What has changed about Project Management in these years? It’s all about thinking out of the Box and Innovation
My Project Management experience through the years
This article is written with a lot of respect to all people and Companies with whom I worked throughout the years and who contributed to my style of thinking and working.
When I graduated in 1978 and walked out from College into my first job as a Site Engineer reporting to a Chief Engineer in a small Company in Mumbai (Bombay then), my local boss treated me like a nothing.I was a typical Bombaiya type guy ,rough talking ,bad mouthed but got results.When theft regularly occured at a Site ,and we knew who did it,but could do nothing about it as the local was a ruffian, I did just the opposite.When he walked into my Site Office brandishing a gun,I offered him tea and asked him why he’s doing this to us.He just wanted his boys to use our under Construction building to sleep at night due to the Congested small one room tenements they used nearby with their wives as they were not getting privacy.I nudged our Watchman to allow that at night, and everything stopped and the Project went on smoothly and finished.
Tell me which Project Management book has the above situation and solution.
Or the biggest Project of the Company in 1980 at that time at Shahpur a distant village then from Bombay.Single handedly with Manual labour for Excavation etc, heavy rains etc and the Owner (of the Project) again a Mumbai ‘Bhai’ don breathing down our necks.When another Contractor’s building at the site, built at super speed not allowing even the mandatory seven days of Slab shuttering Removal (with the low strength Cements available then) collapsed, I found out why.Due to the speed of Construction, his backfilled Plinth more than a Metre was not compacted , watered ,and could not take the load of the slab on the Ground.The Consultant at that time, my mentor advised me to backfill in layers of 50cms and punch holes in the backfilling and fill with Sand and water.,and continue and do this at each 30 cms layer level.Why this? My building had a backfilling ranging from 1 M at one end to almost 3M at the other with varying levels in a span of 200m long building.This Sand piling at various levels and different depths obviously didn’t allow any movement and we were good and safe.That Project completed on time, and my bosses got their money back due to some good billing by me, variations handling etc etc, and at that time remember – no Computers , no Excel , manual input of Quantities and calculations with a Calculator,no PMP education or even a basic Primavera or other softwares around then.
I am showing details of a few Projects carried out by me, not to blow my trumpet and showcase my acumen,but most of the Project Managers and Construction Professionals who read this will identify themselves with my life situations and have similar instances to recall.
Were high rise and complicated structures not being constructed in those years 70’s and before ?How did they manage Projects then? People look around ,apply their education , their personal experiences and learn.
Like I did.At the time when I was managing a small company in Bangalore and undertook one of my first Construction Projects, next to me was a high profile site of a big local Company whose Manager or some one in Authority used to visit the site everyday.My Client’s Engineer always praised the Manager and said the Project is on time.During a Site visit he mentioned to me , the Company’s scope was increased by 50% and expected the usual Extension of Time application along with the Variations.The Clients were informed about the Variations cost, BUT no extension of time application was done.The Company completed the Project in the same time and walked out.I still remember the awe and respect I had for that Company while I daily visited their Site too when I visited mine to see how they were managing the extra works.
This philosophy formed the basis for the next 30 yrs of my life for all the Companies I worked for and managed and though there were situations where scope was increased, I do not recall any major EOT applications during my career and no Penalties paid to any Client for any Contract.
I call this the Street Smart Manager thinks with the head,while reports and Education provide a Scientific method of Project Progress Evaluation, the actual call at the time of distress or taking impromptu Site decisions rests with the Project in-charge and these decisions will show the results at the proper time, both physically on site progress and financially.
