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    7-Lean-Good Management Practice For Engineering Design Offices

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    7-Lean-Good Management Practice For Engineering Design Offices

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    Julio Montes de Oca
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    48 views25 pages

    7-Lean-Good Management Practice For Engineering Design Offices

    Uploaded by

    Julio Montes de Oca

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    The Institution of Structural Engineers MARCH 1991 Guide to Good management practice for engineering design offices The Institution of Structural Engineers 11 UPPER BELGRAVE STREET, LONDON, SW1X 8BH, 071-235 4535 Membership of the Task Group Professor W D Biggs, OBE CEng FIStructE (University of Reading), Chairman G Brandon, CEng FICE (Taylor Woodrow Construction) DK Doran, BSc(Eng) DIC FCGI CEng FiSwuctE FICE (Consultant) 4B Greer, CEng FiStruc (John Gumey & Partners) S$ B Tietr, BSc(Eng) Fling FiStructE FICE (S B Tietz & Paniners) AK A Lorans, BSc(Eng) ACGI, Secretary which produced this report have endeavoured to ensure the accuracy of its contents. However, the guidance and recommendations given in the report should always be reviewed by those using the report with regard tothe full circumstances of their particular application, Accordingly, no liability for negligence or otherwise can be accepted by the Institution, the members ofits committee, its servants or agents. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the Institution of Structural Engineers who may be contacted at 11 Upper Belgrave Street, London SW1X 8BH. SuruetE Good management practice Contents Foreword «2.2.2.5 “5 introduction eter ee ee te eet 2Getting started 2... eee ee eee eee eB 2.1 Management policy - eee 2:2 Management representative 2.3 Organisation 2.4 Filing and sorting material 2.5 Reference library ‘3 Management systems per 0 3.1 Introduction 10 3.2 Office manual | 10 4 The review or audit 15 4.1 Value of an audit 215 42 Doing an audit. 15 5 Alternative roles of the engineer and further management considerations. . . po aby 5.1 General oe 7 512 Traditional consulting siructural engineers ole | | | | 17 5°3 Consulting structural engineer, design only commission... eee eevee eee 7 54 Consulting structural engineer, investigatory ‘commission oI 8.5 Contractors structural engineer 17 5.6 The structural engineer and the management form of contract... 2... eee eevee IT 5.1 The structural engineer ‘design and build contract 5.8 The structural engineer acting for a contractor in a” design and build contract... . 5.9 Structural engineers duty of care warranties 6 Implementation and certification . . 6.1 Meeting the standard 6.2 Levels of centfication 6.3 The certification bodies’ | 644 Assessment of quality management | 6.5Peerreview .. . : 6.6 Financial assistance available 1990/91" | 7 Suggested reading ......-...+55 Appendix A: Typical management policy and objectives ‘statement. Appendix B: Sample proformas . IStructE Good management practice Foreword In 1987 the Institution of Structural Engineers established a Task Group to consider what at first sight appeared to be two simple questions: + What was the Institution doing about quality assurance? + What should it be doing? ‘The first step was to seek information from members in firms and it soon became clear that while the larger firms and the design offices of the larger contracting companies were implementing quality assurance procedures there appeared to be some confusion and a wide variation of understanding among smaller sized firms. The Task Group’ remit was, accordingly, modified to pay particular attention to such firms, Itbecame apparent that, fora small firm, neither the work load nor the expected return ‘would justify the time and expense involved in seeking third party validation. At the same time, all of those firms who were contacted were keen to review and, where possible, to improve their management practices. Firstly, this would provide a better service to the client and secondly, it would put the firm in a position to move more painlessly towards third party validation should this become necessary or desirable. Accordingly the Task Group suggested that it should prepare a Guide to good management practice for engineering design offices and that firms should be encouraged to re recommendations implicit in BS 5750. This suggestion was accepted by the Institution and this Guide is the result, It is necessary to stress that it is not intended as a guide to quality assurance and certainly not to certification under the various schemes now available. It is no more, and no less, than its title suggests - a guide to good management practice. Furthermore it gives examples only of procedures which might be considered if appropriate and is not intended to be exhaustive. Each firm must decide for itself what tasks should be covered within its ‘management procedures and how those procedures should be implemented on particular projects. The procedures must be the means to the end not the end in themselves. ‘As Chairman of the Task Group I must pay a tribute to my colleagues - they have worked hard to try to produce this document. At the same time the Task Group, as a whole, would wish me to express my thanks and my appreciation to those firms and individuals who have given freely of their time and expertise to supply information and to read and comment upon various drafts. Collaboration such as this must be a good augury for the future standing of our profession. ‘w and improve their management practices broadly in line with the W DBiggs Struct Good management practice 1 Introduction ‘The aim to achieve quality in construction has always existed ‘The industry has however had a patchy reputation with a public belle that many projects un late and over budget. High quality construction demands good design and high levels of technical competence. Unless these are accompanied by good ‘management, they will not be realised. There is now a greater awareness of this need. 