Melissa Zanocco

Juned Ahmed, business analysis and improvement graduate, Openreach, summarises the main points from the DTTG Peer Review Programme Covid-19 re-visited session. The Infrastructure Client Group’s Digital Transformation Task Group (DTTG) is made up of Chief Data Officers and their equivalents from the most progressive economic infrastructure clients and evolved from the Project 13 Digital Transformation Pillar. DTTG members met virtually in April 2020 for a special session to share initial learnings from the Covid-19 crisis along with common lessons, challenges and successes and the place digital transformation had in managing the pandemic in their organisations. You can read the initial reflections here. One year on, the DTTG members met in May 2021 to reflect on the lessons from the pandemic. Members gave their thoughts regarding the ‘digital’ changes that were taken in response to COVID-19 and the lessons learned. They then looked forward and reflected on the extent to which those lessons will be incorporated / embedded into their ongoing strategy and culture. A high-level summary from the discussion can be found here but highlights included: Digital is now accepted by all parts of the organisation as inevitable. Doubters and laggards have been forced to switch their mindsets, suspend their disbelief, and change the corporate mindset of ‘this won’t work for us because people won’t do it’. The gulf between the extent that people have personal readiness for digital and their level of expectation, which was significantly higher than the business was ready to make before, is now closing. ‘Resilient as a business, fragile as humans’: The importance of mental health and seeing the requirements of people, not just business needs, is now obvious. Methods and expectations in the delivery of training particularly for field-based operatives has had to change and adapt. The ideal state would be to create tools that need minimum or no training as they are intuitive and user friendly. Learning to trust employees to do their work even when they are not being physically overseen and to believe that people can adapt and be effective away from the office took time but is now reaping benefits. ‘Work is something you do, not somewhere you go’. There is an increased need for collaboration spaces in “the office” less need for desks Success breeds success approach: Building a constructive culture that celebrates success rather than focusing on the 2% that went wrong. What can we do better? If something went wrong, asking how we can help and offering thanks when it is fixed rather than having a blame culture leads to a more productive and innovative workforce. Miranda Sharp, Chair, DTTG Peer Review Programme, commented:

A number of Project 13 adopters have benefited from application of the ECITB (Engineering Construction Industry Training Board) Project Collaboration Toolkit. First developed to support project teams working in the oil and gas sector, the Toolkit incorporates learning from across a range of oil and gas projects to provide a ‘go to’ guide based on the principles of collaboration. In seeking to drive the changes in culture and behaviour that underpin successful projects the toolkit shares common ground with Project 13 – and it is apparent why the adopters will have recognised this alignment in using the Project Collaboration Toolkit to support their change programme. This relationship is now being further developed, with the ECITB’s Collaboration Toolkit being made available through Project 13 to help bring both improved productivity and cost savings on major infrastructure projects. Background The Project Collaboration Toolkit is a practical ‘go-to’ guide, created by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and aimed at supporting and benefitting projects through improved collaboration and smarter ways of working. Originally designed for the offshore oil and gas sector, the toolkit is freely available for projects across other engineering construction sectors, helping to guide clients and contractors on how to work together more efficiently whilst sharing industry best practice on joint working. Use of the ECITB Project Collaboration Toolkit across major offshore projects – such as Shell’s Brent Bravo topsides decommissioning project which achieved cost savings of 40% – shows that collaboration between investors, developers and the supply chain network can achieve significant efficiencies, greater productivity and faster project completion. Now in its second edition, and closely aligned with the ISO 44001 standard on collaborative business relationships, the toolkit has been updated to fit all industry sectors engaged in capital projects. Presented as a workflow aligned to a typical project lifecycle, the toolkit is designed to be used at all levels of the supply chain, from regulators and operators through to contractors and suppliers, with the intention of building on existing synergies to help them become even stronger over time. The whole toolkit can be used to support project collaboration from inception to completion, or individual phase steps and activities can be applied by project managers to projects which have not been established on a collaborative strategy. Next Steps for Project 13 and the Project Collaboration Toolkit. Both Project 13 and the ECITB Collaboration Toolkit have sought to consolidate industry learning and to share this learning across the wider sector. In both cases this open sharing of best practice has served to accelerate broader industry progress. It is no surprise that the two initiatives are now looking to develop a closer relationship, sharing progress from two sectors that are underpinned by significant investment programmes. As a first step the Toolkit is now available through the Project 13 network. The start of what will be a mutually beneficial relationship. Find out more and download the free toolkit HERE

Dale Evans, Chair Project 13 and member of the Vision Steering Group, explains how the Project 13 Principles align with the Vision and how Project 13 will play its part in making it a reality. ‘Our Vision for the built environment’ released today (22 April 2021), reinforces the direction advocated by Project 13. With contributions from over 75 industry leaders and endorsed by more than 35 industry bodies spanning the built environment, the vision describes the future we want: a built environment whose explicit purpose is to deliver better outcomes for people and nature. It recognises the significant opportunity we are presented with, in now having the tools, technology and delivery models to make this future vision a reality. Outcome-focused collaborative delivery models The Vision calls for ‘approaches to the delivery of interventions that are able to deal with complexity, and enable effective integration of new assets into the existing systems. Outcome-focused collaborative delivery models leverage input from across the supplier ecosystem, bringing together engineering and technology to deliver intelligent solutions.’ The built environment has traditionally been seen as a series of unconnected construction projects focused on short-term outputs. Suppliers construct individual assets, delivering solutions predetermined by the owner. The resulting delivery processes and relationships are formed narrowly around the scope of this new asset. By the time delivery teams are brought together, there is little recognition of the outcomes required of the solution. The Project 13 Principles require that the end-to-end process of development is focused on improving outcomes; so maintaining the focus on the purpose of the intervention, aligning teams around a common purpose and creating greater opportunity for creativity and innovation. This marks a significant shift from the traditional approach that focuses on projects and building stuff - and where success is defined in terms of project metrics and cost. The Project 13 Enterprise delivery model allows owners and operators to: Focus on the better outcomes we are trying to achieve for people and nature; Recognise that an understanding of the existing system increases the opportunity to achieve these outcomes through better and more efficient use of the system; Ensures that where the required intervention does include new assets, they are integrated effectively with the existing system. The Vision is aligned with Project 13 in calling for the alignment of outcomes; from global and national strategic priorities, through to investment decisions for individual interventions. The Project 13 Principles advocate owners developing processes that provide a clear understanding of local requirements; the voice of the customer, the communities and the environment. The dialogue that takes place to agree the desired outcomes is crucial in creating alignment and clearly articulating the outcomes required. Making the Vision a Reality The Vision calls for everyone involved in development of the built environment to contribute to this new approach. As the Project 13 Community, we aim to do just that. In 2020 the number of Project 13 Adopters doubled, and the Project 13 Network, launched in March 2021, already has over 750 registered members, demonstrating the commitment to leading the change required and to helping the industry make this shift. Project 13 is also contributing to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority on the Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2030 to be published later this year, which will help to translate the Vision into policy.