Are you a Rebel at work?

A colleague sent me this, thought I'd share it with you all.

Thank you to: Rebelsatwork.com

Is “Process” creating a culture of mediocrity?

In today’s business culture we integrate and utilize technology into our daily processes and procedures. The use of computers and software is ubiquitous in our daily lives, both personally and professionally, over the last 20 years computers have revolutionized our daily lives.

In the design and construction industry, we use computers and software for all aspects of our processes and have developed standards to ensure consistency, quality and develop a level of efficiency which is a requirement of today’s client expectations and project demands.

Over the past number of years, as technology has developed and became a standard in everyday business, the focus has been on teaching software and the associated applications and processes developed to take advantage of the software. Our focus has shifted to learning the tools and not what we use the tools for. Basic skills are diminishing, having a negative impact on the quality of the deliverable, which we are using technology to help us deliver.

“Is the development of processes creating a culture of mediocrity?”

Through the development of these processes are we stifling ingenuity and the opportunity for innovation, are we eliminating the need for team members to take on responsibility and ownership of their tasks and responsibilities? Processes should balance between providing quality and efficiency, our goals when developing processes are to minimize risk and liability by controlling the outcome, resulting in risk mitigation and quality through consistency.

However, is this preventing innovation and improvement? By demanding rigidity through the development of processes are we limiting the opportunities to finding new ways to complete tasks and make changes for the better?   

The design industry is notorious for this conflux, we expect a high level of creativity and innovation combined with a need for high quality (risk mitigation) that utilizes digital tools and associated processes with the intent to create efficiency. However, with the focus on learning the tool, we are finding that we're losing the simple knowledge and skills that new employees desperately need.

“We do a great job teaching the tools but we're losing sight of why we use the tools.”

Do we want to get to the point where we are providing a “caution content may be hot” type label due to over processing? When developing processes we need to be aware of the fine line between limiting the ability to think for ourselves and the benefits of efficiency and quality control. We need to balance the need for standardization and risk mitigation with the freedom to change the process when required allowing for innovation and improvement. Let’s not bog down the process of creation by stifling creativity with overly constraining processes.

Review your process on a regular basis with your team and look for ways to streamline and make improvements. Consider changing processes to “guidelines” and look for feedback from the users. Let your team know that at any point they can reach out to you to discuss in an open and constructive manner any possible changes to the process that can make improvements. You will not only gain the respect of your staff you will also have improved adoption rate of any processes you implement. Don’t be strict on the enforcement of process, use processes as a guideline and reference to complete a task, this will give your team the confidence to propose changes for the better and the flexibility to make any necessary changes confidently to ensure the success of the project and the team.

There will be areas of any process that are required to be enforced, where projects cross international borders or between offices standards need to be consistent, enforcing these requirements will be respected as long as you make it clear why they are required and all involved understand the necessity and function of the processes. Standing behind these requirements will also gain you the respect of your team.

When we receive proposals for Architectural projects we accept the project requirements and find unique ways to incorporate the client's desires and project requirements all the while looking for opportunities to improve the aesthetics, functionality and efficiency of the design, resulting in the best possible outcome for the project. To be successful you need an equal balance of innovation and the structure of processes.  

Shaping the Future of the Construction Industry

Recently I read an article in the October CanBIM newsletter by Mark Chidwick from Scius Innovations titled Shaping the Future of the Construction Industry.

I've had the opportunity to speak with Mark on a number of occasions on the state of the Architecture Engineering Construction Owners Operators industry. Mark has a unique perspective on the challenges we face in the AECOO as he comes from the Oil and Gas industry, which faced similar challenges a number of years ago.

I’ve discussed with Mark on the correlation between the Oil and Gas Industry and the AECOO industry. 

You wouldn’t think the two industries are related but the challenges faced by the oil and gas sectors are similar to the AEC sectors, the regulations, processes, and challenges in working collaboratively are similar.

Check out Marks Article here in the latest version of the CanBIM newsletter.

http://www.canbim.com/single-post/2017/10/31/Shaping-the-Future-of-the-Construction-Industry

Mark Chidwick is a certified management consultant providing consulting services to a variety of industries in the energy sector. For over 25 years, Mark has provided services including program and project management, change management, thought leadership, technology leadership and development and market research.

BAU 2017 - Munich Germany

If your in Munich, Germany on January 17th, 2017 attending the BAU 2017 Conference seek me out, I love connecting with my readers.

BAU is the World's Leading Trade Fair for Architecture, Materials and Systems. It is a gathering for everyone involved in planning, building and designing buildings, i.e. architects, investors, industry and trade representatives, building tradesmen, etc.—in an international context.

I'll be presenting on the following topic talking about the state of International BIM adoption and how best to implement BIM, taking advantage of lessons learned from around the world.

http://bau-muenchen.com/trade-fair/supporting-program/event-calendar/index.php/mmg/eventdatabase/en/search/BAU2017A/40

JAN

17

2017

The Future of Building > BIM - Building Information Modeling

Best practice: Basics, philosophy, implementation and methodology of BIM

15:00-15:45 h  |  Hall C2 Forum C2 Stand C2.309

Speaker: Scott Chatterton, Dereje Alemu

Give your team the tools to succeed

Developing process to create inefficiencies.

