Construction of a flagship station on the London Crossrail (Elizabeth Line) project. Mechanical and Electrical Sub-Contractor delivering fit-out of the station. Laminar was tasked responsibility for both the main contract programme and also short term delivery planning.

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The Challenges

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External:

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1. Drip feeding and constant changing of design

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2. Frustrated access to work fronts

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3. Constant design changes requiring significant rework

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Internal:

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1. Reactive day to day planning of the work – poor internal communication between teams

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2. Large disconnect between project schedule and the work being done

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3. Lack of clarity on progress

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4. No capture of delays and their causes – missing out on recovering costs

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Our Solution

It is extremely important that processes on projects take into consideration the human element. It only takes one simple problem in the design or execution of the process to completely destroy the value of it through loss buy-in of key team members. Typical examples of this are using difficult to read Gantt chart software or poorly facilitated meetings that fail to maintain focus. It is critical that information is communicated clearly in a way the the customers of the information (usually the site delivery managers and foremen) can understand.

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The workflow was carefully designed in close consultation with the project team, taking into account the unique challenges of the project and human psychology. Simple coloured layouts were used in conjunction with a easy to read charts and tables.

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Outputs:

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• 2 Week Look ahead tied into the master programme – ensured that critical information that had been captured by the project managers and planners was taken into account at the work front.

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• Capture of all blockers and assigning actions to clear them and raise early warnings/compensation events for external delays.

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Key Outcomes

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• Clarity on blockers ensuring speedy close out of internal issues and early warnings raised for external issues

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• Enhanced communication between project team and specialist subcontractors

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• A clear plan for the next 2 weeks of work based on consensus

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• Correct work sequence was guaranteed by linking the 2 week plan to the contract master programme

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Final Thoughts

As a contractor/subcontractor you often have a large amount of external dependencies which you have no control over. However, implementing a well designed weekly delivery management cycle can ensure that you keep your own house in order and that you are able both deliver effectively and protect yourself commercially.