How to Have a Plan for All of Your Projects
Being Prepared is Critical
I remember the good old days at D&D when we got an order for a controls solution and we’d shoot someone out to provide the service. Our person would have to find someone to answer their questions on site and figure it out when they got there. Wow that was awesome. Wait a minute. That was terrible! Our technician was hung out to dry with no project information, the client had to explain what they wanted a second time and no one was clear on the commercial details. We had to get better and we did.
“A winning effort begins with preparation.” Joe Gibbs, coach Washington Redskins.
How to be Prepared
We borrowed an idea from a company in a similar business called Project Execution Plan or PEP. A PEP is a meeting with all of the key people to ensure that all of the information about the project is transferred to the people doing the work. You will have to figure out what is important to your company but we focus on 3 critical areas; people, contract and quality.
Know the People
In this section we inform our team about all of the people who are involved in the project in any way. Every project is ultimately about people so this is a key point. Your technicians need to know who they are working with and what their involvement is in the project. Who can help internally and which supplier partners are preferred.
Know the Contract
In this section we ensure our people understand what is included and what is not included in the contract. It is much easier to manage expectations when you understand the agreement. Over delivering can be just as problematic as under delivering. We always try to over deliver just a bit and this is only possible when you completely understand what is contractually required.
Have a Plan to Ensure Quality
In this section we talk about how to ensure quality on the project. We decide ahead of time what we are going to do to ensure a quality project. We decide how many peer reviews and client reviews we will have. We decide if we are going to do a D&D-3&3 project review on completion and we look at all other tools for quality control. Having a plan for ensuring quality is the best way to make sure it happens.
What if No One Knows Anything?
This is a scenario that we run into from time to time. Still do a PEP. Imagine going to a job site and knowing almost nothing about what you are expected to do or who you are to meet. Believe me it happens. With a PEP you know you have all the information available. You will be much more comfortable stepping into the breach than if you think there is information available and you are not up-to-date. Now you know will that your first step is to begin a fact finding mission.
Build a Process to be Prepared Every Time
Build a PEP sheet that clearly lists the key issues that you might run into on any given project. Create a process that ensures that this critical meeting happens each and every time you are called to a job site. Taking a few minutes to get prepared up front will save you hours in the long run.
