The Power of Focus: How Process Owners Can Speed Up Infrastructure Delivery
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Identify areas of criticality in the build – whatever is causing delays. The specific issue will vary depending on the nature of the project
Appoint a single process owner – they must be team-oriented and have strong problem-solving skills
Enable knowledge sharing – ensure that the process owner collaborates with other teams to mitigate the risk of a single point of failure
“A key lesson I have learned from my project experience is the importance of focus. Infrastructure projects are riddled with uncertainties and unexpected events, which can cause significant delays. Often departments are forced to jump from one issue to another, constantly putting out fires. By assigning dedicated individuals to focus solely on resolving specific inefficiencies, rather than typical day-to-day tasks, the project can be completed with greater efficiency and at lower cost.”
To achieve operational excellence, the first step is to focus your efforts and prioritise what really matters.
Process owners operating outside of business as usual (BAU) activities can strategically focus on infrastructure delivery, whilst other employees navigate the demands of day-to-day operations.
Delivering an infrastructure build can be complex and time-consuming. The challenges of coordinating stakeholders, managing timelines, and meeting budgets must all be addressed whilst responding to unexpected events along the way. As a result, departments may struggle to holistically evaluate processes or drive change.
Appointing a single process owner can improve efficiencies and prevent bottlenecks. A process owner should focus on specific problems, unencumbered by the demands of BAU activities. This enables a more strategic, end-to-end perspective with a goal of optimising BAU activities across multiple functions to avoid delays and safeguard budgets.
Time on a task, over time, wins – so simplify the task.
To harness the power of process owners, infrastructure leaders can follow 3-steps:
Identify critical areas of the build causing delays
Select collaborative problem solvers to own and improve processes
Enable knowledge sharing to prevent a single point of failure
1. Identifying Critical Processes Through Bottlenecks
In infrastructure delivery, critical process inefficiencies can lead to significant delays and loss of revenue.
Identifying the root cause is a crucial first step in strategic decision-making. Many delays are avoidable and often caused by limited coordination between different functions.
The example below demonstrates how a process owner can tackle the root cause and ensure that cross-functional dependencies do not cause delays.
The Issue: Backfill and reinstatement teams are consistently failing to complete scheduled civils tasks. This causes delays which become compounded by the need to renew street works permits.
The Root Cause: The supply of key materials does not meet the demand for scheduled activities. Permits regularly expire before works are complete. There is a disconnect between planning, procurement, and site teams.
The Process Owner: A critical process has been identified. An individual should coordinate all activities forming this process. Material delivery and permitting should align with scheduled works, enabling site teams to work efficiently in line with the programme. The process owner reviews, improves, and implements change to bridge the gap between several functions.
In order to identify and improve critical processes, the process owner must recognise interdependent tasks and linkages. A process owner can overcome siloed working. Cross-functional collaboration drives efficiencies in construction projects.
2. Appointing the Right Process Owners
A process owner is a coordinator who analyses and enhances critical activities across functions. Two key attributes to look for are team-orientation and problem-solving skills:
Team-orientation: Process owners should focus on the end goal of accelerating delivery, not creating further silos with new processes. Driving cross-functional collaboration can prevent the tendency towards tunnel vision within individual departments, enabling risk and opportunity realisation.
Problem-solving: Process owners should unpick nuances and identify changes with tangible benefits, requiring autonomy and stakeholder buy-in. Adopting an end-to-end, independent perspective is crucial. Encouraging focused solutions to specific problems can foster innovative approaches that may not have been considered otherwise.
3. Mitigating the Risk of a One-Person Show
Process owners' unique knowledge and insights should be codified to prevent a single point of failure. Transparency and knowledge sharing are key.
A Work Operating System can achieve this by establishing a digital core for operations and facilitating team collaboration on data projects. No-code platforms like Monday.com, Asana, Wrike, and Click-Up are easy-to-implement examples. Maintaining a Work Operating System helps to realise the benefits of an effective critical process and the work of its owner:
Storing data - Ensure that process owners manage projects and record data in a centralised system. Whenever a process or activity is introduced, a process owner should create and update user guides to support implementation.
Simplifying data - Avoid the complexity trap. Successors often inherit data that cannot be easily understood. Process owners should simplify inputs and present clear insights through data visualisations and regular reporting.
“It is trying to carry too many baskets that breaks most eggs”
This quote from a titan of industry emphasises the importance of individuals who can lead targeted and comprehensive change at a distance from day-to-day business activities.
A successful owner of a critical process will carry less and change more, driving operational excellence in project delivery.
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Words by James Chisnall
References
*Quote from an address to Students of the Curry Commercial College, Pittsburgh, June 23, 1885), Start Page 3, Quote page 17, Doubleday, Page & Company, New York. (HathiTrust) link
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