Why develop a process

In a factory where your typical smart phone is assembled, there is a production line. Someone has put a lot of thought about that production line, the process of fabrication and how efficient the process of assembling a smart phone is.

The same applies to the design industry, however our focus is typically on the process of creating the design instead of production of the design.

Without an effective documented process and resources you’re production team is prone to inefficiencies. Every building is a “prototype”, however we still have the opportunity to create inefficiencies in the production process.

Get an “insiders” point of view

When I first became a BIM Manager I joined our project team to get an “insider’s” look into the production process. What I found was that without a process in place the team was not performing to their maximum efficiency, in fact they were performing at about %70 efficiency due solely to the fact that there was no process in place guiding them effectively through the production of the drawings.

These were capable people with many years of experience working on complex projects, the team had worked in the office together for many years, yet it was the first time that they have all worked together as a team in this configuration.

Without a team management process your team members lack a high level of monitoring and guidance that would allow them to be fully productive, work was being replicated and some tasks were not beings addressed causing friction and delays in the project production.

It was time to review our processes.

Develop a process that works

From this experience I developed a series of processes and resources that help the team become more efficient. We not only reviewed and modified the process of completing projects, we also looked at how the teams were assembled, how the team was structured and the dispercement of roles and responsibilities. By clearly defining the tasks of each individual we provided each team member with clear expectations.

The team should not only have a process to follow but also have available to them the resources to be efficient in their tasks. Having unreliable resources, or worse yet resources your team are unable to find, gives them permission to create their own content essentially disregarding any quality control and wasting time.

Review your own processes with fresh eyes to see where you can make improvements, look at it from the standpoint of production and what resources you would need to efficiently complete the task at hand.

Tips on developing your process

Develop a process of production and create the resources to back it up. We spent a significant amount of time evaluating our existing processes, what was working, what wasn’t working and what holes existed in the processes. Through reviewing and developing processes we were able to clearly define the flow of operations at all aspects of our business.

• Make your process easy to follow, keep it clear and easy to understand, don’t make a process too constraining or onerous or you’ll find that no one will follow it.
• Make your process flexible to accommodate a variety of situations or project types.
• Make it easily accessible, if it’s too many “clicks” away people will get lost and not bother.
• Provide information on the process in a variety of formats, such as online, printed booklet form, pdf etc.
• Have upper management promote and endorse your process, this will help with adoption.

Stages of developing a process

Continual promotion of your processes will take time, monitoring your team and constant reminders will need to happen as you develop a culture that follows the processes. If your processes are good you’ll find adoption, if not review the process with your team to find out how to make it better.

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Quality Control at CEI Architecture

Over the past few months we here at CEIArchitecture have been working on defining and implementing a comprehensive new quality control system, which we’re calling CEIQ: Quality Control and Project Management Procedures. This document includes a section called BIM Management System.

The precursor to CEIQ was a document and system outlining the firm’s Flow of Operations. It was solid, but changes in the industry and in our firm meant that an update was needed. The existing document didn't go into a lot of detail in regards to the BIM process, and several recent wins on major P3 projects including the recent announcement that our team, Affinity Partnerships, is the preferred proponent for the BCChildren’s and BC Women’s Hospital Acute Care Centre meant that our quality control procedures have expanded.

As the BIM manager I already had a number of existing documents and processes that I put in place, but I still found it difficult to share certain information and make everyone aware of its existence and apply it to their projects. We have some great content but it's no good if people are not aware of it, even though I've constantly promoted these documents and processes.

Part of the process in the creation of the CEIQ Quality Control document included interviewing our staff, asking pertinent questions about existing process and getting their thoughts on how we can improve our quality control and project management efficiency. 

We got great feedback! 

There were a few themes that came up in most interviews, one of which was a desire to have a clear, comprehensive and fully approved project roadmap. People want guidance on the "how," "where" and "what do I do next" on a project. Even though we already had these in the existing Flow of Operations, as time progressed our systems needed updating and we needed to re-instill a sense of accountability.

We consider CEIQ a living system, a set of guidelines, processes and beliefs that will evolve as the company and industry does. We expect it to be updated during the initial roll out period, and to adapt to changes over time. Our goal with CEIQ is to improve efficiencies and create consistency in every aspect of our service and deliverables. The ultimate goal is to ensure that efficient systems are in place to free up the creative capacity of our talented designers, so they can focus on what they do best: creating spaces that work well for our clients and their communities.

CEIQ includes a section on the BIM management system, which we hope to be able to give people working on a project clear instruction and guidance on their roles on a project that uses Revit. One of the biggest challenges in implementing this type of structure in any business is getting buy-in not only of the staff but of the partners. Fortunately the leadership at CEI Architecture have been the driving force behind the initiative, which makes the adoption process much easier throughout the organization.

After we roll out CEIQ: Quality Control and Project Management Procedures, I will periodically blog about sections of the process and explain the benefits of developing your own project management procedures.

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