From grid modernisation to a pumping station upgrade, utilities are increasingly under pressure to deliver projects on time and within budget, despite resource constraints and shifting regulatory landscapes. And as project complexity continues to rise in capital construction projects, utilities are scrambling for any advantage to help ensure project certainty.
Efficiency is essential as businesses scale, but rapid growth – especially in uncertain conditions – can destabilise operations. Yet, by standardising project controls processes, knowledge, and language across an organisation, teams can bring new stability to their work even as they grow.
As any project leaders knows, every added team member is another chance for confusion and miscommunication. But standardising workflows across departments lessens that risk. For utilities managing the provision of essential services, this can mean fewer delays and faster reconnection during service interruptions.
Kiewit Industrial Vice President, Justin Terminella, said the company realised huge benefits from standardising.
“Today, you can go from one project to the next and you’re talking the same language,” he said.
“I can tell you, ten years ago that wasn’t the case. Whether you were looking at a visualisation of an earned value report, and then you didn’t understand what green versus red meant and every single time you went to a project, it was a debate on what the right one should be. Those conversations are over.”
When each team works with standard terms and uses workflows that share common elements, it’s noticeably easier to share best practices and lessons learned. And standardisation shouldn’t be static – when teams refine their practices and workflows, the benefit applies not only to other teams but also to future projects, making the most of hard-won improvements in standard operating procedures. With major utility projects spanning years, this ensures continuity and greater certainty across the entire life of the project.
Standardisation allows organisations to create a library of expertise and supports a culture of constant growth and development.
Managing and sharing knowledge also requires discernment, and standardisation can help there too.
Ledcor Vice President, Rod Wales, said, “We can give teams lots of information, but if it’s not useful to them, it’s of little value.”
“We try to filter out what information does this business need and find that appropriate level of detail, because if you’re overwhelmed with data, it’s not much good to you. And that information that you get out of the system is vital in making a proper decision at the right time.”
Client communications benefit from standardisation too – it becomes easier to manage the significant amounts of data bouncing between field teams, project managers, and contract owners. Standardised systems use shared templates, dashboards, and tools to ensure consistent reporting and present the same key metrics to any stakeholder so inclined.
When teams and clients share the same performance metrics, it’s easier and faster to identify challenges throughout the project lifecycle. The result: smoother project execution and stronger client relationships.
Standardisation isn’t the only solution for growing project complexity, but it provides a firm foundation for centralised project controls that teams can build upon as they adapt to a new era of capital construction. This is a critical advantage as utilities navigate the pressures of a rising population, ageing infrastructure and increased demand.
Learn how organisations like Ledcor and Kiewit Industrial use centralised project controls to deliver more efficient and innovative projects in InEight’s e-book, Mastering Efficiency: Expert Strategies for Centralised Project Controls.
