Filed under: Construction • Contract • Contractors • Documentation • Risk • Safety • Scope
For soils testing, get a map and list of where tests were taken so that you can see if that matches where your designs are to be constructed.
Some soils analysis companies may just take limited samples and extrapolate the results to cover the entire area. This may mean that when drilling is done for foundations, the soil is very different to what is expected.
Make sure these maps are clear.
Ideally they would have GPS coordinates for each test point, not just hand markings on maps (which may not be very accurate).
Tagged with: drilling • foundations • GPS • maps • samples • soil • soil testing • Testing
Filed under: Communication • Construction
If, in your contract, the client instructs you to directly pass on the cost of consultants, it would be better to have the consultants contract directly with the client instead of with your company.
This is especially important when the client specifies which consultant to use.
For example, ground drilling and soils analysis.
If you are not getting paid to manage and review their work, then the client should contract with them themselves.
Tagged with: consultant
Filed under: Client • Contract • Contractors • Cost
In a contract, your company should make sure the document indicates that you will rely on information and materials supplied by the client. E.g. surveys, soil tests, reports.
If the client will not agree to this, you should make sure the contract allows money for adequate review by your company of the client supplied documents.
This is particularly important for old drawings, locations of underground cables or pipes, status of old tanks or equipment.
The client may not be able to guarantee the status of the old plant, so your company should be paid for work involved in reviewing or re-surveying.
Tagged with: review
Filed under: Client • Contract • Cost • Documentation • Scope
Visit the intended project site before submitting the tender bid.
By doing this you can spot potential problems that may not have been documented.
Do not do a cost proposal with an incomplete review of the site and conditions.
Don’t submit the cost proposal until you have been given access to all areas of the relevant project site.
If you are given a project that has already been won, visit the site personally to familiarize yourself with it. Don’t write a plan to perform the services until you have visited the site.
Tagged with: cost proposal • site • site inspection
Filed under: Tender
You should document (in writing) any design changes or delays caused by the client.
This is very important for claiming cost or time extensions.
A good change management system is important. Spreadsheets can suffice for small projects with a small number of changes, but for larger projects, a good database system will help reduce the time required for change management.
You will need to record things such as (these are in no particular order):
It would be ideal if these can all be entered on one page in a system. You should then be able to output reports showing just some parts (say change title and cost), without having to duplicate information into spreadsheets etc.
You do not want to have multiple systems or spreadsheets that all have different versions of the information and are not linked.
There should only be one place where all the information on the change is recorded.
Tagged with: change management • change system
Filed under: Client • Design • Documentation
If you believe a schedule required by the client is unreasonable, you should document your reasons for believing so, and inform the client of those concerns in writing.
If the client still chooses to go ahead with a schedule that you are not a party to (for example for their construction contractor) but using your company’s designs, you should inform them (with details) of your concern in writing.
This may reduce the possibility of claims and your liability in the event of contractor over runs.
If you believe a contractor’s schedule is unreasonable, you should also inform the client in writing.
Tagged with: claims • concerns • liability • overruns • schedule
Filed under: Client • Contractors • Planning • Risk
If your company is the design contractor but not involved in the construction phase you should instruct the client to notify you for your company’s input for any design discrepancies.
If your company has designed something but the field conditions on site mean a change is needed, the client or their contractor may try to back charge your company for the design changes they had to do on site.
You should include language in the contract that they must first give you the option of giving input before proceeding with changes that may result in back charges to your company.
Tagged with: back charges • Construction • design discrepancies
Filed under: Client • Contract • Contractors • Design
Your company should have a set time or point that reviews of the design process are carried out. Often at stages like 30%, 60%, 90%, 100%.
You should do this as part of the quality assurance / quality control system.
Don’t just leave it until the end.
Tagged with: quality assurance • quality control • review
Always check references given to you and also that you are submitting.
Get sub consultant agreement on tender documents.
When you are bidding for a tender and you are getting prices from sub consultants, make sure the sub gets a copy of the tender documents and agrees with them (or the relevant section) in writing before submitting them and their price to the client.
It is important that the agreement is in writing.
If you don’t get this agreement, the sub consultant may change their prices or conditions once they see the details of the tender.
Tagged with: agreement • sub consultant
Filed under: Contract • Contractors • Tender
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