Change management in Construction: Adapting to transformations
In the construction industry, change is a constant, reflecting the dynamics of the environment in which we operate. While construction companies have no control over these changes, they do have the power to influence how they respond to them.
The core of change management in construction lies in ensuring clear and concise communication between all parties involved. This involves providing comprehensive information on any variations to the agreed specifications, the potential impacts on the established schedule, and the costs associated with these changes.
The change management process in construction is essentially made up of three fundamental steps. First, the formal request for the change occurs, followed by a thorough assessment of the temporal and financial impacts that these changes will entail. Finally, the agreed changes are implemented.
It is crucial to highlight that this construction change management process is legally binding, meaning it takes precedence over the existing contract. This highlights the importance and seriousness attributed to this approach, as it aims to ensure fluid adaptation to the inevitable changes that arise throughout the project life cycle.
In short, construction change management is a vital tool for dealing with the dynamic and evolving nature of the industry. By taking a proactive, structured approach to managing these changes, construction companies can mitigate risk, ensure transparency and maintain efficiency across all aspects of their projects.
Most construction companies create a form that includes all the information needed for any change request.
The information typically required is the following:
- The name of the person making the request and their current position
- The reasoning behind the request and why it is necessary
- The roles that will be needed to make the change
- All the implications of making the change
- The names of the people responsible for making the change
- The people who will test and accept the changes
Once all this information is written on the form, it can be sent to the person who needs to review it. That person can then approve the change, respond for more information if necessary, or simply deny the change. Most of the time, a change request is never refused as the change is normally necessary to improve the building.
The person reviewing the change request will also do the following:
- Calculates the resources needed for the change
- Determine the time allocation for the change
- Determine the costs that will be associated with implementing the change
It is during this time that the reviewer may discover that they have questions. Any questions or concerns are added to the original change request form and returned to the person who completed it. All communications regarding this specific change request will be maintained on this form, which has its own tracking number. The change request will remain open until the change is approved and implemented or denied.
When the change request is accepted, the change is then added to a prioritized list of changes, which is part of the change management process. The work will be assigned to a single person or a team, to be completed when the time comes. No changes can be made until the remaining items above the list are completed, but when the project is complete, all changes will have been made.
In the past, change requests were quite difficult because no one had the most up-to-date information available at all times. However, in today's technological era, everyone has instant access to the entire project. Any previous changes can be accessed, as well as the latest plans and drawings, at any time.
The latest construction programs available are even making construction change management even easier for workers because the program will alert everyone when a response to a change request has been received or when one has not yet been responded to. This makes it easier for everyone to keep track of those they haven't received a response to yet, as they don't have to dig through a stack of papers to find what they're looking for.
Instead, they can simply click on the one that wasn't answered, find out who they need to talk to, and make a call to find out what's holding up the entire process.
Of course, this also solves the issue of lost change requests, which has happened more than one person could imagine. These missed change requests cost construction companies time and money as they had to be filled out again and everyone had to wait through the approval process again.
Change is always difficult for everyone, but a consistent process, such as construction change management, ensures that these changes are easy to adapt to. This means they will mostly be minor flaws that construction workers will be able to deal with as they continue to do their work and construct a building that will be stable and durable when it is finished.
