This week, I would like to throw a spotlight on a ubiquitous irony that results in the unnecessary waste of millions of pounds across all engineering and construction sectors.
Industry does not recognize professional expertise in Project Document Control.
Placing the broader question of generic Document Management and Information Management to one side, I have personally witnessed millions of pounds poured down the drain for the simple want of going out and finding a Project Document Control expert to write best practice procedures, select the right software tools and find the right people to provide a proper function from the start of a project. I have also seen such professionals employed and ignored whilst others with no experience make costly decisions.
The irony is (and this is common across every engineering sector) that Document Control is under resourced and companies are reluctant to budget appropriately for it. What is then very common, is that rather than spend a small amount of money investing in a professional with a proven track record in successful project delivery, projects choose to engage expensive consultancies who then deploy business analysts, who spin their wheels whilst re-inventing wheels, who attempt to configure systems that were never and will never be fit for purpose and justify this on the basis of meeting user requirements, where the users are also unqualified to provide requirements. Another frequent mistake is to assume that an IM or an IT person will know what to do; but like most professions, it requires many years hands-on experience to own the big picture and be capable of success under all circumstances.
This sounds ridiculous and it is, so why does it happen all the time? Why do all my peers in this business have very similar tales to tell? There are a number of typical reasons. In some industry sectors and especially in the public sector, many managers ‘hide’ behind established consultancies to make decisions for them. Often these consultants are integrated into the project team and paid for under ‘operational’ cost which circumvents the red tape and lengthy writing of business cases even though it can end up costing ten times as much for a solution that fails and no-one ever uses.
A more common reason is that nobody wants to make the effort to understand the detail of the requirement because they have better things to do and when a technology salesman tells them he has a one stop solution that does everything - they want to believe. They already think, incorrectly, that Document Control is a problem for which there is an IT solution. There are so many systems out there that have bolted on some concession to ‘Document Management,' whatever that means! There are software systems that started out as CAD systems, Configuration management systems, Collaboration portals and file sharing systems, Planning systems and more. As someone who has been very successful over 30 years delivering world class standard Document Control or should I say North Sea standard? I can tell you categorically, that no software system can accommodate and support the processes and functions necessary at that level unless it has been written from the inside out around those processes and specifically for that purpose.
For an experienced professional, there is no mystery about the right ways to set up and deliver best practice Project Document Control. There seems to be endless confusion however, when people are tasked with the delivery of that function who lack the experience and the knowledge that comes with it.
It starts with understanding the proper application of key principles appropriately for the sector and type of project. There are highly valuable techniques to numbering, revision coding and taxonomy for example that when applied well can make money by increasing efficiency, communication, accuracy of content and distribution, hastening the review and approvals cycle and providing key operational information. On the other hand, when these methods are not applied, it can lead to a real life disaster.
Document control in the Design, Engineering and Construction industry is not something random that you make up according to someone’s good idea. There are well proven essential principles that can only be prescribed and applied by an experienced practitioner.
A further irony is that the reluctance to spend a little money comes from underestimating the critical importance and the great value of the function and in believing that it’s a small risk that might need to be mitigated. One major Oil and Gas owner operator recently assessed that by combining the right people, processes and software tools, they now save between 3 and 5% across all their projects globally. That amounts to tens of millions, if not more.
Great article John. I've been involved in implementing Document Control solutions on a well known EDMS. Generally these solutions are customisations "bolted" on to the standard products and customisations are expensive, time-consuming and risky.
ReplyDeleteA company I used to work for tried to come up with a generic solution offering for document control but could not generate sufficient interest.
However I believe a good Document Control solution could be developed and implemented with the correct guidance for someone like yourself who understands the real business need.
The problem I run into more often is every company has its way of documenting things. The documents themselves are somewhat consistent but what is not is the manner in which they are stored, distributed, revised, approved, and numbering schemes applied. Industry standards are loosly set or non existent and generally ignored in favor of legacy, always been done that way, scenarios.
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ReplyDeleteDifferent companies are using document management software to manage business records. It provide great facility of retrieving of data.
ReplyDeleteField Service Management Software