It is that time of year when most of us are knee-deep in strategic planning initiatives for the year ahead. While the design and construction economy is more difficult than most of us can remember, economic difficulties do provide an opportunity to rethink and reposition a firm’s unique strengths in an effort to gain a competitive advantage.
In this article I define strategy and some of its elements. I’m guessing the definition may create angst for some because of the quantity of varying definitions for strategy floating around in the business world. I settled on a particular definition after extensive research and an attempt to tie my findings into the design and construction environment.
A Definition of Strategy
The definition of strategy I found to make the most sense for our industry comes from Michael Porter. His conception is that strategy is about making decisions that uniquely position a firm to gain a competitive advantage. For construction professionals, strategy guides the firm toward winning profitable work and winning more work year after year. For strategic decisions to bear fruit on a continuous basis, decisions made about positioning the firm must also align such things as goals, initiatives, policies, the day-to-day actions of employees, and the objectives of the firm.
Objectives
An objective is something a firm works to attain. A statement like “Our objective is to…” or “Our objectives are to…” is simple, clean, and easy for people to understand. Your firm may have one objective or several, but probably should have no more than three or four.
Goals
A goal is a type of objective that is quantifiable and measurable. Sales goals, revenue goals, margin goals, and productivity goals fall into this category. They align with objectives and help employees determine if initiatives are having the desired result.
Initiative and Action
The rubber meets the road with initiatives and actions. Initiatives are projects, so to speak, embarked on to achieve the objectives and goals. If your firm’s employees identify with the word projects better than the word initiatives, by all means, call them projects or strategic projects. There are three important elements of an initiative:
- Initiatives align with objectives, goals, or both.
- The description of an initiative must be detailed so the team understands and agrees on what is to be accomplished – what is the desired end state of the initiative.
- Each initiative needs a project manager to lead the team tasked with accomplishing the initiative.
Actions
Actions are the detailed steps needed to accomplish an initiative. Actions are the activities, so to speak, on a project schedule. Just like activities on a schedule, actions should have a start and end date, a description, and the required resources.
Don’t get caught in the trap of attempting to accomplish objectives, goals, and initiatives on an annual cycle. Just because the overall plan is formally reviewed once a year doesn’t mean it is necessary to craft a new plan each year. Objectives and goals tend to stay the same for several or even many years. Simple initiatives may take weeks to accomplish while more complex initiatives may take years to accomplish.
In the next post I will review some ideas about simple versus complex initiatives and why they should be treated differently. I will also present some thoughts on the age-old argument about what is strategic versus what is tactical.
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Last night I was proud to stand up with my team and accept the AGC/Vermont Best Builders Award in the Green Construction Renovation category for our work on The University of Vermont George D. Aiken Center Addition and Renovation project. I truly enjoyed working with a client so dedicated to sustainability on the largest higher educational campus in the State of Vermont, and the results of the team’s combined efforts certainly show.
There are so many unique features associated with this project for the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Over 37,000 feet was renovated and a 2,300 square foot solarium was added to increase natural light and house the Eco-machine which purifies the building’s grey water for reuse. Throughout the construction process, approximately 85% (1220 tons) of construction waste was diverted from the landfill. Other green features incorporated into the design of this project include:
- Low or no VOC sealers and adhesives
- Waterless/low-flow plumbing fixtures
- A green roof which allows for the capability to test micro-watershed strategies for stormwater management
- A high performance building envelope and windows for occupant comfort
- Enhanced natural ventilation and natural lighting
- Environmental/energy monitoring systems to provide data via the web
- 66% of all wood for the project came from FSC certified vendors. The wood used for the millwork on the project was harvested from UVM’s research forest in Jericho
The most challenging aspect of construction was the building envelope. The design, which had never been constructed before, represents energy performance over 40% more efficient than ASHRAE standards. Part of the submittal process included development of a matrix where 23 products, installed or applied by six subcontractors, were verified for compatibility. Prior to construction, hundreds of hours were spent constructing a mockup of the proposed design for review and coordination. Once construction began, dimensional inconsistencies in the existing building were discovered that resulted in modification of several construction details. Our efforts paid off when Air Leakage Compliance testing performed upon completion of construction identified leakage rates 25% lower than the goal.