During the beginning of my Gulf tenure, what I usually did as Project Engineer (then) was to go thro the entire BOQ ,drawings ,analyse the materials required ,Quantities , and site down with a Blank Requisition book of the Company and make the Requisitions on the First 2-3 days, Materials like Cement, Tiles , Lights, MEP stuff , Sanitary ware, Hardware , Shuttering , Plywood , etc .. and give the Procurement section.This would raise a lot of remarks etc.I remember on a PDO Oman National Day Project , I walked in for the Kick Off meeting with a Material Approval for AC chillers that would take 5 months to reach the site in a Contract of 6 months.The Client was upset, but they understood and signed it off.The Project was handed over with 7 days to spare.These methods helped me a lot especially when instances like my Site Engineer calling me up in the middle of the night when a huge Transformer foundations of 1000 M3 were approved on a Oil and Gas installations and he realized he couldn’t concrete because he hadn’t arranged the foundation bolts..!And what did I tell him in my sleepy mid-night brawl..’You …. Guy , look in your Site Store-it’s there already..! using all the profanities at my disposal.
We were a big group in Muscat where I worked,and had undertaken a Sub Contract for Civil works only, to lay 160 Kms of Overhead Lines in the Desert including new Substations , foundations below live 32 KVA wires etc etc.The Main MEP Contractor had 15 months to complete with a Bonus.While we started our Civil works ,the Overhead Line laying in the Desert didn’t start for the first six months by the Main Contractor.The Client PDO was furious in their Review Meetings, almost threatened to cancel the Contract.The Main Contractor kept assuring them.What I noticed was that the Main Contractor during the first six Months mobilized their Minimum staff in the Desert, while the Management team ,Procurement were quietly working on all approvals , Procurement , Order Placement , finalizing the payments , shipping details etc.Then the drilling machines were mobilized and they handed out internal labour sub-Contracts to their workers apart from their regular pay.Targets were set , amounts were finalized , and daily drilling and fixing/concreting of poles fixed.Targets were 3-4 times their normal daily work loads and they were told just complete and come back to the Camp at any time,no questions asked.The teams would sometimes return back at lunch time to the Camp and go to sleep.The Company never questioned this as long as they had completed the tasks like Drilling , one team was doing the Concreting other was doing the Overhead Wire Pulling etc etc.Needless to say the Main Contractor completed the work two months before the Completion and walked home with the Bonus.Huge Respect..and learning Curve.
Another Project I cant forget ever is one in Muscat.It was a six month Project.At the end of the first month,we came above Plinth and I was transferred to the Desert on a Oil and Gas Project and a new first time Gulf Project Manager was appointed for this one.This new PM went on submitting paper work to appease the Consultants and Head Office showing progress etc.At the end of the fifth month,the work done was 50% only.Our Companys CE called me and said this Project’s surely going for Penalty, come back for a month.I was put back in charge.The Consultant wouldn’t relent about EOT/Penalties.The Company’s Planning Engineer reported to the CE there’s no way in the last month,the Project can be completed.Fortunately for me, Manpower that was released from some finished sites was available.I put in two shifts of Manpower and Supervisory personnel,10 hrs of day time and 8 hours of night and me Co-ordinating with both.About 250 persons were put in place with 100 Masons, 50-60 Carpenters,Helpers etc and a host of MEP Sub Contractors.Block work was done fortunately,what remained was Internal/External Plaster/Electrical works ,Tiling ,Final fix of all items,and Electrical Connection from a nearby Sub-station, Roof Waterproofing etc etc.Scaffoldings to be built/dismantled for the External Plaster,mandatory curing/Painting to start internally/externally.Surely and steadily, I remember the date too, January 8 1995,the Completion date was nearing.Once the Building works were completed,Power supply obtained, tested, commissioned, the Shovels and Graders were brought in to clear the Site after dismantling the Site Offices,Jan 8 Morning, the trailers came in at 7 am and shifted the Portacabins, the shovels, graders and Rollers , cleared ,graded, watered and compacted the site and 10 am ,the Consultants walked in for their Virtual Completion Inspection.No EOT and penalties.
