If you Already Deliver Perfect Value Carry On – Otherwise Learn to Adapt

Perfect value, of course, never happens. On every project there are things that could have been done to save time, cut costs, improve quality and deliver additional benefits.
What’s beyond dispute is that if you approach every project with a fixed mindset about how work should be organised and delivered you will always miss opportunities. Potential further benefits and value will forever remain undelivered.

The key is not just to share lessons learned at the end of the project, it’s to identify opportunities before and during the project to improve quality and take time and cost out of the process.

A value-oriented culture of this type that engenders flexibility and innovation isn’t easy to sustain. A number of factors need to be in place including:

• Strong leadership that encourages the entire workforce to challenge and question accepted methods.
• Structures to gather, evaluate and recognise ideas.
• A culture of sharing that is inclusive of the supply chain, workforce and partners.
• A focus on the needs of the project, the customer and asset users over and above those of individual organisations.
• Time and space for people to innovate.

It’s too easy to allow caution over safety and contract penalties to encourage you to stick with the tried and trusted. It might not be the most efficient option but we know it will work.

This attitude misses the vital point that flexibility isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about exploring better ways to deliver the project objectives cheaper, faster and to higher standards of quality and safety.

Find out more by visiting Highways learning pages on our website.