[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to the Consulting Specifying Engineer podcast. I'm your host Amara Rozgus and I've connected with Jane Baikadanova.
We'll be talking about how to maintain the quality of deliverables throughout the project life cycle and the main lessons learned working at a small or medium scale engineering firm. Thanks for joining me today, Jane.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: Hello Amara. Happy to be here.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: Awesome. Awesome. Well, a little background about Jane. She is the owner of ipq, an MEP engineering firm in Alexandria, Virginia. IPQ stands for Integrity, Passion and Quality.
Quality is a number one priority for Jane when she delivers projects, so it's great that we get to step back to discuss this.
Jane has more than 12 years of engineering design experience with an emphasis on cost effectiveness and environmental sustainability.
Her background is in electrical engineering and systems engineering. Just last year she started her own engineering practice and has been doing projects for commercial, healthcare and government facilities.
That's a lot. Jane, let's start at the beginning. What is the project life cycle?
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Sure.
So there are five project lifecycle phases. There is initiation. There's planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing.
In initiation, this is when you provide your feasibility, study, the cost benefit analysis, define your priorities. In planning phase you're setting up your requirements. This is where you have your scope, milestones, expectations for the team and for the project.
Executing is where you provide your deliverables. This is your schematic design, design development, construction documents, final construction documents, monitoring and controlling that happens throughout the whole life cycle of the project. This is where you provide your quality assurance and measuring against the schedule, scope and a budget that you set up in your planning phase and then closing. This is where everything is completed and it doesn't stop there. This is where you reflect on your entire project document lessons learned, what worked, what didn't, what should be added to the template that will make assure that higher quality deliverable for the next project.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: Okay, so you mentioned quality a lot. What are the best ways to assure quality throughout the project life cycle?
[00:02:36] Speaker B: I would like to answer this question from the higher level and then focus on a project specific approach.
All PMs are well aware of the PM triangle. You have your constraints which is the cost, schedule and scope that affect your quality of the project.
I have rarely encountered when all stars aligning and you have a great budget and a reasonable schedule and a well defined scope. This is a very much a unicorn project. So if you've got one of those, enjoy the rides.
The more realistic set up in my experience is that you're working with a limited Budget or a crazy schedule or always moving parts and changing scope of work. So to assure the quality deliverable, set up your management tool at the beginning of the project.
Lately I personally have been adapting the agile approach to a smaller, more creative projects. This is a more fluid, I call it a little bit hipster like approach to managing the project where you have a short deadlines, frequent interaction with the client. It also gives you a buy in for changing constraints during the design, gives you flexibility on changing the direction while you are designing the project.
So those are typically my hourly no to upset projects.
This can be very harmful if you have an indecisive client or a very large project with a lot of moving parts. For those projects I would use the waterfall approach where you have a fixed way of managing the project, you have your deadlines, no scope creep or a minimal scope creep, very well defined requirements at the beginning of the project and fixed budget.
I think both work in its own way. I've heard somewhere someone told before that set up as a waterfall and approach the project as agile. You know you're nothing if you're not adaptable.
So regardless of this PM approaches, I think there are common practices that should be applied for any project to assure quality throughout the life cycle. So the first one is set up the priorities and objectives at the beginning of the project.
If this is a budget driven project, then make sure that you're working with a cost effective solution.
So one of the tools that engineers use a lot to stay within the budget is the value to engineering.
Most of the times we use that tool after the project goes for a bit, but I like using it sometimes at the beginning of the project if it is a budget driven project. So that way I stay within the budget, I provide the products that are going to work, you know, for the clients and make sure everything is coordinated during design.
If it's a schedule driven project, then check your lead times before you specify in the project or the products.
All this will make your life so much easier during ca.
The next one is set up your expectations for your team. Open communication is the best tool. I've heard so many of my friends they're still calling me and screaming over the phone. I cannot read their minds and they're talking about their PMs.
As a PM, it is your role to set up the plan, to monitor and assure that the team has all resources and tools to complete the assignment and most importantly a clear understanding of the task. I think that's where sometimes we fail to communicate and that all affects the Quality of the project during the quality assurance phase.
Set up your requirements at the beginning of the project.
