Major industrial facilities, power plants, and manufacturing complexes require a vast amount of money and time to complete. Any delay at any stage can result in enormous excess costs and could possibly impact the planned opening date. As the progress of a project is measured in terms of completion of individual milestones, any delay in completing one of these stages can have a huge impact on the rest of the project.
Identifying these areas of high risk is crucial to preventing delays on industrial projects and to constructing a more flexible project schedule, which in turn will allow the project to function more effectively upon completion. We often analyze the causes of delay on completed projects, but rarely get the chance to look at a site before construction begins.
Unanticipated Supply Chain Disruptions
Supply chain problems are a common cause of delays for industrial projects. If a facility is being built using specialized plant and bespoke fabricated steel structural components, then it will rely on a number of suppliers to deliver a variety of materials, some of which may be bespoke in nature, being designed to very exacting specifications.
When a critical delivery falls behind, the impact is almost never isolated.
Delays occur when critical parts of equipment are not delivered in time. A project can come to a complete standstill while other parts of the project are being progressed, for example, when foundation work is complete and structural steel delivery has not occurred. To mitigate risks of supply chain delays, it is essential to manage vendor relationships, to have identified alternative suppliers, and to have built in buffers to allow for the unexpected. This form of forward planning is key in avoiding delays that could have been foreseen.
Labor Shortages and Workforce Gaps
Even if all the necessary materials and equipment are on site, a project cannot proceed without sufficient numbers of suitably qualified tradespeople to undertake the required work. The shortage of skilled tradespeople in the industry is causing significant delays to projects of this nature. In particular, large industrial projects require people with high levels of specialized skills, including welders, pipe fitters, industrial electricians, and operatives to drive and operate large plant and heavy equipment.
The work of one person can stall an entire project when key trade positions are left open for long periods of time.
Even though many industrial projects have large budgets, they have a hard time finding qualified construction workers. Often, a number of workers with specialized skills are needed to complete parts of a project, and it can take a lot of time to find the right people and bring them up to speed on the project. Industrial construction staffing firms give contractors a way to quickly place experienced welders, electricians, and ironworkers on a project without having to wait for permanent hires to become available. This keeps a project fully staffed and moving on schedule while the search for long-term workers continues. But without a steady pipeline of skilled tradespeople, the crews that are left on a project will be overworked and prone to safety issues and lower productivity as the project wears on. Are we doing enough to train the next generation of skilled tradespeople?
Regulatory and Permitting Hurdles
Regulatory and permitting issues relate to the environment, local ordinances, and work rules. These issues can prevent a project from staying on schedule for all sorts of reasons, not least a failure to complete initial application paperwork in a timely manner. The number of local, state, and federal agencies that need to approve certain aspects of a project’s construction activities, and the time each of these approvals takes, can surprise many people, including experienced project managers.
A job can be halted for numerous reasons, including the failure of an inspection or the need for a change to an existing permit in the middle of a project. Work at a site can cease at any time and for many reasons whilst pending paperwork is languishing and rental equipment is incurring costs. However, by maintaining good relations with local regulatory bodies, completing any required environmental assessment early, and staying in regular contact with the relevant government or local departments, problems can be identified and resolved before they become major issues that affect a project’s timeline.
Design Changes and Scope Creep
Design changes that surface after critical components have already been delivered to the site can be disastrous. By the time changes to the work scope or design are noticed, it can take a considerable amount of time to resolve the issue and put the necessary changes into effect. These types of changes can result in a considerable amount of rework, which can end up costing double to triple the original price of the work.
Rework costs double to triple.
Catching design conflicts before they reach the field can save a project real money in avoided rework. Completing as much of the up-front planning as possible is one of the most effective ways to prevent it.
3D modeling also helps. It aids the design of components, details parts of the plant, and improves communication between engineering and the field teams.
Poor Communication Across Stakeholder Groups
Industrial construction involves many stakeholders, such as the project owner, the general contractor, and a variety of specialized subcontractors, including engineers and inspectors from municipalities and other government agencies. Simple misunderstandings, which can occur in an instant, create massive delays in work.
Many delays occur because important information was not distributed to all relevant people in time (for example, an updated set of blueprints isn’t distributed to site workers in time, a subcontractor misreads a job specification, or a worker doesn’t report an equipment problem quickly enough). There are many small things that can go wrong. To prevent many potential delays, it is important to establish clear communication rules between all relevant people involved in a project, to track progress by using shared tools, and to conduct regular check-ins with relevant site staff.
Unexpected Site and Environmental Conditions
Site conditions can often create unexpected problems during a project. Whether the soil conditions are poor or there are buried services or previous contamination on site, delays can quickly occur and disrupt the rest of the project. There’s nothing worse than a sudden mudslide or previously unknown soil conditions that compromise a build on weak ground.
While it is not possible to prevent the weather from interfering, soil testing and site analysis prior to construction can highlight potential problems with site conditions, such as hidden utilities, contamination, or weak soils, thereby allowing for the necessary steps to be taken in order to prevent delays. In addition, having a contingency plan in place for issues that may occur as a result of severe weather or other unexpected site-related issues will enable the project team to respond as quickly as possible to any issues that may arise.
Building Resilient Industrial Projects
Many large industrial projects are impacted by a combination of supply chain delays, labor shortages, regulatory delays, and poor communication. However, by identifying these problems early on in a project, managers can protect their schedules and budgets. By planning thoroughly, building strong relationships with key suppliers, communicating clearly with all stakeholders, and managing a reliable workforce, industrial projects can be completed on time.
