Project 13 reveals the seven elements that drive integration

Analysis of seven major programmes by Project 13 has revealed a golden thread of seven key features that drive integration which it says is at the heart of improved decision making and better outcomes. This analysis features in the new Project 13 Integration paper discussing integrating processes and information within project teams.

Click here to read the full Project 13 Integration Report

The Project 13 Integration Board analysed how schemes, from construction of Stratford East Village to development of Highways England’s Business Information Framework successfully used integration to deliver better results.

This revealed the elements that were common and that allowed the projects to successfully integrate their processes and information.  These the board have categorised as enabling features or core technical features.

Under enabling features, all of the programmes had:

• Capable owners that had clear business objectives that set out to adopt integrated approaches to delivery
• Governance and metrics were used to monitor the delivery of the programmes and satisfy owners that the business objectives were being achieved.
• Organisation and culture was established at the outset to support integrated working.

Under governance and metrics for example, GSK’s Factory in a Box used full scale trials of the erection of a factory to demonstrate that the approach would work in a developing country using local labour.

The core technical features are:

• Product development  - the case studies suggesting that the first step in implementing integrated processes is to define a project as a set of products.
• Process development  - successful integration meant teams developed their production processes in parallel with the detailed engineering of the projects. The emerging production process were usually led by the owner and its contractors which influenced the engineering, details of components and arrangement for transporting them and fixing them in place.
• Supply and logistics – where the case studies demonstrated that not only streamlined delivery of materials was critical but also the workforce.
• Information architecture – a common thread was the ability to access shared information that could be instantly consolidated to create real time data on progress.

Under core technical features the Project 13 Development Board highlights as an example construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth. The warship was conceived as nine functional modules built in six different shipyards and then towed to Rosyth Dockyard for assembly.

Quote

 

“The UK Government has proposed 14 policies to  ‘drive better, faster, greener delivery’ of new infrastructure projects in its Construction Playbook. But to achieve its intended result the policies will have to be accompanied by practical measures to integrate project teams....   It is only when we integrate processes and information that we make better decisions, reduce waste and achieve better outcomes."

Simon Murray, Co-author of the original Project 13 Report; From Transactions to Enterprises.

 

Programmes studied were:

Empire State Building –opened in 1931 and still groundbreaking
Stratford East Village – two 23 storey residential towers build using production techniques developed by Mace
Factory in a Box – GSK’s development of pharmaceutical manufacturing plants using standard components
HMS Queen Elizabeth – production techniques to improve productivity in construction of a very large warship
Highways England Business Information Framework – development of standards and processing for integrating information across all its major programmes
Strategic Pipelines Alliance – Anglian Water’s strategy for delivering £650M investment in improving resilience of water supply
Construction to production – developed by Drees & Sommer of processes and systems for productionising design and construction.

Click here to read the full Project 13 Integration Report