Why am I writing this article?Behind the huge Project Methodologies of Today with S-curves, Earned Value systems, SWOT, PMP etc etc is the Human Brain which requires to practically analyse the requirements of the Project Site apart from the various reports prepared,tracked and updated.Some out of the way Project Management situations and impromptu decisions are required that no PMP course will teach you.Here are few situations in a Gulf country I faced.
For instance on a Project laying Landscaping water lines on a mountainous area,a Project of 9 months, my office Planner with the BOQ qty’s analysed and reported that this was the easiest job ,calculated resources based on the Standard outputs and said the work could be completed in 3 months with 17 people including the Bus Driver! I refused to present this report to the Client who just looked at me in the Kick Off meeting and refused to accept it.It was ridiculous.On a mountainous area , steep slopes , hard rock excavations ,concreting, 35 Main Road crossings to lay the pipes with Police approvals,Traffic adjustments etc etc.? Just to please the client,we increased the resources to 35 and made a few changes.Our Tippers with full load of Sand and Aggregate couldn’t reach the Site,they were slipping down backwards with their loads endangering the traffic behind… So we had to fill them up 50% only. With no data on old as-built UG services, one of my worker almost electrocuted himself on a 11KV UG cable,when his Jack hammer tip, breached the Cable (and melted due to the high current and heat) sheathing and earthed it,the person was saved due to the Main Sub Station ELCB tripping!With great difficulty and average of 100 manpower resource,we completed the Project on time.
Many of you reading this would dismiss this as bad Management , but does the Site Conditions,locations not dictate the Resource Output and Requirements?In such cases can the Standard Companies Resource Allocation and Times work? I don’t think so.
Another Site in a Remote location on a Government Project had various Sub Contractors and Labour Contractors of different nationalities ,caste and creed.There used to be constantly tension and misunderstanding out of mis-coordination ,delays between two Asian Sub-Contractor, one a Civil labour Contractor,other a Wood works Sub-Contractor work force, with constant bad mouthing between the two which I had to intervene and prevent outbursts of violence.On a particular day, I sensed things were getting out of hand and was apprehensive of some misadventure,hence purposely roamed around the Site and between these two groups.One group was planning something,and I hung around.Suddenly they swooped on to a person surrounded him and would have killed him ,had I not flung myself between these two groups and ordered the other attackers out.Fortunately even in the midst of such anger and hatred and impending violence,they listened to me and backed out,and I saved a life,literally to speak.Again,Construction Management and Project Management books will not teach you this.
In another Oil and Gas Fast Track Project where Targets and Project Schedules were being strictly monitored,as a Project Engineer then I found that the Lunch time and Tea Time of the work force of my allocated buildings were taking more time than scheduled as the workers had to walk to the mess , eat, had to allow them atleast half an hour to rest and this would take 30 mins more.Even for tea time.I decided to bring their Lunch and Tea to them at the site and carted it in my car to them.When we worked thro the nights in the Desert Cold,after Dinner took tea, biscuits for the workers to the Site myself though no job profile or responsibility demanded it.It just got more Output from the workers at site.They gave me performance and respect, I gave them Service.
Here in the UAE, Fast Track Projects are abundant, and strict timelines are the order of the day.For instance delays expected in Services like Telecom, Power, Water require Contractors to liaise with Etisalat/Dewa etc right from Day one and put in their applications.Contracts do not consider delays on this account except in exceptional cases.
In another instance of working in 2005 with a reputed Main Contractor,this Company had a unique way of tracking their work manually with a freshers first time in UAE workforce, hired to give them experience and ultimately absorb them into their high profile projects later.These freshers were allocated various buildings say 2 to 3 each, and as per planned work schedule ,had to write down, track , report all items going on inside the buildings on all the floors.For example,the GM would ask them out of the blue ‘Is the skirting in the Bedroom of Flat on the fourth floor ,North side fixed’ or is the Hall Window AC in a particular flat fixed,tested and commissioned etc..etc and the person had to answer bang on either out of memory or referring to his notes.If he couldn’t he got a good firing from the GM.Even we in the higher management had to be alert and consistently be accurate in our tracking and reporting out of memory or from reports,and had tabulated records of items like Tiles, MEP , Doors and Windows , Kitchens , and other Civil ,MEP items.
