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We must dismantle a business culture that accepts changeable plans, allows unstable schedules, and tolerates hopelessly outdated technology and inefficient systems.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
