A comparative analysis of the game of football and the business of construction
A three-part blog series contributed by Gregg Schoppman, principal at FMI Corporation. Read Part 1 and Part 2 now.
Part 3: Exit Strategy Checklist
| Close-out item | Who is responsible? | When will it be complete? |
|---|---|---|
| Internal punch list | Finish superintendent | January 22, 2016 |
| Customer punch list | Project manager | January 31, 2016 |
| As-built drawings | Project engineer | January 15, 2016 |
| Warranty letter | Project manager | February 1, 2016 |
| Uncollected monies | Project manager/AR clerk | January 15, 2016 |
| Outstanding change orders | Project manager | January 10, 2016 |
| Trade contractor work lists | Shell superintendent | January 20, 2016 |
For most firms, these items are intuitive, but the lack of accountability at the conclusion of the project creates a sense of ambiguity. Consider that five minutes remain on the clock, and someone erases the yard-markers, the end zones and goal posts. Many contractors employ a “Punch List SWAT Team,” who are focused exclusively on getting out of the project quickly. This provides an excellent training ground for up-and-coming foremen and allows “big-project” superintendents the ability to move to the next project. The challenge is to clearly define the roles at the end of the project. Without fail, the line between punch list work and incomplete work becomes blurred and the SWAT team often becomes the receptacle for things the original team does not want to do. Regardless of the project structure, a meeting designed to circle the wagons at the end of project helps galvanize and focus the project team. The project team agrees on the outstanding work and receives the necessary information to make a smooth transition. This meeting also has the ability to inject some life into the waning moments.
The most important benefit to the exit strategy process is the ability to finish strong. First, the conclusion of the project is often an indelible memory in customers’ minds. They may never remember the fumbled kickoff or the botched punt early in the project, but make no mistake, customers remember how contractors finish. The end of the project also represents the final payment and retention collection. Unapproved change orders, endless punch lists and incomplete closeout documents muddy the water and prevent financial closure for these projects. Failing to execute on the simple things has the ability to affect the big picture for most contractors. For the gridiron gladiators, winning and losing games comes down to blocking in the trenches and tackling in the open field. Scripting the final two minutes of a construction project may seem an insurmountable task, but waiting until the end of project to settle change orders is the equivalent of the 300-pound (136.1 kg) lineman sacking the quarterback with no time left on the clock.
The Locker Room Speech
Reporters shove microphones and mini-recorders in the face of exhausted players. What went wrong? What went right? The defense looks at the offense. The offense looks at the special teams. The lone receiver looks at himself and smiles. Four quarters of football are dissected to understand the successes and shortcomings before the next game. Some drives and plays are easily recalled. Others take some serious reflection and maybe a consultation from the game replays. While most construction projects are not recorded (and thankfully not on national television), it is essential to engage some mechanism to conduct a consistent analysis of a project’s successes and shortcomings. A post-job review provides an education for not only the project team but should provide lessons learned for the entire organization. More often than not, the end of the project comes and goes with little reflection on what went right or wrong. Those that do not take the time to analyze the past are doomed to go 0-16, or continually exhibit a losing income statement.
Construction teams may spend months or years on a project, and yet often lack the ability to spend the necessary time dissecting their performance. What is the impediment to conducting a post-job review? The short answer is time. In a world plagued with emergencies and last-minute needs, gaining a history lesson falls to a distant last on the list of priorities. Culturally, project teams need to see the value in having such a meeting. However, many organizations use this opportunity to simply evaluate the losing projects. Consider the message sent to the organization when the only time a post-job review occurs is on a project deemed a failure. The managers and superintendents are “dead men walking” and find little value in adding insult to the agony they endured for six months to a year. All projects must have a post-job review. The lessons that can be gleaned from successes often have a greater impact when the organization is celebrating rather than admonishing the players.
Post-job reviews must avoid the blame game. It is always easier to target the shortcomings of the superintendent and to pounce on all the estimating errors and omissions. While there may be merit in some of these observations, the organization is better served to engage in an introspective analysis of the project. For example: What could I, as the estimator, have done differently? Or: As the superintendent, what would I characterize as my greatest success? This provides a more constructive venue and enables dialogue to focus on real issues rather than individuals crafting a defense strategy against an inquisition. Exhibit 4 identifies some of the critical items that should be part of an organization’s post-job review best practice.
Post-Job Review
| Topic | What I did well | What I would do differently |
|---|---|---|
| Management | ||
| Change | ||
| Customer | ||
| Financial | ||
|
Safety | ||
| People |
Closure is the intangible result of the post-job review. Consider a game in which the players never learn of the final score or the statistics of their performance and each game is played with no knowledge of the outcome. Once again, contractors finish jobs every day and never inform the front-line managers and superintendents whether they won or lost the game. Feedback can be as simple as a final summary of the project’s general conditions and big picture by comparing estimated costs/margin to actual costs/margin.
The final component of the post-job review involves delivering the message company-wide. The lessons learned need to be shared with the rest of the organization via an intra-company memo, shared drive or talking point at a company meeting. No one is expected to create a mental database of lessons learned. However, armed with a knowledge of what works and what does not work, managers and superintendents not only know where to look when a new project begins but can use the past lessons (good and bad) as a resource and a stable foundation.
“We just didn’t execute the plan …”
Scores of players on losing teams around the country bemoan their inability to execute a plan. Thousands of construction companies on losing projects complain about their lousy customer, poor weather and lost margins, but never recognize the lost opportunities in planning, or the lack thereof. Planning provides management the ability to influence the controllable variables regardless of uncontrollable impediments. Football venues in the winter may resemble the frozen tundra, so the conditions dictate changing the plan to accommodate the situation. Construction venues cannot relocate either, but the methodology with which the project is built is adjusted. Too often, managers’ planning is reactionary and occurs after the inclement weather occurs. Controlling and influencing the weather is impossible, but developing a proactive plan to manage in such conditions is possible. Customer expectations can also be controlled and influenced, but mismanagement easily creates post-project lamentations. Locker room finger pointing has no place in football or construction management. Construction planning may never yield shining silver trophies or trips to amusement parks, but consistent, standardized planning best practices do have the ability to dramatically create success, which is the best prize of all.
Gregg Schoppman is a senior consultant with FMI’s Tampa office. He may be reached at 813-636-1259 or via e-mail at gschoppman@fminet.com.
Advice or suggestions provided by Mr. Schoppman are statements of general applicability that may or may not apply to individual businesses, whose circumstances and operations may vary. The opinions of Mr. Schoppman do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Vermeer Corporation, its dealers or its affiliates.