Make sure you allow enough time in your project plan for designs and drawings to be approved, internally as well as by the client.

It is common to need 1-2 weeks for each step of FDR (Final Design Review), IDC (Interdisciplinary Check), Verification, IFC (Issue For Construction) etc reviews and approvals, especially if more than one person must approve these.

It is important to keep track of the approval status of these and follow up on people to review and sign them. I often find that although people get notified, they overlook signing the reviews or it sits on a desk waiting and gets buried.

If all the approvers are collocated, it is often worth having someone walk the documents around personally to each person for their approval, this can dramatically reduce the time taken and stop the documents being buried under other work or being forgotten about.

Tagged with: approval • drawings • review • verification

Filed under: Design • Documentation

If you get lots of emails (particularly ones that you are copied on) then it may be worth considering setting some email filters to sort emails to certain folders (design, construction, urgent, etc).

All emails that you are only CC’d on should be automatically filtered.

Priority emails that are sent to you only or you as the main person should be filtered to an “Important” folder for review more immediately.

Consider only reviewing your emails at specific times each day (say 9am and 3pm). All emails received could have an automatic reply sent stating “I only read emails at 9am and 3pm each day, if you require an urgent response please call me directly on ———”

Tagged with: email • filter • folders • review • sorting

Filed under: Communication • Time

To overcome blind spots in your project, get other project managers (from outside that project) to review your project.

This should be done regularly as part of a scheduled process.

It should include giving that PM a summary of the project and showing them around the project (if a construction site). This is particularly important if you are new to that industry. They may spot problems that you have overlooked.

Tagged with: problems • review

Filed under: Testing

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

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

Filed under: Design • Quality

Review all documents before they are released to the client, contractor, bid, etc.

It is important that the documents are checked that they are the most up to date version, and that the footer and header match the contents.

E.g. if it is the final version, don’t leave the word “draft” in the footer, make sure it is updated appropriately.

Tagged with: draft • review • update

Filed under: Documentation