Radical Reduction in Project Cycle Time

To achieve radical reduction in cycle time, four key drivers must be present, with owner commitment being the most critical: (RS193-1, p. 1)

• Why
  • A compelling business need
  • Owner commitment
• How
  • A high performing team
  • Detailed project planning and execution

In order to achieve a 25% or more reduction in project cycle time, the four key drivers listed in key finding #1 must be present. Furthermore, the use of CII best practices are also key components and themes present in typical projects where we find this type of radical reduction. The CII best practices most frequently and successfully used in the case studies are:

• Alignment
• Material management
• Pre-project planning
• Constructability
• Design Effectiveness

Management and schedule reduction techniques from other industries are also required in conjunction to CII best practices, in order to achieve radical reduction. The top five include: (RR193-11, p. 190)

• Startup Driven Scheduling
• Use of Electronic Media
• Participative Management
• Construction-driven Schedule
• Employee Involvement

The characteristics of the projects that showed the most promise for radical reduction in cycle time were as follows:

• Complex
• High degree of integration with outside stakeholders
• High degree of upper management support
• Large projects with high level of purchasing activities and multiple packages
• Projects with strong business drivers

(RS193-1, p. 7)

How to develop a game plan:

1. The first step in developing a game plan is to identify your project phase (pre-project planning, design, materials management, construction, or startup). Then, choose the radical reduction techniques (RRTs) from the lists included in this IR that can be applied.
2. Next, determine the relative impact of your chosen RRTs, based off of the information provided in pages 8 and 9 of this IR for your particular phase.
3. Once the highest impact techniques have been identified using this chart, transfer this information to your playcard for a game card.

Project involvement by upper management is one of the most important aspects of successful implementation of a radical reduction in project cycle time. If upper management does not stay engaged with the project, the team will not be properly motivated. Ten successful qualities of a management leader have been identified. They include: (IR193-3, p. 10)

• Must run interference with respect to upper management so that the team can concentrate on work.
• Must operate from a business perspective and not the perspective of any one particular function. In other words, he or she must be in alignment with the needs of the business.
• Must provide resources and answers to the team, so that it can complete the work.
• Must be able to resolve issues and overcome obstacles, keep everyone on course, and work within the existing system (“strength of personality”).

The Project Manager’s Game Planner can be developed into an extremely effective decision tool. Based on the criteria of the project, the user can build a customized Game Planner for their requirements, which can be seen below:

IR193-2, Project Manager’s Game Planner for Radical Reduction in Project Cycle Time

Can help to assist companies to develop an approach to radically reduce project cycle time.

IR193-3, Project Manager’s Playbook for Radical Reduction in Project Cycle Time

Is a reference guide using bulleted items and short passages so that information can be found quickly and put to use.