'BS5750: 1987 has attempted to address this problem but in aiming to cover the whole range of work from start to finish including production of components, it has failed to be wholly convincing when dealing with the needs of design offices. This document offers guidance on the management issues 10 be addressed in design offices of all sizes but is perhaps of most relevance in the cases of smaller practices. In many of these communication between participants in the design is often informal - word of mouth discussion overcoffce is enough when, as is often the case, all staff are engaged upon one job. Small practices do however grow and a management system which is appropriate to, say, half a dozen qualified design staff may be quite unsuitable for even thirty or so engineers, ‘There are special problems in the construction industry. It is highly interactive and itis essential for all building professionals engaged on a project 1 operate in a manner which results in a successful completion of the project for both the client and the individual professions involved. At present there is little standardisation of management procedures between the professions. The construction industry has the added problem of advising clients, many of whom will have no experience of construction, of their responsibilities to provide adequate information, make necessary decisions in time and maintain good communications. Some client decisions suchas requirements and budgets cannot be delegated. Management of design aiso inevitably demands flexibility Professional judgement is essential, The size of projects can vary dramatically; the members of a team can vary as can the role of each individual within the team; different types of project demand different management procedures and what may be appropriate IStuctE Good management practice for a briefing and a feasibility study may be wholly inadequate fora large complex project requiring post construction services. Managing the validation of another engineer's calculations is different again. Itis therefore essential that those who determine the management practice in a design office are sufficiently experienced to recognise the needs of individual jobs. (Over-management can become as counterproductive as lack of management. Good management docs not require magic, but application so that work is properly executed, maintenance of Communication so that all are kept informed, and a clear 4efinition of understanding of responsibilities. ‘Some firms may wish to obtain third party certification. Such step should not be lightly undertaken. It is likely to require & ‘reat deal of time, very careful thought, preparation and a heavy investment in man-hours and cash. Its success also depends on the ability of those auditing the procedures and their recognition of the requirements related to that specific organisation ~ what ‘makes sense for a specialist firm may be inappropriate fora firm of the same size executing more general tasks and both may not readily apply to larger firms, perhaps in several offices. Good ‘management is always a means to an end and the end must not become management itself. Good management atitsbestreduces the tasks and the bureaucracy required to the minimum which will achieve planned ends, It must be practical, controllable and achievable at all times. A good audit must therefore reco; that procedures require lexibility to be appropriate to every job that a firm undertakes. Lasily such procedures must be codified so that all, from the ‘most senior to the most junior, within an organisation can understand their own role within the total framework. Each firm will have a different view how this can be best achieved. Some will be satisfied with check lists, others will want a full manual and yet others may demand that each stage of a job follows prescribed procedures and is signed on completion. This guide nly sets out some signposts and firms should to devise their own particular method for achieving the desired ends 2 Getting started Before making a review of the management and contro systems in the design office five aspects should be considered. 2.1 Management policy AA statement of te firm’s policy is always desirable - it should be available to the enquirer and known to all staff. The statement should be authorised and signed by a senior partner or director and should refer tothe firm’s commitment, not only tothe client, but to other professionals in the design team and to the public at large. In formulating sucha statement, however, great care should be taken that the firm is not inadvertently implying a level of capability ,or commited to undertakings, beyond its intentions or expertise. ‘The statement may be written formally, or informally, - a sample statement, covering the items to be included is given in ‘Appendix A. The statement should be circulated to, and retained by, all staff who should, in addition, be fully appraised of the reasons why such a statement is considered necessary. 