What makes a project a top project?

By Tim Kippenhan

Tim Kippenhan

The components of a top project can be summed up in three words: collaboration, communication and accountability.

In order for a project to be a top project, an immense amount of collaboration must exist between the owner, the architect/engineer and the contractor. By establishing a strong and committed team upfront, trust can build between team members, ensuring ongoing collaboration and steady teamwork.

Without trust or collaboration between team members, it does not matter how many unique services a company offers, or how much physical and mental effort is put into a project. Ultimately, it will not succeed, let alone become a top project.

One of the main drivers to ensuring collaboration is communication.

Open and clear communication is another essential element in creating a successful project. The entire project team must understand that every single individual working on the project, from the laborers to the CEO, has an important role in its successful completion.

Each person is an integral part of the team and can contribute to either the success or demise of a project. If just one person fails to communicate or is not committed to the team, the project can quickly deviate from top project status.

Communication with subcontractors and suppliers, as well as between project team members and local government agencies, also is important in securing a successful project. Sustaining strong working relationships with these partners is critical to keeping the project on schedule and within budget. Communication should clearly convey all of the goals and objectives of the project to all members involved.

Truth be told, no matter how much communication exists on a project, the entire project team must first have a clear understanding of the owner’s goals and expectations. Miscommunication can happen quickly and easily. Therefore, extracting and correctly interpreting the information that is provided is critical to a project’s success.

In the end, it is the job of the project team to fulfill the owner’s needs and desires.

Finally, one must consider the role of accountability in the pre-construction and construction processes.

While collaboration and communication are important in driving a project forward, accountability ensures tasks are completed properly and in a timely manner. In the world of construction, like most industries, time and materials are money, and poor execution or lack of execution can equate to thousands, if not millions, of lost dollars. It must be determined early in the process which team members are going to champion specific tasks and what achievement levels are expected.

Accountability requirements must be determined for every aspect of the process, from quality assurance to schedule maintenance to budget review.

I attempted to simplify what it takes to construct a top project by breaking the process down into just three elements. While these aspects are extremely important, it really does take a great deal of effort to create a top project, including working through challenges throughout the course of design and construction, presenting clients with exceptional customer service, striving to meet schedule and budget requirements, and introducing innovative materials and techniques.

Collaboration, communication and accountability are more specifically the glue that holds all those other elements together. Making these items an integral part of the process is merely the first step on the long road to constructing a top project.

Tim Kippenhan is vice president of Miron Construction Co. Inc. He is active in the daily management and participates in all aspects of corporate operations, providing management expertise and guidance.