So when I took my master's degree in systems engineering, half of my classes were, were project management classes and half of those classes were drilling into my head requirements, requirements, requirements. So well defined requirements at the beginning of the project will assure the success of the project that doesn't stop at the client requirements. Make sure that you include your codes and standards and whether this is a lead or well project because this will justify the selection during the design process.
And I think the last one and the biggest one, and I think sometimes the most overlooked one is the quality assurance.
So this is a proactive way of controlling the quality of the project within the engineering company. And sometimes we get wrapped up so much in the busy schedules, bunch of projects, just too much going on that we don't leave enough time to do the QA during different phases, during different deliverables.
Then you have your final qc. This is the final check on the final submission. And it doesn't stop at engineer record. I don't believe so. I believe that the QC continues during the permit review, the contractors looking at it, you know, inspectors making sure that the project is built correctly.
So the quality assurance, that's one of the biggest ones and I think that's what should be the focus of the entire quality approach.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: All right, well that's a lot, Jane, to take away from this.
What are some of your lessons learned on these types of projects?
[00:07:46] Speaker B: Yeah, good question.
So there are a lot of them and I think some of them might not be directly relatable to the project management approach.
But for example, one of them is a trust your team.
I think this is something that we fail to do sometimes.
Set up the expectations, teach the skill, especially the junior staff. Teach the skill, let your team apply it, let them make mistakes and then learn from their mistakes and then they will never forget it. Trust me. I think the most memorable for me, lessons learned as far as the technical goes, is the RFIs or permit comments.
So you never forget that.
Learn your team skills and motivation. I have noticed that when people are passionate about what they do, the deadlines are being met, the quality of deliverables is always high.
As long as you can motivate people to do their own research, I think the quality of the project will definitely improve.
Training is super important. Make sure you give an opportunity for engineers to learn. It can be lunch and learn. It can be factory visit.
What I've done before with my juniors and previous my corporate worlds, I would sit down with them once a week and we would go through any section of NEC that they would like to discuss, whether it's overcurrent protection for the motors, primary, secondary protection for the transformers, how to size it. So there are a lot of things in NEC that could be, could be subjective, right? So sometimes it's helpful just to sit down with your juniors and go through every section and just break it apart.
Use the tools. There's so many really great tools to help to coordinate between the disciplines before the project project even hits the construction. We use Revit a lot. So I think that's a fantastic tool for engineers.
I think one of the biggest mistakes that people make is not asking for extra time to provide the quality assurance review.
So we're all human and sometimes we get overworked and asking for a couple of extra days saves you time during permitting and during construction. Open communication between the team is important, but I also do appreciate the open communication between the PM or company and the client. So, so now being my own boss and having a single person myself as a designer, engineer, pm, you know, marketing, so I, I experience this on every day, everyday basis. And so I contact the clients and I ask them if I need a couple more days to do a final check on my project. And I rarely get no. Usually people understand that, that it's needed to provide the quality assurance.
And with multiple disciplines I would recommend setting up internal schedules.
I think this is super critical. I worked for AE firm, the big AE firm where we had architects and engineers on staff. So for example, electrical engineer needs the mechanical equipment selection three, four days before the QA even starts. For electrical discipline, the mechanical engineer needs architectural backgrounds to get their loads, to make a selection, one or two, sometimes more weeks.
And so all this you count backwards to assure that everyone has time to review the set.
And I think the being creative and innovative, that's another lesson learned. The lesson that I learned.
I think we're so wrapped up into copy paste to meet the deadlines or schedule or budget that we're not getting, getting out of our comfort zone, you know, to see if there are any alternate solutions to meet the project requirements. And this is where the agile approach can be super helpful.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: Yeah, I really like that, that point on integrating all the different disciplines, I love it.
All right, so let's back this up. Can you summarize the project setup to ensure quality submission? What does that look like, Jane?
[00:12:04] Speaker B: Absolutely, yes.
So first, set up the kickoff call with the client and define the priorities and expectations.
The second is Create a work breakdown structure that helps you to set up a smaller, more manageable deliverables. This will create expectations for the project.
Then set up a responsibility based structure that has expectations for the team. The make sure that the team understands what's expected from them and not just throw a sentence at them. Right?
