Project Management
The Hidden Costs of Project Delays: Why Recovery Plans Matter!
Every project manager has been there – watching helplessly as schedules slip, budgets balloon, and stakeholders grow increasingly anxious. Project delays aren’t just inconvenient scheduling hiccups; they’re business-critical events that can make or break organizations. Whether you’re a contractor struggling to maintain cash flow or an owner watching potential revenue evaporate, the ripple effects of…
Read MoreRevisiting Planning Bases and Assumptions: A Crucial Step in Project Recovery Planning
In the world of project management, unforeseen challenges and setbacks are almost inevitable. Despite detailed planning and rigorous execution mechanisms, no project is immune to disruptions, delays, or cost overruns. A critical part of addressing such challenges is crafting a well-structured recovery plan to bring the project back on track. However, a key aspect that…
Read MoreAddressing Root Causes of Delay: The Essential Foundation for Recovery Plans in EPC Projects
In the complex world of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects, delays are almost inevitable due to the intricate interplay of technical, logistical, procedural, and contractual factors. Therefore, the knowledge and skill in addressing the root causes of delay are the essential foundation for recovery plan development and project delivery.
However, when a project experiences a setback, the natural inclination of the parties involved is to quickly propose a recovery plan, targeting immediate progress. While this approach may seem practical on the surface, it often overlooks the cornerstone of success in recovery planning: addressing the root causes of delay.
Read MoreThe 24-Hour Mastery: How Exceptional Leaders Use Time Differently
Time is the most important, most precious, and most easily wasted resource in the world. Everything a human being becomes — every achievement, every failure, every transformation — is rooted in how they use or misuse the same 24 hours granted equally to all.
This essay presents a framework for effective self-management and management of time.
The Secret Career Assassin
Fred is brilliant. As a project manager, his technical expertise is top notch. He has all the right technical credentials and professional certifications. He delivers results, knows the numbers, understands the systems, and rarely misses a deadline. On paper, he looks like the perfect employee any organization would want to keep. Yet, Fred’s career has…
Read MoreDIVORCE RATE AMONG PROJECT MANAGERS PART 2: RED FLAGS
In the first part of this series, I said I would elaborate on some aspects of the statistics to provide context. Today, I want to highlight some red flags that may point to a much higher divorce rate among project managers and professionals.
Although these divorce rates are pretty high and represent the general population, I have reasons to belief that they could be much higher for project managers and project professionals.
DIVORCE RATE AMONG PROJECT MANAGERS: SURPRISES
The first surprise was that there was no research or reliable statistics on the state of health of the marriages of project managers. Isn’t it interesting that project managers produce up to date and sophisticated status reports for their projects, complete with photos, tables, and charts, but have produced none concerning their marriages – the most significant of their relationships?
Read MoreINTRODUCTION TO EPC CONTRACTS Part 6
I will conclude this series of essays on Introduction to Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contacts by discussing Cost-reimbursable contracts.
Read MoreINTRODUCTION TO EPC CONTRACTS Part 5
In the Part 4 we examined types of contracts that are applicable when the scope of work is clearly defined, and risks reduced. I continue our discourse of Introduction to EPC Contracts by discussing contracts that are applicable when the project or scope of work is not clearly defined. We begin with Time and Materials (T&M) Contracts.
Read MoreINTRODUCTION TO EPC CONTRACTS Part 4
In Part 3 of this series, I stated that although there are many sources of project risks, the greatest of them, and one that has the greatest influence on contract type is project definition – how clearly the scope of work is defined. Thus, scope of work definition is a key element in the selection of appropriate contract type. Today I begin to discuss different contract types and when they are applicable.
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