PC worked with 25 subcontractors on the Aiken renovation and their efforts on the project also deserve recognition. UVM and the LEED consultant for the project will be making the final submission to Green Building Certification Institute in 2012, which should result in a LEED Platinum certification. The Rubenstein School faculty and students will be moving into their newly renovated building in early January – we hope they are as excited about their new facility as we are!
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Our Director of Flight Operations, Don Ingham, has had a major goal throughout his 41 years with the company – to fly into all of the lower 48 states on company-assigned missions. On November 22, he was finally able to put a big check on his to-do list when the wheels of the PC jet touched down at Tulsa’s Riverside Airport in Oklahoma, the last of the 48 states needed to accomplish his own personal goal. Not one to bask in the glory of success, Don is already working toward his next objective – logging 25,000 hours of flight time, which he expects to reach next year.
Pilot Tom Randall congratulates Director of Flight Operations Don Ingham after landing in Oklahoma and accomplishing his career goal
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One of my initiatives this year was to work with our project team in the District of Columbia and our Human Resources group to build a District-approved Apprenticeship Program for our projects in the Washington, DC area. Apprenticeship standards were developed for the Cement Mason, Form Builder, and Operating Engineer trades and all were approved by the District’s Apprenticeship Council. This month, our first apprentice joined the PC Construction team at our current project for DC Water.
Requirements for individuals hired into our Apprenticeship Program in DC include:
- 2,000 hours of on-the-job training in the specified trade each year
- At least 144 hours of related instruction each year (such as classroom training)
- A clear pathway for completing the Apprenticeship Program
Now we are working with the State of Maryland on an expanded set of standards and will continue to gain approval in other geographic and market areas. We are excited to take the tools and lessons learned from the program to develop the skills of craftworkers so they can continue our tradition of excellence on our self-perform work.
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PC Construction began work on the Concord Hospital Surgical Center Renovation project this summer. The $8.6 million project consists of three phases. The first phase includes additions with two new inpatient operating rooms, two new outpatient operating rooms, and a loading dock. The second phase involves the renovation of their entire post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and Pre/Post Operation area including two additional operating rooms. The third and final phase is a small renovation for staff support and a waiting area. The total project duration is 18 months.
The most challenging aspect of this project involves replacing the existing loading dock with a new three-story dock in the exact same location without compromising its 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week operation. Some of this was handled with the construction of a temporary dock and daily coordination with construction equipment and hospital supplies coming and going. In addition, the expansion is constructed adjacent to their existing operating rooms so much of the work has to occur during second shift hours to minimize disruption to procedures.
This is a very exciting and challenging project. Close coordination and constant communication with the great staff at Concord Hospital helped get the project off to a successful start.
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A couple of months ago, I received a call from two old friends who do volunteer work with the Make-A Wish Foundation of Vermont. They asked for my assistance to install a large therapeutic whirlpool tub in a house in Burlington, Vermont, so that a developmentally-disabled little girl could bathe while receiving greater therapeutic benefit. With the enthusiastic support of PC Construction and our company president, this project got underway last week. Required work includes a complete rebuild of the bathroom, including wall and tile flooring work, new structural beams and column supports, and plumbing and electrical work.
PC has been fortunate to be joined by the team of Avonda Air Systems, Bates & Murray, Dubois & King, and Vermont Gas, who are all donating labor and material for this project. Bob Avonda, Albie Bourne, and Tim Dall, in particular, deserve a huge “thank you” for stepping up and taking on this project despite their current workload. Neil Durda, Office Engineer with PC Construction’s Special Projects team has been invaluable in helping get this project off the ground. In addition, TFM Construction is providing carpentry work at reduced labor rates.
