Olfa Hamdi is the co-founder of Concord® Project Technologies and the founding executive director of the Institute for Advanced Work Packaging. She was a member of the CII research team that produced IR-272, and is now leading the movement for predictable, integrated, technology-driven capital projects management.
Why do we tacitly accept the fact that most capital projects are late and over-budget?
It’s time to raise our standards for capital project leadership.
We must dismantle a business culture that accepts changeable plans, allows unstable schedules, and tolerates hopelessly outdated technology and inefficient systems.
Instead, we must create and promote a new and vibrant culture rooted in predictability and accountability, a culture in which on-time, on-budget delivery is not just celebrated and rewarded, but expected as a non-negotiable baseline for industry participation.
We have put people on the moon. We have split the atom. It is possible to plan and execute a construction project on-time and on-budget, but we don’t demand it from ourselves as an industry. We need to raise the bar.
The first step toward achieving a culture of predictability and accountability is for us to establish consensus around fundamentals. Advanced Work Packaging gives us a powerful, common language to start talking intelligently about the challenges inherent in what we do; indeed, there is a flourishing discourse around AWP both online and offline, and in circles of practice.
The first step toward achieving a culture of predictability and accountability is for us to establish consensus around fundamentals.
What is missing from this conversation, however, is a shared understanding of the basics. In order for us to fully leverage the power of AWP, we must have a shared understanding not just of the system itself, but of the terminology, principles, and best practices the underpin it.
Here at Concord®, we’re committed to cultivating change and empowering capital project professionals. As part of this commitment, we’re pleased to present the 8th Edition of Velocity® — The Fundamentals Edition. In this issue of the magazine, we’ve consolidated the fundamentals of Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) and Predictability Thinking™ in one place for the benefit of both established AWP practitioners and those new to the field.
It is our hope that in providing fact-based, field-tested information, we will assist in establishing this very necessary — and long overdue — consensus around AWP fundamentals.
Part of the reason I started Concord® is that I believe it is possible to deliver successful projects, on-time, and on-budget. For more than a decade, I’ve been helping clients incorporate AWP fundamentals and principles into their work processes, and now with the advent of Predictability Thinking(™), we see more success than ever.
I refuse to accept the status quo of unpredictable capital projects management, and I urge you to join me in building a new, predictable future for us all.
Sincerely,
Olfa Hamdi
