Special Report: Building Transparency

Building transparency and accountability can optimise project performance

by Rob Bryant, EVP of APAC at InEight

Like many other parts of the economy, the construction sector has gone through yet another harrowing year of pandemic-driven obstacles, including navigating government lockdowns, border closures, material and workforce shortages.

As the pandemic and its impact on the sector continue to evolve, one certainty remains - the tendency for budget and schedule to overrun. There has never been greater emphasis on the need to improve productivity, profit and value for project owners and contractors. Improving project performance will come down to two things – enhancing transparency and accountability.

Shared risk between public and private

There is a need to reduce the overall risk associated with infrastructure investment. While budget blowouts and project delays are common features of large projects at both a state and federal level, one way to deal with this issue is to foster an appropriate sharing of risk between the public and private investors.

Government and the construction industry must work together to ensure proper risk analysis is built in from the concept phase to delivery, based on a long-term investment view and shared risk procurement model. By addressing the risk of these projects, owners will invariably help to attract external sources of financing, which will in turn, reduce debt incurred.

To that end, we are starting to see a shift in contracting models and practice. There are more examples of shared risk in projects between owners and contractors, with contractors getting involved earlier and adopting a more open approach to delivering the best outcomes. There is also increasing recognition of the value of combining historical project data with risk assessment technologies to set more realistic expectations for project delivery upfront.

Transparent flow of data

The ability to accurately forecast future outcomes, including project competition date and total cost is crucial to prevent project cost and schedule overruns. Project owners across many sectors are fast realising they can improve their viability of project performance by taking ownership of project data throughout the lifecycle and ensuring the data and the insights derived are accessible to all project stakeholders.

The more project team members who are able to see and use that data — particularly among trades that historically haven’t been privy to it — the more efficient the workflow. With stronger work relationships within and across the jobsite and back office, the odds of miscommunication and preventable errors are minimised. The right technology can empower project team members and stakeholders as a tool for real-time communication, risk management and safety.

A large number of factors can influence capital projects as they grow bigger and more complex. The risk of project failures can come from unexpected places, as more third parties get involved.

The increasing number of professional service firms and consultancies involved in service and project delivery means that owners have to stay vigilant and cognisant on how everyone keeps focused on the common end goal. They need to ensure this is reflected in how project performance data is being collected and not let that become diluted in value or directed by third parties.

Smarter data to keep every team accountable

As different teams become involved in the process of the data collection, there is a risk of manual manipulation and input of data on a traditional paper spreadsheet. Worse yet, the historical data used to make those entries might be lost forever because the organisation was still working with desktop spreadsheets that resulted in siloed planning.

Project owners who ensure the integrity of data collected can help with better decision-making. The heightened visibility and clarity of data sources can help mitigate any potential issues that might arise because they are being presented in real time as opposed to monthly or even weekly reports. Owners and contractors are able to create more realistic plans, budgets and schedules – informed by the collective knowledge of previous projects – and then execute those projects with full visibility to risks and expected outcomes

The more integration and connectivity that occurs through this data sharing means project teams, resources and material provision will be better in sync. The right technology can pull together people and materials and put both in alignment, providing a dynamic and realistic schedule that provides everyone with the most advanced level of project certainty. A single source and reference for project data and reporting insights ensures all teams are cognisant of the same project status. Providing a greater likelihood the project will finish on time and on budget.

Technology advancements now provide a sophisticated level of insight to inform decision making for capital construction projects, end-to-end through the project life cycle – from approval workflows to improved forecast accuracy. Through digitisation and adoption of smart technology, owners can inject greater transparency and accountability into the project life cycle and yield optimal and profitable outcomes. The experience of the last two years and the acceleration it has placed on digital transformation, coupled with the opportunity in the decade ahead, mean 2022 is the year to capitalise on the construction sector.

Rob Bryant is the Executive Vice President of APAC for InEight, a global leader in integrated project controls software across infrastructure, public sector, energy and power, oil, gas and chemical, mining, and commercial. InEight has powered more than $400 billion in projects globally, including more than $100 billion worth of Australia-based projects.

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