« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Presentation 3: POEv improvement
Colin Proctor and Paul Crilly, Gardiner and Theobald LLP
The presentation sought to open a conversation on widening the agenda for Post Occupancy Evaluation. It places it within a context of continuous improvement and explores how it could be taken forward within the Scottish schools investment programme.
The overriding argument presented was threefold:
- That accommodation projects are not just about building buildings - operational effectiveness is a main driver
- That you need to consider process over product - because it is only through a process that you obtain that product
- That post project evaluation in its widest sense, i.e. including post occupancy evaluation, needs to be focussed on seeking continuous improvement in that process
POE is a focus on management that considers:
- Investment appraisal
- Procurement
- Project management
- Operational management
POE should be viewed as a component part of overall project evaluation and appraisal. It is an important tool in performance management and can, if incorporated effectively, assist local authorities in their task to meet best value objectives.
POE is a tool to be used for improving the preparation of investment appraisals, project briefs, and the operational management of facilities. Local authorities should consider how POE can become standard practice for all forms of procurement. A degree of consistency in approach is required if its use is to really benefit strategic programme management.
The strategic context for the education programme is complex, involving a large number of interested parties. The process is one of educational transformation through the management of a programme of events that deliver our capital projects. Through project evaluation techniques, we need to refine a process that should commence with the initial business case.
The early appraisal of projects is becoming much more of a task. The agendas are getting wider all the time, definitions of value money have changed, sustainability is a key factor, and we now have to consider mixed-use bringing with it a further set of criteria. All of this leads towards a requirement for much more comprehensive evaluation techniques. This requires wider market knowledge and expertise.
There is a new range of procurement routes. As one moves through a risk continuum from conventional procurement models to joint ventures and Private Finance Initiatives ( PFI), do the requirements for project evaluation change?
Arguably, PFI already contains a structure for the implementation of post project evaluation - although there is little evidence that the process is being applied. Opportunities exist for looking back as well as forward in the POE exercise.
The programme management context is one where project evaluation really comes into its own. Those who have a known programme and who are setting up frameworks will want to achieve continuous improvement after each project. Benefits such as reduced costs, reduced risk, reduced re-work, reduced waste, increasing customer satisfaction, improving quality, improving problem solving, integration of innovation, incorporation of best practice, building trust, improving teamwork, and increasing profit can be more readily managed if it can be seen that there is a strategic relationship, that a supply chain can be formed, and that support systems are put in place. A crucial part of such support systems is knowledge learned from experience.
Best practice clients also now adopt a whole life approach to projects. The facility is there to support the needs of the organisation over the long term. POE has a key role to play in providing a platform for facilities management.
Organisations do not learn automatically, and need a systematic approach. It is not something that can be left to chance. Toolkits are available on how to share lessons, and how to turn these to business advantage.
Effective learning requires a willingness to share experience and ideas freely between participants in the process, and this can often be a barrier to success. This is an important issue for the management of the programme at a strategic level.
Who you involve in project evaluation is a key issue. Who will be measuring the outcomes and successes? If you don't involve someone, could it invalidate the exercise? Is the process of undertaking a POE exercise as important as the output from the exercise?
Key requirements for influencing effective implementation include:
- Needs to be driven from the top
- Requires buy-in
- Needs to be planned for
- Needs clarity of purpose
- Requires consistency
- Requires good process, appropriate for purpose and organisation
« Previous | Contents | Next »