Learn how to get the most out of my new book, Advanced Work Packaging: Guide for Life Cycle Implementation
I decided to write a book about AWP implementation for one simple reason: we needed one. Concord®’s clients and students needed a comprehensive, accessible, indexed guide to Advanced Work Packaging that they could keep on the corner of their desks and reach for when questions popped up. Working professionals needed something that could be shared among colleagues across the hall and across the world, so that everyone would be using the same language, definitions and frameworks. In short: We needed to start the hard work of standardizing AWP.
The book is designed to be a practical, easy-to-navigate guide for students, practitioners and leaders who are using AWP to manage construction-driven projects across all sectors. It is thorough, rigorous and clear, informed by my work with hundreds of front-line practitioners over the past decade. It is technical, procedural, and designed for daily use. Over time, my aim is to have it translated, to get it into colleges and universities, and to update it with successive editions as necessary.
Here are four ways I anticipate this book will be used.
1 | A Resource for Professionals at Work
The book follows the life cycle of a project, and so it’s easy for working professionals to use as a reference book at any stage of project execution. Confused about a colleague’s use of acronyms? Unclear about the correct structure and components of an Installation Work Package? Need a refresher on EWP rollouts or a CWP release plan? All of this and much more can be found right in the index.
The book also makes it possible for leaders to keep the entire team aligned, even if that team is distributed across the globe. Forcing your team to rely on Google searches for key concepts and definitions is a recipe for disaster (if you don’t think your team is Googling, you should know that our 2018 article on Defining Advanced Work Packaging remains one of our most popular articles to this day). Give every member of your team a copy of this book, and even if they only use it to standardize their language, you’ll be miles ahead. Go further and use it to guide your entire project execution plan, and you’ll give your company an unrivalled competitive advantage.
2 | A Textbook for Colleges and Universities
Advanced Work Packaging: A Guide to Life Cycle Implementation is designed to be used by college and university professors teaching courses on construction-driven project execution. The book is organized chronologically, so it can complement a process-driven curriculum that carries students from early business considerations all the way to handoff, teaching them step-by-step how a construction-driven, Advanced Work Packaging project should unfold.
When I wrote the book, I imagined that a professor would select a real-world project and use it as a case study, applying AWP project deliverables chapter by chapter. For example, a student group may be required to build out a Path of Construction or a Construction Work Package. This kind of hands-on training would prepare students for the real work of building capital projects using AWP principles — training that is desperately needed in the sector!
3 | An Inspirational Guide
Advanced Work Packaging looks different at every company, so when push comes to shove, your organization will need to write its own rules about how AWP will function. Concord® already offers an AWP Start Up Package and a turnkey manual that can help with this, but the book takes it to a new level, offering a comprehensive guide to designing your own systems and culture. For smaller companies that don’t have the resources to invest in consulting but want to win those AWP contracts, it offers a fantastic bootstrap option.
4 | A Study Guide for AWP Certification
Currently, the only way to get the Advanced Work Packaging Fundamentals Certification is to take our self-paced online training course through the Concord® Academy. With the release of the book, we plan to offer an exam-only certification option. Read the book, take the exam, and get certified! Everybody learns differently, and for those who absorb material most readily while reading, this is an excellent new option.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: At heart, Concord® is a knowledge company. All of our work — consulting, training, publishing — aims to teach capital project leaders about the benefits of and strategies for adopting Advanced Work Packaging. Our goal: To help companies deliver capital projects predictably, on-time and on-budget. When you’re ready to get started, contact us.
