Project management
In conversation with Tobias Niemeck, Linear Infrastructure Division
What are the challenges and pitfalls in managing large infrastructure projects?
Typically, coordinating the numerous project participants and stakeholders – such as permitting authorities, specialist designers, environmental planners and construction companies – presents a bigger challenge than the technical details. Projects with underground cables generally involve greater challenges relating to logistical issues and environmental regulations. Managing all this at once is demanding. Therefore, a clear scheduling structure and the early involvement of all project partners are crucial, as is an open communication culture. Agile formats such as Big Room meetings help us to identify problems early and to develop solutions together. Ultimately, a strong project management team is required to always ensure good coordination.
What happens in a Big Room meeting?
In a Big Room meeting we bring all project participants – authorities, planners, designers, construction companies and our project team – together to discuss all important topics, such as the status of ongoing tasks and open issues. It can be thought of as a large, intensive planning session with everyone present. This ensures everyone is on the same page, enabling decisions to be made more quickly and minimising misunderstandings. Our project management / lean management team supports this process in person and coordinates the discussions. Especially in the case of projects with tight deadlines, this is far more efficient than having project participants in different offices working in relative isolation.
How exactly does the work of a Lean Team differ from traditional project management?
The main difference between Lean Team work and traditional project management lies in the regular, frequent (e.g. weekly) meetings and the continuous improvement process. On large transmission-line projects such as SuedLink or SuedOstLink, many construction processes are repeated – for example, because an 80-kilometre route is divided into sections that are each only approximately two kilometres long. The processes in the different sections are very similar, and this is precisely where the Lean approach comes in: experience gained on one section can immediately lead to improvements on the next. Regular meetings, and continually learning from experience, ensure that we don't repeat mistakes and that our processes steadily become more efficient. This allows the team to continuously develop, to achieve its goals more quickly, and to work together more effectively – without having to plan each section from scratch.
Why did you decide to adopt Lean Management after starting with traditional “waterfall” project management?
We initially started with the classic “waterfall” method – our mandate was to support the client in relation to tendering, contract award, construction supervision, scheduling, and management of documentation. A specific project delivery method was not prescribed. As the project progressed, we came to the conclusion that traditional project management with a strictly linear schedule was not ideally suited to the complexity and dynamic nature of a construction project of this scale. Therefore, within the engineering consortium, we explored alternative approaches to improving internal communication, to keeping a better overview of tasks and to making our collaboration more efficient. We ultimately adopted a Lean-Agile approach – inspired by Scrum and the Last Planner System. Specifically, this meant coming together regularly in a Big Room meeting to share and discuss processes, visualise tasks, review progress, and identify bottlenecks as early as possible.
This approach quickly proved its worth. The client recognised the benefits and actively supported the agile methodology. Later, we were also able to apply the lean methodology to the construction phase – for example, by having Lean Managers on the construction site or arranging Big Room meetings in site offices. For us, this step was a real success – we experienced firsthand how lean methods can significantly improve project-management efficiency.
Services
- Tendering and awarding contracts
- Scheduling and process planning
- Cost and resource planning
- Coordination of specialist planners and designers
- Risk management
- Quality management
- Communication and interface management
- Lean planning processes