Make sure that you understand who you're talking to. If you're talking to the junior engineer or your mid level engineer, make sure you ask him the right questions. For example, if I ask the junior engineer to do the lighting power density calculations, I'm not just going to throw that sentence them I will ask, okay, so this is what you do. You open up the COM check, you select the right code for this jurisdiction, whether it's ASHRAE 90.1 or is it IECC and you explain to them on how to fill in the information.
The track lights can be different. You could do watts per foot based on nec. You could do current limiters, you can do transformer size for the tracks. So there are different ways of approaching the calculations. And so you just make sure that you expl. Explain enough and identify what is expected from them. For the mid level engineer, I would just probably throw that sentence. Hey, do the lighting power density calculations and I would ask do you have any questions? So I think setting up expectations for the team super important. That way that you can assure they will provide enough information for you to review. During QI process.
Set up the checklist for each deliverable and get the buy in from the client. This will help monitor that the project meets the major milestones and also meets the client's expectations.
Set up the time frame, internal and external deadlines. So as a firm, I think especially in the bigger firms, we're so focused on external deadlines like when the client needs a schematic design, when the client needs a design development.
But we are rarely focused on internal deadlines. So go back again to that question that we had before. You know, like that example that I gave.
Go backwards when electrical engineering needs the data from mechanical when mechanical needs from the architect. When the architect needs the buying from the client. So work backwards and set up that internal schedule to again to assure that you give time for PMs or engineers of record to review the set and provide the comments.
So what I wanted to mention is that creating all these great schedules and ways to approach and work breakdown structures, this is all awesome, but you need to find the time to follow it. I think that's what the struggle is in a lot of companies. They're just like rushing through so many projects and there is no time to to follow those setups that PM is doing.
So like I always say, knowledge is not a power, the application of it is.
Then another one is a good one, is a print review and make sure it's all readable. One of my previous mentors told me that you can have the best design with all compliances, but if it's not readable, you're going to get RFIs during construction. So make sure that your set is readable and as always, back check against your priorities. Whether it's a schedule, whether it's a budget or scope, make sure that you're meeting the expectations, making sure that you're making the client happy.
In the end of all of this, have a sit down with the team, have a happy hour with margaritas and talk through the lessons learned. What can be done better, faster, with less stress. Next time, document and incorporate it into template to save the time for the next project.
So all of this, Amara, what I mentioned, this is not a rocket science and it seems so obvious and common sense, but it is so common to get wrapped up in a daily chaos that you just forget about some of the steps.
And as long as you put an effort in setting up the system in place and following it, not just setting it up, but actually finding time to follow it, I think you will see your stress level dropped because you're not rushing through all these submissions every time. And you will see that the quality of the submissions will increase and most importantly, you will have a happy team and happy clients.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: Yeah. So Jane, you sound like a planner, just like me.
The devil is in the details. It sounds like correct.
[00:16:58] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:16:59] Speaker A: All right. All right. So planning, do you have any travel plans in the next couple of months? Because I'm sure you're planning something.
[00:17:08] Speaker B: Yes, actually I am.
I'm going scuba diving in Mexico for my birthday in May.
I'm planning to go to see Musa. Musa. I'm sure I mispronounced that word, but that is one of the largest underwater museums in the world.
It was created in 2009 to redirect from the Manchones reef that started getting a lot of damage from all the touristic activities. And so this museum has 500 underwater sculptures and it attracts a lot of marine life, which I'm super excited to see. Yeah, I'm super psyched to go and see all this underwater worlds.
[00:17:49] Speaker A: That sounds absolutely amazing.
[00:17:51] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:17:52] Speaker A: I want to go with you.
[00:17:54] Speaker B: Please come with me.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: All right. Well, that was Jane Ba from IPQ talking about maintaining the quality deliverables throughout a project.
Thank you Jane. It was an absolute pleasure to chat with you.
[00:18:10] Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me. Amar. That was awesome.
[00:18:14] Speaker A: Excellent. For more on workforce development, codes and standards or similar topics, visit Consulting specifying
[email protected]. thanks for listening and catch you next time. Bye Bye.
