S6E150: Project Controls in Design & Engineering stages with Paul Waskett

In this week’s pod, we were joined by Paul Waskett to discuss Project Controls in design and engineering stages. Paul is a Director of Adept Management where he takes responsibility for the development of their Project Controls tools and services, as well as supporting clients and projects across the construction industry. Since 2014, Paul has been supporting two major rail projects. He is a Mechanical Engineer by background and has over 20 years’ experience in Design Management and Project Controls. In addition, Paul has spent time working in central government, where he managed a construction innovation budget, and as a researcher where he developed some of Adept Management's innovative approaches to design planning and management.  The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: There is generally more scrutiny on the construction part of a design and build contract however both need equal attention in order to manage projects effectively Design planning is not as linear as other types of programmes. There are generally more interdependencies and iterations of designs Build a WBS and identify relevant activities and inputs before starting the planning process As the project is delivered, the Last Planner System can be used to monitor progress Using % complete to measure design progress can be difficult to implement consistently Working from home has made it more difficult to promote communication and problem solving in major projects as the relevant stakeholders are not collaborating as often as they would in an office based environment Earned Value Management only works when rules of credit are in place and all stakeholders are aware of the limitations of it being the sole measure of progress Digital twin can help engineers to assess the effect of what may seem like a small scale change on a design It is prudent to have a sole interface between engineering and project management in order to deliver a consistent message One of the key challenges for Engineering Managers is to get the “commitment” from the engineering team(s) to deliver to a specified date or budget Here are links to some of the topics we discussed: The Latham Report – Constructing The Team: https://constructingexcellence.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Constructing-the-team-The-Latham-Report.pdf Adept Management: https://www.adeptmanagement.com/ Last Planner System: https://leanconstructionblog.com/What-is-the-Last-Planner-System.html Join us next week when we speak to Tony Welch to discuss five levers for change. For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website.You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Proudly sponsored by: https://www.justdo.com/ https://ineight.com/ Stay safe, be disruptive and have fun doing it! #ProjectManagement #Engineering #PMO #ProjectControls #Leadership #Culture