Excelling as a Project Manager in Building Design

Luay Zayed , Environmental Project Manager and Founder of Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd shares some insights on project management fundamentals in #designbuild projects.

Master Planning

The ability to master plan improves with each new project, learning from your mistakes and from experienced professionals as you go. It's all about visualising what's needed tomorrow, next week, next year - what are the dynamics that might affect your project being delivered and the facility end use.

Starting out, I acted like a sponge - asking around - who knows about sustainability, waste management, consents, waste codes, green building design, etc. - all aspects associated with my projects. I sat with them for as long as it took to learn what they knew.

I visited many legacy facilities, speaking with people on the ground who operate machinery day in day out, asking them what worked and what didn't work. Each conversation moved me forward.

Communication

In any project, it's important to understand who your stakeholders are - the end users, the managers signing off your project(s), the finance team, local authorities, neighbours...the list goes on.

From the concept phase, introduce yourself to them, understand their needs and wants. Be realistic with yourself and them - you will have to meet in the middle on some aspects and compromise on others.?

• Always keep them in the loop,
• Organise your email via labels,
• Reply in a timely, courteous and professional manner.
• Touch base with them regularly.
• Document their approval of important documents i.e. layouts at their various design stages
• Etc., etc.

Maintain open communication throughout the project lifecycle - enabling a smooth handover to the end-user.?

Technical Expertise

Any work within the building design or facility engineering space is always multi-disciplinary - so you have to learn to wear multiple hats. The best way to develop such a skill set is to immerse yourself with experienced professionals both in a design office and site-based environment - learn what they know, understand how your work impacts on theirs and vice versa. Daily chit-chats with coworkers, colleagues, acquaintances are a great way to overcome shared challenges in bitesize chunks. Also, review your work with seniors regularly, you might be on the wrong track and could save yourself a lot of time by bouncing a few ideas off your senior manager or director.

Be ready to accept change and criticism. Don't be afraid to make mistakes!

Leadership Dynamics

Lead by example and take responsibility for your work. In a project environment, you are spinning many plates simultaneously. Maintain integrity and never compromise on key deliverables such as quality, health & safety etc. Learn from other leaders in your team and as a wise engineer once told me, "Focus on your weakness, and turn it into your strength."

Leading people isn't about being 'the boss'. It's about developing the potential of the people around you. Helping them out with the resources available to you. A great team needs everybody to paddle at the same pace just like Olympic rowing.?

Stay away from useless gossip and throwing people under the bus. Focus on the task at hand and 'own' your projects from start to finish!?

Budget Management

It all starts with developing a list of realistic costs for whatever the project is - this can be based on past or similar projects - from your own experience or via colleagues.?

Contingency is important, give yourself some breathing space in case unexpected costs arise.?

Value engineering is another important skill to develop - in many cases a concept can be 'redrawn' to minimise costs here and there, which in the bigger picture can reduce costs significantly.

Scaling your purchases is important, a client may have some particular equipment demands - there may be the opportunity to start with a smaller quantity and upgrade when the need materialises (if it does) - this can help limit spending to what's absolutely needed.

One of my mentors once told me "A good engineer knows how much he can get away with". There's a fine balance between compromising on cost and quality. That's where another nugget of wisdom comes in, "If you buy cheap, you buy twice." Project engineers should always seek to deliver to the highest quality possible whilst at the same time being cost effective. Don't forget to barter with your suppliers, negotiating to get the best price is well worth the battle!

Continuous Improvement

We are only human. There is always something that can be improved on whatever the facility being delivered. What's important is to take lessons learnt and transfer them to the next projects.

For me the most valuable moment in the project lifecycle is the 'use phase' where real people are actually using the building - they will soon find any shortcomings or workarounds to what you've put in place.

Learn from that. Seek to improve it and that's how subsequent facilities get better and better.

We hope you found this article useful!

If you are looking for professional turnkey project management relating to any aspect of your next industrial mega-facility design & build project...

Contact — Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd (biyatenergyenvironment.com)

This article was written by Luay Zayed, Founder' of Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd. A global energy and environmental consultancy specializing in turnkey engineering solutions that protect the environment and improve energy efficiency in the manufacturing & industrial sectors.