Due to intricate requirements of various Government bodies ,approvals regarding Civil ,Fire Fighting,Paper works , Quality requirements , various Items need to be tracked from and at various stages depending on the Company’s Internal Procedures to keep the Management abreast at all times right from their laptops without indulging in too much paper work except the Mandatory requirements of Statutory approvals like Quality/ Consultant’s approvals etc.
Projects need to be tracked right from their start to finish with various tools and technologies including Physical, E-Tracking in the form of Structuring the Project on Web based programs globally with Project Management Tools etc.There are lot of Cloud based Management and mobile based techniques available for other disciplines and now being developed for Construction works.
With experience based over the last 33+ years, I delved into my requirements, experience and knowledge of IT based protocols and mobile solutions and with a lot of testing came up with ‘SiteTrack’ based on scanning of QR and NFC codes via Smartphones that one carries.A year of programming with developers and practical Construction inputs I managed to develop and produce SiteTrack www.sitetrack-nfc.com .This has helped us a lot in managing our works.
With time and age, Projects even today cannot be managed alone with PMP certified Managers (though I am one myself with a string of other Certifications),but need a lot of personal hands on experience, business acumen, a sharp mind, technology oriented outlook, interpersonal skills and ability to handle human manpower both at the physical and emotional level.
Further two practical instances in my Project Management experience will actually tell you that now is the time to think new and out of the Box..!
At a Project (1992) in Muscat now known as the Rose Garden, you will see small islands created with bridges crossing over for pedestrians and visitors.BUT when the Project actually started and Muscat Municipalities Contractor excavated those individual ponds and lakes , they dug out all the soil allowing the nearby sea water to flow in ,formed the small islands and left with mounds of earth all along side.I was assigned the site as Engineer at that time.The Municipalities Engineer a person with years of Landscaping and a Doctorate was at his wits end how to access the Islands where a lot of hard and soft landscaping had to be done by the Landscaping Contractor and there were five to six such small islands.On the first day during a site visit he told me ,think of a way to access the islands, small temporary bridges , concrete ,or barges etc.I was new in the Gulf at that time , a huge site , a small un-airconditioned Porta cabin, hot and sweaty looking at the mess around me.An idea struck me and I called the Baladiya Engineer from a nearby pay phone (no mobiles then), PUT the earth back and make temporary roads to the islands say about 5 to 6 mtrs wide, and then he asked ? finish the work on the Islands and while retreating remove the earth.In a day the excavators and trucks were back on the site and they formed the Roads and the work started and completed.Needless to say ,not a word of thanks or credit,it all went to you can guess..
In another instance in Dubai UAE, we were doing two fitout projects at two different working Malls for fitting out our signature Restaurants.While the internal works were almost completing, the huge AC Air Handling Units on the top were already at the site, but how to take them up through the Mall access and the congested Roof MEP equipment etc.Old ones had to be removed,the new foundations were ready on the Roof.My team and PMO was looking at me, we thought of dismantling the Air Handling units and reassembling them back on the Roof, but even that was not possible.TWO sites at the same stage nearby held up for this.Critics and inter department politics were amused and waiting for my action.Almost five AC Units at each site ready at site to be put on the Roof.Contractor was at his wits end, and I was the Clients PM.Usage of Crane was ruled out as even that was not possible as at both the sites nearby , there were Parking basements below the spot where the Crane was to be positioned above, a big NO from the safety point of view.
