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.
Sc.
