L A R G E I N F R A S T R U C T U R E C O N S T R U C T I O N

P R O J E C T M A N A G E M E N T

5 Essential Tools

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Average percentage by which large infrastructure construction projects exceed their budgets.1

PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS THE ESSENCE OF COMPLEXITY…

Project managers have their work cut out for them. Charged with driving construction, expansion, or modernization to completion on time, under budget, and in accordance with a litany of requirements and specifications from a disconnected set of stakeholders, project managers hold complete accountability for project success, yet rely on countless others to achieve it.

80%

...AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS ITS POSTER CHILD

Project managers of large infrastructures – those involving vast numbers of assets, numerous specialist teams, and far-flung work sites – deserve even more recognition (or possibly sympathy). For large infrastructure project managers, the stakes for success – and the risks of failure – can be orders of magnitude higher than with most other projects, with mind-boggling levels of complexity.

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INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUCCESS DEMANDS MULTIPLE TOOLS

Given the unique demands and constraints that define large infrastructure project management, it’s no surprise that success demands that project managers make use of an arsenal of software tools. That’s because project management is more like several jobs than a single one.

Construction managerswho say they use

spreadsheets and other manual documents

or programs forproject reporting.2

15%

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Here’s a look at the moreindispensable tools that project

management professionals needto keep within reach at all time to

stay at the top of their game.

WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT STATUS/ACTION LOGS

SECURE FILE SHARING GEOSPATIAL MAPPING

INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION FEATURES

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WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT

Nearly any discussion of project management evokes workflow management processes, for good reason. Project managers own responsibility for directing workloads and tasks to supervisors, foremen, site managers, and others in a top-down direction.

Of course, project managers’ subordinates need workflow management tools as well. Their ability to dispatch tasks and convey commodities requirements is as vital as the responsibilities of their project managers higher on the chain of command.

For large infrastructure construction projects, the ideal workflow management resource, therefore, needs to integrate task lists, equipment and commodity manifests, deadlines, dependencies, and status reporting. The extreme complexity of the tasks that make up large infrastructure construction projects makes support for nested and recursive workflows indispensable for fast configuration and scalability.

Obviously, you won’t want a workflow management solution that duplicates functionality you already have in your existing tools (e.g., Oracle Primavera, Autodesk BIM 360). Look instead for solutions that are compatible with these mainstays, suchas through a data export and upload process, and then that add other capabilities.

The percent by which large infrastructure

construction projects typically exceed their scheduled

completion dates.1

20%

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STATUS/ACTION LOGS

As discussed previously, project managers need to track project status continuously. They need access to status, exceptions, resolutions, and scheduling impacts. On demand and around the clock. When it comes to large infrastructure construction, project managers need to track these status factors among numerous sites, tasks, and processes.

This owes to two factors. First, agile management practices have narrowed execution windows, leaving little room for error. Second, in this environment, the impact of exceptions – eternally a matter of when, not if – increases significantly. For these reasons, up-to-the-hour status updates are a perfectly reasonable performance standard. And to revisit a concept mentioned earlier, project managers necessarily depend on downstream managers to update status information.

An effective tool, therefore, needs to simplify the process of updating status at all levels by all stakeholders and process owners. This requires the ability by administrators to granularly define read-only and read-write access by organization and by individual user. All users need an intuitive workspace with clearly defined processes for reporting exceptions, resolutions, and completions. Finally, trust but verify; choose a solution that automatically logs all activities, to maximize accuracy and accountability.

Proportion of project planners who cite changes in an organization’s

priorities as a cause of project failure.3

39%

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SECURE FILE SHARING

File sharing is another critical tool for project managers, who need to ensure that detailed, accurate, and up-to-date information is available to key stakeholders. This kind of information is especially important to process owners managing specialized work, typically on a site-specific basis. In a domain where ambiguity can lead to any number of disastrous outcomes, file sharing is key to minimizing the risk of miscommunication.

