As contractors get more involved in advanced preconstruction services on projects, this ability to identify changes early in the design-development process becomes a competitive advantage.
The first step in early identification is to broaden the definition of a change.
Accept that a change is any material deviation from your planned execution of the project.
This starts with a broader overview of the project, ultimately breaking it down into “Good Tasks” that can be started and then completed without interruption.
Considering there are two basic outcomes of a task: “On-Schedule” and “On-Budget,” you want to identify any material deviations. Systems like the Last Planner (LPS) help project teams stay on track and better able to manage changes effectively.
- Not all changes are good and not all are bad.
- You will get compensated for some, while others you won’t.
- You can learn from all changes, including how to identify them earlier and possibly mitigate them all together.