It was great to see all of us pull together to get this project done for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and, most importantly, for the family whose lives will be greatly enhanced by the outcome.
Installing drywall during the renovation of a bathroom involving the installation of a large therapeutic whirlpool tub
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In September 2010, PC Construction was the low bidder on the Brattleboro Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade project located along the Connecticut River in Brattleboro, Vermont. The team received the Notice to Proceed on this $22 million project in December 2010 and construction began in April 2011. The main components of the project include a new headworks building, primary clarifiers, pump gallery, thermophilic digester tank, sanitary pump station, and plant water pump station. The project also includes modification work to the existing secondary clarifiers, dewatering building, digester complex, control building, chlorine building and contact channels, and selector building with a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) system.
We have faced many challenges on this project, from coordinating work on a very tight site to managing the high water table for excavation and yard piping activities. The most trying moment came when Tropical Storm Irene hit southern Vermont this August. The jobsite was protected along the river side of the site by an abandoned railroad bed but with all of the flash flooding that occurred in the river valleys, it was a miracle the entire site was not flooded. The team did a tremendous job preparing the site before a mandatory evacuation of the area. In the end, the water reached high levels along the railroad bed and almost flooded the site but due to the number of dams on the river, the water levels were controlled and the site saved.
The team is pushing forward with construction, has established a great safety record, and is scheduled for completion in September 2012.
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PC Construction hosted the Green Mountain Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers at our corporate headquarters in South Burlington last week. Fifteen safety professional spanning various industries throughout Vermont gathered for their quarterly business meeting.
The educational session, entitled “Safety and sustainability go hand-in-hand at The University of Vermont’s Aiken Project” was presented by Project Manager Laura Clements, P.E., LEED A.P., and Risk Manager Bryan Companion. The session included a comprehensive review of the safety challenges this project presented and their solutions as well as the health and wellness benefits gained by the construction team working on a LEED project.
A few of the slides presented to the Green Mountain Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers:
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Sixteen MBA students from Switzerland’s University of Freiburg recently visited PC Construction for an afternoon of learning about our company and general business practices. The Freiburg MBA program has a student exchange agreement with The University of Vermont. This agreement allows The University of Vermont MBA students to visit Switzerland to learn about Swiss business models and students from the Freiburg program to do the same in the United States.
I happen to serve on the Board of the Vermont Employee Ownership Center along with the chair of The University of Vermont’s MBA program. As he talked about the exchange agreement, we thought it would be great to have the Switzerland students learn about PC.
During the two-hour meeting, these students, many of whom are working professionals in engineering and construction, learned about ESOPs, the PC culture, and the dynamics of construction in the United States. It was a unique opportunity to share our culture and to learn about the construction environment in Switzerland.
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At the Design Build Institute of America National Conference in Orlando, Florida, PC Construction employee owners Mike Angeli and Mike Franzoni accepted a prestigious 2011 Design-Build Excellence Award for the $109 million H.L. Mooney WRF Expansion and Upgrade Stage 2, Phase 1 project in Virginia.
To be considered for a National Design-Build Award, projects must demonstrate successful application of design-build best practices as defined by the DBIA Design-Build Manual of Practice. These include early integration of key team members during the proposal process via a proposal charrette or other collaborative outreach efforts and close coordination between design and construction team members from the design development stage through field construction.
The conference opening keynote speaker was the legendary NASA Apollo 13 Commander, Captain James Lovell. Captain Lovell regaled in stories of the ill-fated mission and spoke on how teamwork, collaboration, and ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking all combined to turn an impossible situation into success. Applying these same techniques and skills are crucial to the success of design-build projects.
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It is that time of year when most of us are knee-deep in strategic planning initiatives for the year ahead. While the design and construction economy is more difficult than most of us can remember, economic difficulties do provide an opportunity to rethink and reposition a firm’s unique strengths in an effort to gain a competitive advantage.