Construction is a process in which an organization takes on a project, assigns
a team to build it, and provides systems (tools, equipment, processes, and
procedures) with which the team can complete the work. This boils down into
three basic elements that require execution and control. These can be
represented by three Ps: the building (product/project); the tools, technology,
management systems, etc. (process); and the project team (people).
To successfully complete the project, the product has to meet the expected
level of quality and contract terms. The systems have to be integrated and
aligned so as to enable the people to perform their work efficiently,
effectively, and safely.
Unfortunately, many construction companies engage in repeated ineffective
practices that lead to suboptimal results, such as low productivity, poor
quality, and worker injuries, among others. What is even more unfortunate is
that they repeat these practices time and time again with predictable outcomes.
Understanding the causes and effect of ineffective construction management
practices may provide an avenue to reducing some of the problems faced by the
people involved in project delivery. Those selecting these practices generally
have good intentions, rarely get the results they expect, and have no idea why
their initiatives fail to achieve their intended outcomes. Recognizing these
ineffective practices will assist in avoiding them and so improving the chances
of success.
Risk assessments and risk control are the two main elements of managing the
project delivery risk. Risk assessment involves identification, analysis, and
prioritization, while risk control involves planning, resolution, and
monitoring. Assignment of probability takes the management process one step
further and is used to evaluate the likelihood of the occurrence of a hazard or
exposure. Combining estimates of loss magnitude with failure is the usual way
of evaluating risk situations.
Anything that causes uncertainty or variability on the project leads to
confusion and invariably increases the inherent risk. As risk goes up, so does
the possibility of incidents, injuries, and losses. Therefore the
"better" the management processes, practices, and procedures, the
safer the project, as workers are not put into positions where they have to
make changes to their routine, work faster or longer, or react to changes, etc.
So, if operations do a "better job" in setting up the project as well
as doing "better" planning and risk assessment, workers will be faced
with fewer exposures and risks. These will invariably have a greater impact on
safety than the traditional safety practices and interventions do.
Systems (Practices and Procedures)
Following are common industry practices and procedures that can, and often
do, contribute to adverse project safety.
Overly Optimistic Assumptions
This generally results from wishful thinking or lack of careful analysis.
This could apply to the operational plan as well as the schedule. The schedule
is based on assumptions of subcontractor performance, workforce productivity,
and staff management or leadership capabilities. During construction, achieving
the schedule depends a lot on the subcontractors delivering on their promises.
Up-front unrealistic assumptions will in fact create situations where the work
plan will have to quickly be changed to recover from unanticipated situations
and thereby increase the potential for adverse outcomes.
Another key aspect is taking on projects that have very aggressive schedules
without providing the appropriate plans, resources, and systems to adequately
address the challenges. This places pressures on the project staff as well as
the workforce to perform work that may be beyond their capability, driving them
to take shortcuts, not giving them enough time to assess risk, stacking trades,
extending overtime, etc. All of these situations must get a thorough risk
assessment, and the work must be planned with ways to mitigate the risk, or
incidents and losses will invariably follow.
Ineffective Risk Assessment
Some of the risks are typical, while others are specific and unique to a
job. The outcomes of all incidents associated with increased risks are not
"fatal" to the project, but they do have some adverse affect. Some
inevitably lead to more issues or cause the project to evolve so that more
problems are inescapable. Assessment of risk during construction tends to get
less attention due to time constraints and performance demands, resulting in
the possibility of greater risk being imposed on the project delivery process.
That is why it is wiser to spend time up front to anticipate some of the
potential disruptions and have possible recovery plans available so as to make
the job of project staff easier, more efficient, and specifically more
effective.
Inferior Planning
Planning is more than creating a schedule. It involves logistics–proactively
addressing the impact of potential changes, drawing up recovery plans on how to
best deal with them, understanding constraints, and implementing workarounds up
front. Abandoning proper planning steps under pressure and going into
"firefighting mode" will result in greater risks being introduced
into the process.
Poor Partner Selection
Contractors are only as "good" as their subcontractors are.
Therefore, subcontractor selection is critical to project success and the
decreased amount of risk with which staff has to contend. Another important
item is the capability of the subcontractor's project staff. It behooves
the contractor to ensure that the subcontractor assigns competent people, and
the general contractor should assess their capabilities early on and ask for
incompetent or incompatible subcontractor personnel to be replaced before they
create problems on the job.
Poor Preconstruction Practices
Construction is about creating (building) something, and since the front end
does not physically create anything, there is a tendency to try to minimize the
time spent here. Time spent before construction starts pays dividends many
times over later during construction. This area not only covers the creation of
the initial project schedule and operational plans, subcontractor selection,
and project risk assessment but also establishing the budget, staff selection,
and metrics that identify issues early on, as well as company active oversight
to ensure that everything is progressing as it should and rapid and effective
problem identification as well. Resolution is crucial to the reduction of
cumulative risk as well as giving project staff the time they need to manage
and innovate rather than overloading them with problems.
