FOCUS INTERVIEW
is more than just keep things working, so for
instance at Whiston Hospital(iii), their approach
to everything is ‘one team for the patient’,
and tapping into that common purpose and
common goal is absolutely essential.”
KEEP TALKING
One of the key threads
that flows through
the white paper is on
the importance of
maintaining good
communications.
The survey revealed
however, that
regular meetings
and interactions were
carried out by only
half of the respondents.
While the results
suggested collaboration was
strong at the outset of a project
(including supplier selection,
jointly agreeing a common purpose
or goal, agreeing targets and KPIs) it was less
frequent throughout the lifecycle of a project.
Farrell suggests a rethink on how
communications are organised:
“Instead of holding meetings with copious
actions etc we should aim to change this to
make meetings action focused. This means
you don’t have to sit down for an hour, but
hold short action orientated briefings where
everyone has the same understanding of what
the meeting is about.
“For example, at VINCI Building Solutions(iv)
we were looking at how the project team
interacted on a daily basis, as the site manager
would hold a progress meeting during the day
but people would also go in and out of his o ice
throughout the day asking questions.
“We tilted this and asked, ‘how much time are
you spending in those little interactions – what
if we got all of the supervisors together for 20
minutes in the morning to deal with all of that
in one fell swoop’? When they switched to daily
stand up meetings, it was very focused about
what they were trying to achieve, who was
meant to do what, and which individuals were
responsible for which action. This meant all
parties were given an update at once.”
Unfortunately, maintaining good
38 MARCH 2021
communications can only have got more
di icult since going back into lockdown,
so how can contractors, customers and
partners ensure ongoing communication
in such di icult circumstances?
Says Farrell: “If we can get
people communicating in
the same way in shorter
more focused ways
via Microso
Teams calls we
can apply the
same principle
but it is a damn
sight harder.
I believe a
key part of
emotional
intelligence is
understanding the
pressures people
are under. This means
if someone can’t be there,
we’ll recommend you record
calls and make use of messaging
to keep people updated. It’s a bit trial and
error as none of us have been through a
pandemic before but together we can find
the right answer.”
SHARED GOALS
While the pandemic has undoubtedly led
to the acceleration of technology designed
to support and enable communication and
collaboration, the survey found that digital
data-sharing between suppliers only took
place around 42 per cent of the time, with
the reason being a reluctance to share data
with potential competitors.
Farrell admits that entrenched attitudes
are impeding the take-up of secure datasharing
technology, which is something of a
barrier to promoting collaboration.
“When we think of entrenched attitudes
it’s the ‘this is mine,’ mindset, because as
corporate organisations we’ve all got to
make our margins. When we set out just
to achieve our singular objectives it can
damage those around us, so the way we can
help advance the industry is ideally to allow
information to flow more openly.
“The rate of change is demonstrating the
e ectiveness of technology, so if you’ve got
a whole load of information and share that
with someone else, they might share their
insights too and help you both come up with
a better answer.”
Sharing data for the common good
with partners, subcontractors and clients
is something that VINCI is absolutely
committed to, and in terms of internal
relationships with key stakeholders, digital
collaboration is vital.
Says Farrell: “There are so many
contractors in the supply chain and the
way they capture data can o en be very
di erent, so one of things we’re looking at
now is how to get the supply chain to supply
us with information in the same way and in
a standard format that we can use and our
customer can access.”
Collaboration by its very nature means
bringing everyone on board and that means
getting buy in from key stakeholders.
According to the survey, respondents who
had successfully established formalised
collaborative working recommend the
following steps had begun by building the
business case to get senior management on
board which spells out the benefits and how
risks will be managed and mitigated.
Explains Farrell: “The business case
comes down to demonstrating what you’ve
achieved and using examples of where
collaboration has succeeded. This is why
we’ve included a couple of case studies(v) in
the white paper.
“But my advice is that one of the ways to
get buy in is to get the Board to look at that
ultimate vision and say what’s the cost of
not doing it? What’s the risk? It does come
down to understanding what you’re trying to
achieve and looking to excite people around
that purpose. If you can excite a board of
directors around a purpose you’re on the
way.”
He concludes: “We’ve got to ask, in normal
times what is our purpose? It’s not just
to engage with a piece of work, it’s about
making a di erence, something which has
only been highlighted during the pandemic.
If we take that lesson and continue to
collaborate for a higher purpose that would
be a wonderful thing.”
REFERENCE NOTES
(i) www.vincifacilities.com/media-centre/white-paper/
(ii) www.bsigroup.com/LocalFiles/en-GB/iso-44001/
Resources/ISO-44001-Implementation-Guide.pdf
(iii) www.vincifacilities.com/downloads/case-studies/sthelens
and-whiston-hospitals.pdf
(iv) www.vincifacilities.com/services/building-solutions/
(v) www.vincifacilities.com/downloads/case-studies/
rainbow-hospital-deeside.pdf
There are so many contractors in the supply chain and the way
they capture data can often be very diff erent, so one of things
we’re looking at now is how to get the supply chain to supply us with
information in the same way and in a standard format that we can use
and our customer can access.”
/st-helens-and-whiston-hospitals.pdf
/ISO-44001-Implementation-Guide.pdf
/
/
/rainbow-hospital-deeside.pdf
