AEROTROPOLIS you actually fund that project , you have a view on the benefits you get from it and the return on investment ; how much and when . And then , when you fully execute the project and deliver it , you start to see the benefits of that feeding back into your model .
“ It may be a case of ‘ That was meant to deliver more than it did ’. Or ‘ What did we learn from that ? And ‘ What I would do differently next time ?’
“ So again , if , for example , you ’ re building a new piece of airport apron , it will have a finite lifetime . You might say it ’ s going to last 25 years being constructed of this material , in this way , but ultimately after 10 years , if it starts to fail , then that feeds into your model .
“ It ’ s that holistic view that nothing ever ends . We start a project , we plan a project , we deliver the project and then we look at how things can evolve . After all , the facilities you build now are not going to be the same facilities in 25 years ’ time .”
The complex nature of these types of projects means that nothing can ever go quite as smoothly as initially planned but , by having that holistic perspective and the visibility to see which changes are required , you can manage each step of the project accordingly .
“ All of these projects come down to three things : people , process and technology ,” Fulton adds . “ We supply the technology , the software . The process is defined in the software and then it needs leadership from the airport .
“ Say , if you ’ re an engineer , you know you ’ re on site with a particular location and so when you ’ re about to start to work you will need to see the latest version of the design drawing . If you ’ re a foreman , you need to see what tasks your team need to perform today and tomorrow .
“ Then if you ’ re an executive , you need to see how this investment in the project is progressing . Essentially , what they will need to know is : are we delivering on time ? Are we delivering to budget ? And is the quality of the work up to spec ?
“ It ’ s impossible to do your job as an executive or project manager without having visibility as it makes it impossible to chart where you are in relation to your budget . That visibility , that transparency is vital .”
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