One of the most common questions we’re asked about the Construction Readiness Assessment is how it fits with other CII practices such as the Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI) and Advanced Work Packaging (AWP).
It’s encouraging to see so many organizations working to implement these project assurance practices into their project lifecycle and we understand it’s not always clear when each practice should be applied within the project life cycle.
Using Construction Readiness with PDRI
PDRI is focused on making sure you have good scope definition coming out of front end planning. Normally, a PDRI would be used up to the end of front end planning or what a lot of organizations call their Gate 3 review. Then projects transition into Detailed Design or final construction documents if you’re on the architectural side. Once the project progresses past the front end planning stage, the Construction Readiness Assessment comes into play.
Some additional questions we’ve been asked about around the relationship between PDRI and Construction Readiness:
“Can you use PDRI as an input to Construction Readiness Assessment?”
In PDRI there’s a whole section around the execution approach from a planning perspective. If there were gaps, they should be reviewed as inputs into the first construction readiness assessment but they pretty much sit independently to support different phases of the project.
“Does the Construction Readiness Assessment consider the logistics, procurement and technical factors only? How about market competitiveness, commercial drivers, etc.?”
When considering the market and business drivers behind it, best practice would be to ensure those questions were assessed in the front end planning stages of the project. They are not covered in the Construction Readiness Assessment aside from asking if you had a well defined scope to start with and other questions about project goals. If these are questions that need to be addressed, we encourage you to look at the Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI).
Using the Construction Readiness Assessment with Advanced Work Packaging (AWP)
Where PDRI and the Construction Readiness Assessment are both reviews done to determine readiness of a project at specific phases, Advanced Work Packaging is a planning framework used to improve productivity in the construction phase.
When using AWP on a project, one consideration is that for every construction work package, there are standard procedures in place and everything set up and resourced to go for every work package. The Construction Readiness Assessment is important in verifying factors such as ensuring that all Project Controls, Quality, HR and Procurement procedures are in place, materials are on site and knowing how your project controls are going to execute.
You can learn more about the Construction Readiness Methodology by attending an upcoming training course: Construction Readiness Principles & Practices.
Sandra is the Managing Director for Valency Inc., an implementer of best practices from the Construction Industry Institute (CII) that dramatically improve capital project performance. She is a Certified PDRI Facilitator, Registered Education Provider (REP) with the Construction Industry Institute (CII), a Project Management Professional (PMP), and a PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) with over 15 years of project management experience. Sandra is a past research team member with the Construction Industry Institute on front end planning, risk management and portfolio management. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Waterloo and a Master in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.