Misaligned Systems
Over time, all organizations institute change to their internal systems and
revise their policies, standards, and procedures. In many cases, these changes
are not carefully reviewed for any potential conflict with already existing
ones. These discrepancies create situations where staff and workers have to
choose between conflicting directions or objectives. This sets the stage for
unexpected or undesirable outcomes.
Due to the need for specialization, organizations are vertically organized.
Over time, each department or division ends up with its own special practices
and goals that serve the department well but may not be fully aligned with the
overall organizational needs, thereby creating operational or goal attainment
discrepancies. This is a system-driven risk that is difficult to identify,
assess, and resolve in the field, especially where safe work is involved.
Little Cross-Functional Communication
Most organizations need specialized functions to operate efficiently and
effectively. These functions end up with their own unique processes and
practices. They may have their own goals. These then may create barriers to
cross-functional communication and flow of information, which ultimately is to
the detriment of the organization. Inferior cross-functional communication will
also impact expedited decision-making and problem solving, which is critical to
the project management process and safe working practices.
Insufficient Company Oversight
In instances where there are different profit centers, business units, or
project profitability goals, and they have their own management structures,
there is a need for main office or senior management oversight to ensure that
those units' practices are in full alignment with the overarching
organizational goals and objectives. If these units are in
"competition" with each other for performance results, there may be a
tendency to take risks and potentially increase the likelihood of losses and
accidents.
Metrics
It is a well-known fact that metrics drive organizational behavior. Senior
management must be sure that all metrics drive the "right" behavior.
This is especially true of any newly implemented or revised metrics. If these
are not carefully analyzed for potential misinterpretation, conflict with other
metrics, or confusion, it will have surprising unintended outcomes. And, as
mentioned, senior management should be on the lookout to ensure that
competition does not drive groups or individuals to take unnecessary and
unevaluated risk for gains that have marginal potential benefits.
Conflict Resolution
When people work together, there always is the opportunity for differing
opinions and conclusions. These may get resolved at the individual level, or
they may create problems that need to be addressed by management. This points
to the need for organizations to have a structured process of how to address
conflict, quickly and effectively address the underlying issue, and resolve it
expeditiously.
People (Workers)
Following are common industry worker issues that often directly relate to
project safety.
Motivation
Research has shown that motivation has greater impact on productivity,
quality, and safety than just about anything else does. So, the question is how
to motivate staff and workers to work safely. The typical interventions used in
industry are training, inspections, incentives, and punishment. It has been
proven that none of these is highly effective in garnering optimal safety
performance.
Training is not motivational and only addresses knowledge deficiencies.
Neither are inspections, and research has shown that incentives and punishment
really don't work well. Behavioral interventions have their limitations and
eventually plateau.
Capability
One of the fundamental elements of performance is the capability of the
person assigned to do a task. Therefore, proper selection and placement are
important. If the person has deficiencies, management should provide the
support or resources required to ensure success. If people have deficiencies,
they may choose to do things that are not appropriate or expected in order to
succeed or stay employed. Therefore, proper placement and initial oversight and
support are critical to the development and ultimate success of the person.
Heroism
Many companies place a high value on production and reward those who
overcome barriers and achieve goals. This drives most employees to try to
achieve outstanding results. This may encourage workers to "game the
system," indiscriminately take risk, and engage in unsafe work practices.
If the organization is not careful, it will create a culture that undermines
safe work practices.
Unrealistic Expectations
A major source of disagreement comes from perceptions and expectations.
Managing expectations and understanding the causes of perception could go a
long way to resolve misunderstandings, which if left to fester, can lead to
stress, conflict, and undesirable behavior. Sometimes end dates are set because
that is when something may be required, and then a schedule is drawn up to meet
it without a critical analysis of the constraints, capabilities, and resources.
Sometimes people are given assignments for which they are not quite ready and,
if not given support, fail in some respects.
Conclusion
There are foundational elements that play a critical role in organizational
behavior, be it in performance, productivity, quality, customer service,
safety, or other areas. These are culture, values, leadership, climate, etc.
Management devises systems that enable performance as well as practices that
sustain them. Senior management establishes and articulates the vision, middle
management devises the strategy, line management executes the plan, and the
workers perform the tasks.
Organizational systems have a great deal of influence on the project staff
as well as the workforce. The organizational systems influence and shape their
behavior. How management acts and is perceived by project staff and the
workforce also shapes their behavior. There is little in the literature that
deals with the impact of organizational systems and management practices as
they directly or indirectly influence safety outcomes.
There are many potential sources of error or discrepancy in the project
delivery process. We covered process and people in some detail, but this is
certainly not a complete list. Technology, equipment, agendas, etc., can also
contribute to the risk of incidents and injuries occurring on the job.
Organizational systems that have differing objectives or management's acts
or prognostications that send messages that are in conflict with written goals
and objectives or the way things are communicated create an environment where
staff and workers have to make choices between one or another policy that
invariably create uncertainly or variability and thereby increase the risk of
an adverse safety outcome.