Taking ownership
Goa 27th July 2011
Day 4 in Goa and things are still moving slow. It’s confirmed I will go back to Goa over the weekend to complete at least a part of the works. The main issue that has dogged the progress during the last few days really is the unclear definition in regards to scope of work and thus ownership and responsibility. All in the end of course boiling down to money, fees and bottom line company profits, etc.
I came to do some testing and commissioning, primarily the programming of the lighting. What I found were several parties blaming each other for the lack of progress. First there is the clients own site team, project management and electrical engineer and his team. Then there is the sub-contractor, a (local) third party who provides all the additional manpower. And finally there is the supplier/manufacturer (in this case for the dimmer controls). As a result I find myself with a lighting installation with faulty wiring, lights that can not be addressed, unfinished dimmer racks, missing control panels and people blaming each other for the situation.
To me it is all about taking pride and ownership in the endresult. For that it needs to be clear who is contractually responsible for what! Who is responsible for the installation of the lights and physically conecting them to power and data cables, who for the cabling/ wiring from the lights to the switchboard? What about the control cables between the dimmer racks, light fittings and control panels? This has clearly been lacking and had to be sorted out. Only with clear directions, targets, responsibilities and ownership will we be able to achieve a satisfactory end result.
I have now left the site for my trip to Delhi, leaving the site team behind with a long list of works to be completed by the time I return this weekend. Fingers crossed!
In Light Watch another sneak view into the site. Have a look at the unbelievable amount of wires. How can someone in his right mind find its way through this mess and manage to connect each cable/wire without mistake? This kind of work demands discipline and methodology, step by step.
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