Stuck..!while looking out of the window I saw a helicopter passing by..why not..?out of the box, but possible.I searched frantically for a visiting card whose pilot had visited me earlier for business ,called him who came immediately and saw the situation.Safety meetings and Method Statements prepared.Mall Managements advised.All units kept ready and strapped on the ground of both Malls.All Straps/Lifting equipments /clamps inspected /certifications etc checked arranged for 3am in the morning.Areas around Mall watered to avoid dust nuisance to Residents around.Hired helicopter for 1 hour whopping 25K AED. All old units on the roof to be removed were kept strapped/ready for lift.These were brought down first.Manpower ready at both locations up/down and both Malls.Mall 1 ,lifted the AC units from Ground to Roof direct onto the Roof foundations, 30 mins 5 units finished.Flew in helicopter to nearby next Mall same procedure finished quick,all done safely hoisted right in place.Handed over cheque to Helicopter firm,flew away.Both Fitout Projects completed on time.
Such Projects and many others form a series of memories that bring smiles to our faces after years too..! But after a lot of work done above, Managers like any other Human are prone to mistakes ,small and big, some get covered up or rectified with lot of regret and are recalled with sometimes a little depression over the years.
Again like on a Project where I was looking after Substations 3 nos huge blast proof that were part of a bigger JV Oil and Gas project on the upstream side for Gas transport and which was fully Concrete Structures and was divided into two parts, the LV and the HV side, with switchgears , AC equipment, and AC ducting to keep the Substations cool.After completion of the structures concrete following all QA/QC Procedures and signing off by all Civil , Electro mechanical , Clients rep etc etc..Contractors side including me,and on a routine Site Visit by our AC division Head and standing inside the Sub station, he looked around and remarked something wrong here, he couldnt place it, but a warm trickle of sweat was already going down my back.The two parts the LV and HV side were Air conditioned by a central system with one set of Supply and Return on the dividing 400mm heavily reinforced wall at a higher level.Where are the openings he remarked..? Which ones, there arent any.,I said…See the drawings.The AC Head remembered it as the two sections were initially proposed to be isolated,but due to design restrictions, both LV/HV were connected and there was lot of communication on this.On none of these drawings were the openings shown including AC/Electro mech/Concrete structures except on one of the Architectural drawings via dotted lines missed out by all personnel down the line and signed off by atleast 6 to 7 signatures including Project International Consultants,Civil, Structural , Electro-Mechanical etc etc.The word went out to the offices and in 5-10 mins all responsible were looking at the area and the drawings ,stunned.The problem was not that two openings 600×600 were to be done thro, but that on the blast proof building ,jack hammering was not allowed to avoid any strucural movement, hence would have to be done by hand ..400mm reinforced wall..? Of course usual NCRs were raised and was rectified with great difficulty, but even after so many years remembering the incident sends a bad feeling down the throat..!
Some funny manipulations on Projects brings smiles too.
On an important National Day Project of six months,we were faced with an egoistic Clients Project in-charge who wouldnt sign off a Space Frame Roof Erection Method Statement,and hence erection could not proceed though structure was complete in the 3rd month, with all Space Frame Roof materials ready at site to start erection with AC Equipments, Ducts all ready at site.This Clients Engineer wouldnt sign off the Method Statement even if there was a grammatical mistake or his name was spelled wrongly or he didnt like the format or color of the Cover etc etc ,his rejection reasons were unending.This required changing the Project Programme.I knew this person was going on leave for a month on a certain date in the next 15 days in the 4th month of the Project for a month.Obviously Site Construction couldnt stop,hence all other items internal , Block work, Plaster , Paint , tiling ,Lifts , wirings etc were completed and all Roof suspended materials were kept ready at site.As soon as he left,we got the Method Statement signed off by his Acting replacement and in the month of his absence completed the Roof & Roof Sheetings/AC’s /ducting /Suspended lights / Connection /T & C / etc .It was really funny to see his face when he came back to site after leave and walked off angrily to demand explanation from his replacement.But as the work was completed with Quality and Safety ,his replacement Engineer with as straight a face he could muster just asked ‘Yes I signed off and the works are completed..whats the issue here..?
