Case At-A-Glance
The Problem: Construction managers responsible for building multi-billion dollar campuses and data centers had to go through a global change order committee for approval on any large project scope changes. These changes were often poorly communicated, leading to concern among the global committee and significant delays and additional project costs.
The Solution: 3 months of observational research followed by a custom training and standardized process document.
The Results: A single process of five simple rules construction managers could follow to reduce friction and streamline change order approvals, reducing delays and saving costs.
What The Client Had To Say:
“This was my favorite part of the event, and made the trip worth it”
Background
The construction manager’s at Meta oversee billion dollar projects building campuses and data centers. But any time a change order comes through that would cost more than one million dollars, there have to present the change to a committee during a Construction Change Approval Meeting (CCAM).
The committee’s job is to pepper the construction manager with questions to make sure the change is reasonable and the most cost (and time) effective way to adjust to the change in circumstances. I was able to attend several CCAM meetings, and honestly, it felt quite a bit like being put on trial. But construction managers are not lawyers, and would often communicate the changes in less than optimal ways, leading to confusion, additional meetings, and delays.
Originally, Meta hired me to teach their construction managers how to be better presenters. How to tell the story and convince the committee to approve the change. But that was only part of the problem. What they actually wanted to fix was delays from change orders not being approved. The goal was to streamline the process, and that means more than just being a good presenter.
The Setup
The first step was extensive research. I sat through hours of CCAM meetings. Hilariously, most people on the call had no clue who I was. Just that I was an outside consultant that had signed enough NDAs the be allowed on the call. Through each call I would take notes on what caused change orders to move through smoothly compared to ones that got stuck.
I then compiled the most common traits of successful change orders into the not-so-creatively named “Rules for CCAM” presentation. During the annual “Dig In” event for construction managers, I gave a 2-hour “Rules for CCAM” training that not only taught the presentation skills originally requested, but also provided guidance on how to prepare a clear and persuasive case for the change order.
For bonus points, it was also a really funny program, and we had a blast.
Each participant walked away with their own printed and digital copy of “Dallin’s Rules for CCAM”, a customized guide of 5 rules that made sure everyone was using the same process to prepare and present at CCAM.
The Result
This time the result was simple. A standardized process, a shared language, new skills, and fewer delays. All that means big savings on big projects!
