Concord® CEO Olfa Hamdi shares a path forward for Predictability Thinking® and AWP in the nuclear construction sector
For more than a decade, Concord® has been working to solve the construction industry’s biggest dilemma: Why do so many projects fail? We’ve spent thousands of hours researching what works and what doesn’t work in complex project delivery, leveraging insights from multiple industries and disciplines. We’ve done all this with a single goal in mind: To develop a reliable formula for safe, predictable, on-time, on-budget capital project delivery. We believe that Predictability Thinking®, together with Advanced Work Packaging, is the most promising path forward.
Now, for the first time, we are bringing our singular expertise to the nuclear construction space. This sector presents unique and significant challenges: it is exceptionally complex, with rigorous safety requirements, extensive regulatory oversight, and catastrophic consequences if it fails. For countries pursuing nuclear development, it carries enormous strategic importance and responsibility. And, like most large capital construction projects around the world, nuclear construction projects are plagued by chronic delays and cost overruns.
Concord® can help. We’ve recently partnered with École Centrale de Lille, a graduate engineering school in Lille, France to advance research into the application of Predictability Thinking® and Advanced Work Packaging to nuclear construction. This work, along with our Certified Advanced Work Packaging Professional® training program, can bring answers to the nuclear industry.
In this article, I’ll walk through three key areas where Predictability Thinking® and Advanced Work Packaging can transform nuclear construction: Establishing a core philosophy for systematic project delivery risk mitigation, integrating AWP with nuclear quality assurance protocols, and building organizational readiness through strategic investment in people.
1 | Predictability Thinking® as a Core Philosophy
In the context of nuclear capital projects, Predictability Thinking® is about the systematic elimination of uncertainty through structured risk analysis, planning, and execution.
Predictability Thinking® provides a clear, accessible framework for thinking objectively about the root causes of project delivery failure. Using our proprietary framework and project delivery system, along with comprehensive maturity assessments, we can quantify the financial and regulatory cost of these failures, and correlate these with project delivery practices. Ultimately, our goal is to provide nuclear construction leaders with a decision-making framework that empowers them with the information and insight they need to close gaps and control major pockets of risk in nuclear mega project construction.
2 | Integrating AWP with Established Nuclear Construction Protocols
Our next goal is to explore how Advanced Work Packaging can complement and enhance nuclear quality assurance programs. New practitioners typically view AWP as a game-changing approach to capital project delivery, and it is, but is it also a powerful assurance framework. Applied correctly, it can reinforce safety, quality and regulatory assurance while simultaneously improving documentation and verification practices.
For example, AWP can be used to enhance nuclear safety culture because it dramatically improves both planning and communication throughout the construction process. Well-implemented, AWP becomes like a nervous system that integrates and improves the interfaces between departments, eliminating silos and improving outcomes.
3 | Organizational Readiness: Investing in People
Our third objective is to empower the nuclear construction professionals in their project delivery journey. The nuclear construction sector is uniquely insulated, operating within national boundaries and distinct cultural and regulatory frameworks. We recognize and respect these geographical boundaries.
Our goal is to empower nuclear construction leaders to invest in their people and develop local and national nuclear project development capacity; this approach establishes research, knowledge, professional practical competencies and value that allows clients to evolve locally while benefiting from integrated global best practices. In short, we aim to respect national sovereignty in nuclear development, while sharing our proven global and standardized project delivery methodologies.
A Predictable Nuclear Construction Roadmap
Our ultimate goal is to develop a predictable nuclear construction roadmap that includes gradual steps for transformation with clear performance objectives. This roadmap will leverage Concord’s proprietary maturity model, which helps companies understand their current capabilities and chart a clear path forward. Through this proven approach, we aim to discover the formula for nuclear capital project development success that balances immediate gains with long-term transformation.
Partner with Us!
Concord® is actively seeking partnership opportunities to develop a comprehensive ecosystem for nuclear construction excellence. If you are working in the nuclear construction space as an educator, technology provider, operator, constructor, consultant or owner, we invite you to reach out to us. Together, we can transform how nuclear capital projects are delivered — predictably, on-time, and on-budget.