2,2 Management representative Having declared a policy it is next necessary to ensure that itis implemented. The firm should appoint a senior member to be responsible for ensuring that all members of staff understand and implement the declared company policy. Such a member should also take responsibility for: + preparation of the firm’s operational procedures issuing, updating and withdrawing these as necessary ‘+ ensuring that these procedures are understood, and followed by allemployees ‘+ carrying out a periodic audit of any job to confirm that the necessary procedures are being followed + authorising departures from the standard procedures where the simplicity (or the complexity) of the job demands it ‘+ making due provision for information, training etc as the firms policy requires Jt must be obvious that this task is of crucial importance and one should only be undertaken by a qualified and experienced cengincer with authority and respect within the firm soas to ensure commitment particularly from senior staff. 2.3 Organisation ‘The firm should produce and maintain an up-to-date chartor other description of its organisational structure. This should describe duties, responsibilities and the routes to be followed by key Personnel for management reporting. Where staff have permanent responsibilities, the chart shouid identify these with an indication oftheir level of authority relating to their specified tasks and lines of communication, This is especially important where several offices are involved. ‘All personnel should be able to identify how they interact. Engineers should also be able to identify what the standard procedures are and who has authority to: + initiate action to prevent the occurrence of design non- conformity idemtify and record any problems + initiate, recommend or provide solutions * verify the implementation of solutions. ‘Where all above a certain level of seniority have such aright, this level must be clearly defined e.g. by skills, qualifications, experience or as otherwise relevant. Establishment of such levels is not intended to preclude promotion but, in fact, rather to encourage it and to act as a review for implementation of any training programme which the firm may wish to Additionally, specific organisational charis relevant to individual projects are advisable, particularly on larger projects. Onprojecs likely to contin overlong peiod it maybe beter to describe this by tasks rather than individuals as these may change in the course ofthe project. 2.4 Filing and sorting material Inwhat follows it will be seen that one crucial task for senior staf ill be to ensure that there is an organised system for filing, storing and, perhaps most impoctanly, retrieving written mater. al. Each firm will develop its own system but the three most {important elements are: + cleardesignations and classifications - preferably ona standard proforma ‘+ an unequivocal indexing system for identification and location of material + offsite storage - employing specialists may at times be an ‘economical answer Large projects may require a separate file for each item - calculations specifications, schedules etc - for smaller projects a single file may be sufficient. in completion of the project all files should be reviewed by whe egies 1 dard dapat ond nad material The ngth of the retention period will vary for different projects an das for removal and disposal shouldbe clearly marked. The overall aim must be that of easy retrieval, both of material currently in hand and that which has been archived. The storage Of bulk material soon becomes a problem, At first sight two ‘methods appear attractive: + microform - before electing to use this the firm should study BS 6498:1984 - Guide 10 the preparation of microfilms and ‘other microforms that may be required as evidence. This gives advice about planning and running a microfilm programme so that firms will be able to establish that a microfilm is, in fact, a true copy of an original document. + computer storage - all data generated by computer should be stored at the completion of a project but careful handling is necessary to prevent loss of information by ageing or contamination, ‘The data should be stored in such a way as to allow for retrieval byalater generation of computcrsand it may be desirable, oreven, [StructE Good management practice necessary to retain outdated hardware and software to retrieve data from the archives. 2.5 Reference library A library with eadily available current reference material should jnclude_as a minimum, all relevant Standards, Codes of Practice IStruetE Good management practice and regulations. A system for cataloguing and updating should bbe established. ‘Before starting any job, engineers and technicians who keep their own selection of standard literature should be able to ‘demonstrate that these are up to date. In any event, they should bbe required to update such collections periodically and itis the

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