BLOG: The business process as a powerful foundation

The complexity of processes is increasing in more and more market sectors. A great deal of care, attention and expertise is not only required to properly map out these business processes, but also to ensure that they demonstrably comply with laws and regulations while at the same time guaranteeing the intended costs, time, quality and safety in order to avoid disappointment afterwards. It is logical to invest in this, because a smoothly running business process is the essential right of every organization to exist.

Yet something strikes me. Too little time is spent getting to the bottom of those business processes. Especially with new construction or expansion of a research or production facility. There, many clients work in a traditional way . So that the architect, architectural consultant and installation consultant work out basic elements and hardly any integral approach is taken. There's a lot to be gained in that regard!

From the inside out

In my view, the business process is always at the center of facility development. Therein lies the complexity and greatest joint challenge. Only when you know, understand, comprehend and can translate these processes into a process flow, then a well thought-out foundation is created. In other words, building development 'from the inside out'. Which brings me back to that much-needed care, attention and expertise. With that in mind, it is indispensable to involve professionals with specialized process knowledge and expertise.. A valuable discussion partner from a multidisciplinary organization.

An example of why this is so important: Such a well thought-out foundation is built up from a series of elementary steps, starting with a good project definition (step 1) all the way through to the ultimate use and operation. The project definition is a substantive framework in which starting points, preconditions and ambitions are clearly described, with the business process as the main thread. That framework provides an essential basis for defining the feasibility of the project. A process flow diagram is then drawn up (step 2). After carefully going through the first stages, then you have sufficient input for step 3: making a concept layout, an installation concept and/or - depending on the project - a structure design.?Not to mention, a budget indication on key figures also follows. And for these reasons, it is important to involve specialists from a multidisciplinary organization. After all, they know better than anyone else that a project is only put down well when phases 1, 2 and 3 have been completed accurately. That the project definition, for example, is not a logical consequence of the feasibility phase, but an indispensable touchstone. And how important all these steps are on the road from qualification and design to realization and use (maintenance and operation).

Good foundation

Going back to that traditional approach, which I sometimes openly wonder about. The reason I often hear. Speed is required!?I certainly understand that, but you don't achieve that without a good understanding of the critical business processes. Those who go through those much-needed initial phases too easily, without integral knowledge and expertise, regularly slow themselves down or even get set back further along in the process. What is not well founded on the front end, you always have to adjust during the process. Resulting in disappointment, higher costs and delays.

Don't get me wrong: thankfully, there are also plenty of great examples where clients do see and embrace the value of good project definitions, feasibility studies and process flows. For me personally, these include the new facilities of Fujifilm in Tilburg, AlfaRim in Delft and HALIX in Leiden, but there are many more. Clients who want to surround themselves with knowledge partners from day one and feel that a time investment at the front end, pays off over the entire duration of a project.?Such cases inspire hope. I truly believe that as an industry we are increasingly consciously opting for an integrated approach, if it is for a building or space - developed and realized from the inside out - where the basis is formed by the business process. Or rather, a powerful foundation. But for now, the focus in the Netherlands is still too much on the traditional approach. The question is how long will this last?

Emilio de Vet

Director Business Development & Project Director at Kuijpers PHF Services