Presentations

Transforming Construction: The Impact of Intelligent Production on Trade Contractors and the Future of Projects

PPI and their academic partners, Cal Poly and Texas A&M, share updates on their programs to bring PPM (Project Production Management) and Operations Science to the professional education world.

Gary Fischer, PE, emphasizes the significance of construction and infrastructure for the global economy. He is announcing PPI’s academic partnerships and initiatives with the aim of making PPM the leading delivery paradigm for capital projects, and is presenting the 2021 PPI Technical Achievement Award to James Choo of SPS.

Todd Zabelle advocates modern production methods in construction to improve safety and efficiency. He outlines a framework for simplifying production processes using a 4-5-3 system. He identifies four verbs and five levers critical to optimizing production processes and emphasizes the importance of managing work in progress.

The panelists are urging the construction industry to modernize its institutional approach, embrace operational science, and adopt a portfolio contracting approach. They are stressing the importance of a mindset shift when selecting contractors and measuring the right things to improve performance.

Dougie McMichael, VP of Hess’s onshore production, discusses the need for managing variability in the oil and gas industry and Hess’s approach to improving operational performance through processes, experimentation, adaptation, technology, and people development. He also highlights the importance of environmental performance and cost management.