Last month we considered quality standards, and this time we need to decide how to balance quality with other project objectives.
Traffic, Like Canoes?
Are you sitting comfortably? Let me tell you a story about a road scheme in Cheshire where I live. The A555 road scheme was finally completed about 3 years ago to provide a link between the A6 and Manchester Airport. Unfortunately, it regularly floods and in December the road was again shut to traffic.
I recently joked that Wilmslow was ‘becoming an island’ as so many of our routes out of town were shut by flooding. An investigation suggested the flooding was due to design shortcoming but that is not the full story. Mary (not her real name) told me that – to complete on time and avoid further delay penalties – the contractor cut corners and buried a flood water pump, without connecting it to power or drains. Theoretically, the road was completed: the whole scope of works was provided, and the road could be used as intended… at least most of the time.
The contract was clearly structured to prioritise time over quality. Roads last many decades so a few weeks or months longer in their construction is neither here nor there. However, the lack of working flood water drainage will affect the project for its lifetime.
The contract also focused on inputs (had everything listed been provided?) and not on outputs (did everything perform as required?). The road needs to allow traffic to move safely in all but the most extreme weathers – it is a performance-based project. There’s no point specifying components and then taking it on trust that they have been installed properly. Performance needs to be tested using objective measures.
We know you need to balance the trio of time, cost and quality: you need to choose one objective that takes priority. Keep asking questions until you know which one matters most. Once you know, focus on that one when making decisions during the project.
