While documentation and paperwork might not always sound like the most exciting topic, the application of standards across our projects will ultimately benefit us all.
This is why Project Manager Scott Lawrence is championing and busy preparing for the roll out of the Maintenance & Industrial Services Project Minimum Standards across our Southern Region branches.
While it is not light reading, the Minimum Standards document is effectively a manual that sets a blueprint for projects over $5 million, guiding successful set-up and pre-execution through to completion.
This covers all stages of a project from pre-tender submissions, tenders and estimating, contracts and planning through to mobilisation, procurement, subcontracts, performance management and close-out…. And everything in between.
To simplify things, Scott has developed checklists of the key documents to be completed at different stages of a Project lifecycle. He is working to make it easier for everyone to understand the resources and documents available to them and to break down what steps they need to follow.
“At times it might seem like extra administrative work, especially when you are under the pump, but it is important to remember that it will lead to greater efficiencies in our work and provide more control over project outcomes,” he said.
“It is about doing this work upfront, which might take some getting used to until it becomes second nature.”
Scott said that this gives our teams greater visibility throughout the Project and the ability to better assess jobs on completion, in particular what went well and what didn’t, enabling us to identify areas for improvement.
He has been involved in project standardisation for a couple of years now in consultation with other business units. He originally joined Monadelphous 11 years ago through the graduate program and has worked across various parts of the business, joining the Southern Region team in 2018.
Scott said that his goal in driving the Minimum Standards is to help achieve consistency across our branches in the way we approach our work and delivery for our customers. He hopes that the standards, or parts of it, will also be applied to smaller scale project work and maintenance services.
So next time you’re following or helping develop a workpack, or are involved in some other process or document in your day-to-day work, keep in mind that you are playing a part in our continuous improvement and successful delivery of projects…. Which, at the end of the day, is a win-win for everyone!