“Excellence in engineering leadership and best practice contributes significantly to great achievements in every organization.”
Engineering Managers and C-Level Managers contributes significantly to the success of an organized engineering environment leading to performance and excellence in product and services delivery.
Engineering Excellence is a combination of many factors, among which management is key. As a branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures, excellence in this context refers to outstanding performance, distinction, supremacy, first class rating, choiceness or perfection.
It is therefore unfortunate that the importance of ENGINEERING RISKS MANAGEMENT IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS ON TECHNICAL PROJECTS is often minimized or ignored with emphasis placed in preliminary budgets and delivery schedules. The probability of engineering risk becomes high. The failures of engineering management at this level occur as a result of inability to carry out engineering risk assessment which is the backbone for strategic engineering management.
Poor strategic management is a major cause of failed management in the engineering world. C-level Managers who evaluate and controls business, set goals and strategies, and are responsible for formulating and implementing organizational goals should involve various stakeholders through resource management and consideration of internal and external environment. In this way a holistic risk basket on technical projects is generated to mitigate failure.
It important that aspects of engineering such as engineering quality assurance and control, which forms basis for satisfactory delivery to clients and ensure stakeholder requirements are met. Stakeholders include Insurers, Financiers, Authorities Having Jurisdiction, design & project implementation team, government and operators. Use code or standard, best practice applications, approved and certified equipment, and qualified construction teams are all controls that must be carefully considered by managers.
When these important engineering risk management guides are ignored due to cost cutting measures, the effects are are seen in:
- Project Scoping, cost management and procurement management.
- Time management
- Often time impossible closeout as more costs are wasted in remediation of errors, omissions, alterations
- Variations of wastes
- Litigation in order to compensate for possible professional negligence
- Liquidated and ascertained damages due to breaches in contract terms and conditions or failure to satisfy requirements of the authorities having jurisdiction for approvals.
All these repeat processes have resulted on project delays, financial loses and unsatisfactory engineering project delivery.
To eliminate this grievous failure, it is important for the Engineering industry to embark on hiring of qualified personnel for engineering management. Also, non-engineering C-Level Managers need continuous development, capacity building and collaboration between the technical and non-technical C-Level Managers to synchronize strategic engineering management based on operational risk management in engineering practice.