Project managers need a practical, scalable way to share a nearly limitless variety of data. This data can include technical information (e.g., topographical maps, blueprints, CAD renderings, and equipment manifests), commercial information (warranties, leases, service level agreements, etc.), or other information types (such as site photography, permits, and certifications).

In evaluating file sharing options, project managers must not give security short shrift. The cost of a security breach can be astronomical, and the damage irreparable. The ability to configure access by organization and by individual user is table-stakes.

GEOSPATIAL MAPPING

The ability to display assets in a geospatial map view doesn’t show up on many project management software checklists. Then again, large infrastructure project management is an extraordinary domain. When a project manager holds responsibilities for billions of dollars in assets slated for deployment across geographic and regulatory boundaries, geospatial map displays and reporting are mission-critical.

Don’t settle for inert mapped displays; find solutions that offer dynamic, interactive map interfaces that enable fast navigation and drill-down into status data and site-specific user documentation.

An ideal complement for projects leveraging LIDAR, drone, and GIS data, map interfaces are vital for coordinating subcontractors, commodity deliveries, permit application processes across jurisdictions, and service activation. They can be transformative for buildout projects or ongoing management programs for towers, utility poles, solar farm fleets, cell sites, and pipeline infrastructures.

Year in which the Federal Geospatial ACT (GDA) was signed into US law.

2018

Projects started in the past 12 months that were deemed failures, the percentage failed due to poor communication.4

29%

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INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION ANDCOLLABORATION FEATURES

With the ubiquity of email, project managers might give integrated communication and collaboration short shrift when evaluating large infrastructure management solutions. Yet each screen toggle, each cut-and-paste operation, and each file attach adds time and the risk of human error. Best-in-class large infrastructure solutions offer integrated communications capabilities, so no users – project managers, senior executives, or superintendents – need to leave the application to send updates or questions.

In fact, the best large infrastructure project management solutions give users a variety of communication tools to work with, including in-app messaging, notes fields, and email integration, to leverage email ubiquity and minimize the risk of miscommunication. Email integration gives the additional benefit of streamlining solution adoption, a critical success criterion.

Projected size of the enterprise collaboration

market by 2023.5

$53.8B

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Atonix Digital ProgramManagement Integrates All ofThese Tools in a Secure, Scalable Cloud-based Workspace

• SUPERIOR VISUALIZATION & NAVIGATION: Unparalleled user experience, driven by visual elements that are clear and impactful, resulting in a tool that is powerful, easy to learn, and ready to integrate into virtually any environment.

• WORKFLOW AUTOMATION: Seamless bridging of communications, data analysis, and task assignment.

• GEOSPATIAL PROJECT SEQUENCING: Integrated GIS-based spatial engineering and mapping, with a unique time-sequencing feature to help visualize work velocity.

• INTEGRATED FILE SHARING: Store and access photos, documents, design attributes, locational information, and conversations from a centralized location.

• ROLES-BASED MANAGEMENT: Flexible access and read-only configuration per user or per team to enable real-time collaboration among project teams and other stakeholders.

• SECURE CLOUD ARCHITECTURE: SaaS product using a secure service-oriented architecture (SOA), delivery and deployment for high responsiveness, availability, and scale, with secure multitenancy by design.

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1McKinsey, Imagining Construction’s Digital Future

2KPMG International, Rationalizing Governance, 2017

3 PMI, Business Analysis, 2017

4 PMI, Pulse of the Professional, 2018

5 Research and Markets, January 2019

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LEARN MORE

Atonix DigitalTM Program Management, powered by ASSET360®, offers large infrastructure project managers an all-in-one resource that combines geospatial mapping, workflow management, file sharing, team collaboration, and reporting tools in a secure, intuitive, and highly available portal delivered through a secure cloud architecture.

For more information, please visit us on theweb at atonix.com/industries/distributed-asset-construction.