Page 3 - SISK NEWS JULY 2016

PAUL HACKETT, REGIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR – PLANNING FOR EXCELLENCE

“Planning is a fundamental skillset The three presentations are:
required for the on-time and on-
budget delivery of any project. • Introduction to the Initiative
The complexity of our work is For all site staff
constantly increasing, and it is key
that a programme is used to not • Short Term Programming Workshop
only drive the project, but also For the majority of site staff
protect entitlement.
Recently, a team from the ‘Building for Success’ • Delivery Programmes, Buffer Management
staff development programme, produced a report and Collaborative Planning
which made good practice recommendations for For senior site teams
our planning processes. We have developed these
ideas into ‘The Planning for Excellence’ series of These training sessions will be delivered by the end
presentations to be rolled out across the business. of 2016, there will then be a system of rolling audits
These presentations will reinforce planning principles moving forward into 2017.
using model examples, bringing planning to the
foremost of everyone’s mind.”

MARK MCGREEVY, GROUP COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR – REPORTING EXCELLENCE

Construction planning has a direct of costs, as well as for the evaluation, approval, and
and immediate effect on a project’s processing of company commitments and invoices.
costs; ‘time is money’. It’s thus Key to this is our ability to accurately and frequently
vital for a project’s costs to be forecast all of the costs, from a to-date position up
constantly reviewed, monitored to the end of the life of the project. This End Life
and communicated quickly and Forecasting (ELF) process allows us to identify
effectively. For the past two years problems and be smarter at mitigating cost increases
Mark and his team have been and negotiating the settlement of extras with the client
developing one common reporting system to unify and supply chain from a position of strength.
the whole business. This system and software will not Given the importance of this ELF process, during 2016
only save time and duplication, but will reconcile key and into 2017 we are investing heavily in our IT systems.
commercial performance data into a single report that We will be rolling out a training programme to ensure
is updated monthly by the project team. Key changes our delivery teams understand the process and can
include a shift to the standardisation of cost coding, consistently operate it. As a result we will benefit from
facilitating a common and more efficient approach an enhanced level of confidence in our forecasting, a
to the comparison of cost and value performance better equipped team to scrutinise costs, improved
against our tender, our to-date position and our decision making, and thus consistent delivery of
forecast outturn. This unified approach, will support margins against plan.
the identification of lead performance indicators and This commercial training will start in October 2016
thus allow the team to focus on improving what we do and will affect everyone. Like the Planning for
going forward on a project. Excellence training mentioned previously, there will be
“Due to the variable nature and risk inherent in the general introductory awareness training for all staff,
work we do, starting with a cost plan and continuously with more specific training for commercial and project
managing costs throughout the life of a project is staff. Thirdly, senior management staff will be trained
crucial. It requires effective foresight, expertise, in the overview and challenge to the reports and trends.
organisational communication, accurate reporting, In taking part, we will all benefit from increased
and a reliable accounting system. Most importantly, it confidence in forecasting, being faster at mitigating
requires effective teamwork. It is important to develop cost increases, and generally enhance our level of
procedures for detailed recording and forecasting commercial awareness.”

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