Good project management means the ability to deal with, and avoid bad assumptions, as detailed here by Notable
In 2003, the German and Switzerland governments decided to boost the relationship between the two countries and foster economic trade via road. They agreed to build the Laufenburg Bridge connecting Germany and Laufenburg, Switzerland. In time, the contracts were signed, and both countries were tasked with the financial responsibility of building each end of the bridge till it met in the middle.
And what could go wrong with a merger that combined the engineering prowess of Europe’s finest nations?
The first inkling of possible problems occurring was the discovery of a height difference between the supposedly ‘twin’ structures. In 2004, after construction had commenced, a routine assessment uncovered a 54cm discrepancy between the height of both structures due to the use of different sea-level reference points by engineers from both sides. Unlike Switzerland, who uses the ‘Repère Pierre du Niton’ (the rather erratic stone of Neptune), Germany makes use of the Amsterdam sea-level as its reference point. The dual reference points led to great miscalculations during the handling of this great project.
Some might say with the advancement of technology and the use of 3D BIM modelling platforms, errors such as these are a thing of the past. But events in France as recent as May 2014 proved otherwise. During the seemingly straightforward task of building a railway and providing the trains needed to course through the rails, a miscalculation occurred between the firm providing the tracks and the other building the trains.
Apparently, after the trains were built, it was discovered during the fitting process that approximately 2000 coaches were designed with not enough distance between them and the platform which led to a $58 million loss, incurred from rebuilding the coaches.
The possibility of great errors occurring during a construction project is one that cannot be ignored in the 21st century due to the huge capital and human resources sunk into the construction industry. Although technology has advanced to unprecedented levels, human errors due to overconfidence and unproven assumptions are still factors every engineer/project manager has to deal with when overseeing a construction project. This makes validating and verifying the traditional way of doing things very important to the success of a project.
The importance of validating assumptions
People tend to confuse the terms ‘assumption, constraints and dependencies’ to mean something similar. According to PMBOK 5th Edition, project assumptions are factors in planning processes that are considered to be true or as facts without any proof or prior demonstrations. And just like in the Laufenberg example, these assumptions from different parties can lead to disaster.
Validating assumptions saves time during the construction phase of a project for it serves as a key performance index on how to apply a chosen parameter or building technique in key phases of a project while verifying the results of these assumptions. A false assumption would be entered into the assumption log book while a positive result will be integrated into the overall construction process. This eliminates the need to tear down structures and restart the construction process from scratch.
Accurate assumptions save capital expenditure and human resources and are some of the major reasons why the services of a project manager are needed in the first place. This verifies traditional beliefs by using simulations on a computer-aided design (CAD) application ascertaining if the assumption is accurate, and provides documentation showcasing these accuracies to all parties involved. The use of a building information modelling service platform comes into play here as it provides the CAD application for running the simulations. It also provides the collaboration and documentation platform which ensures that all stakeholders — architect, engineer, project manager, construction worker — are updated in real-time of the assumptions that should be used in each phase of a project.
Verified assumptions provide a basis for future integration in situations where similar construction projects are undertaken. The curious case of the Laufenberg Bridge could have been avoided if previous data from other similar projects had been recorded to provide a database for project managers and engineers to explore and use as reference points when carrying out future projects.
The need to access the impact of an assumption as well as how sensitive it will be to a project is quite important to its success. It is recommended that every project manager goes through the verification circle which answers questions such as: where the effect of an assumption will be felt, its impact on the overall project, accessing the impact, and continuously reviewing the effects of applied assumptions throughout the project’s lifecycle.
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Notable
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http://notable.com.sg
