Successful planning and approval procedures are milestones in the construction of industrial plants or the implementation of infrastructure measures. Appropriate planning and management of the procedures are therefore essential, especially as such major projects can never be developed without political or public awareness.
If, on the other hand, the project management is not up to the complexity of the project or lacks the necessary resources or a communication strategy appropriate to the project status, there is a risk of delays and, in the worst case, legal proceedings that can drag on for years, with all the financial and reputational damage that entails.
This is why I always recommend that my clients pay particular attention to the following aspects:
1. Make planning and approval procedures a matter for the boss.
The first step on the way to successfully completing a planning and approval procedure is to make the procedure a matter for the boss. The wrong strategic decisions are often made well in advance of such projects. The consequences then suddenly emerge as a "black swan" and put projects, which are often associated with considerable investments, in a precarious position.
This is why it is important that the management or - in large structures - the site or plant management not only understands the how and why of the planning and approval process. Rather, management must see the process as a central project for achieving the company's goals and therefore fully support the process and follow it closely.
In contrast, it is not expedient to "hide" projects in the line or in specialist department structures. The business or site management must see itself as a sponsor for the project - and position itself as such.
2. Select the members of the project management team carefully.
Industrial planning and approval procedures are complex. There are
- technical and legal, aber auch eine Vielzahl von
- technischen,
- betriebswirtschaftlichen,
- political and,
- especially in the case of public participation, communication aspects
must be taken into account. The project management must be able to take all these aspects into account in the decision-making process, but also be able to initiate and monitor the implementation of decisions.
With projects of this type, the selection of project management team members and the right composition of the project management team are therefore probably more important than with other projects: project management for major projects is not specialist management, but general management at the highest level.
3. Provide the necessary internal and external resources.
The implementation of major projects can only succeed if the necessary internal and external resources are available.
Provide internal resources
I have observed time and again that there is a considerable difference between the operational or strategic importance of a particular industrial project, which is usually clearly communicated internally, and the resources provided internally. All too often, even project managers wear several hats or are entrusted with other line tasks "alongside" the actual project.
One of the most important measures to ensure the success of the project, on the other hand, is to either really free up 100% of the project management and those responsible for the central work packages for the planning and approval process or - even better - to transfer all personnel to a new project organization.
An additional measure is to have the project management report directly to the business or site management. This sends a clear message from the company management:
Only the best people for the most important project!
This ensures that the project management has the necessary visibility and freedom from the outset. To achieve this, leadership, steadfastness and the ability to deal with conflict are required. This is elementary for the success of a planning and approval process, especially at the beginning.
Securing external resources
Equally central to a successful process is ensuring sufficient external resources. This is because not all of the skills required to handle the many technical facets of an approval procedure are usually available in-house. Securing these early on, binding them to the project permanently and understanding and integrating them as an equal part of the team contributes significantly to the success of the project and reduces the risk of overburdening internal project participants or even overlooking important technical issues.
However, a broad technical set-up right at the start of a planning and approval project is a major challenge - not least because the resources involved can be considerable. But this investment pays off at the latest when external resources are fully in the picture when needed and can therefore act quickly.
4. Estimate the time required conservatively.
In practice, it unfortunately happens far too often that projects fall behind schedule. If it is argued externally that approval is needed now because you are behind schedule, it is usually too late. The cause of this unfortunate situation is often a planning error at the start of the project: internal time requirements, coordination with authorities and the duration of approval procedures themselves are often estimated far too optimistically.
The following strategies can be used to avoid incorrect estimates of time requirements:
- As a rule, you cannot avoid calculating with considerable safety buffers compared to a "desired" optimal schedule.
- It is also helpful to use reference projects and their actual duration as a guide. In the vast majority of cases, comparable procedures for the approval of facilities and projects have probably already been implemented.
- Finally, it makes sense to discuss time requirements with the authorities in advance - also because this makes your contact person more aware of your concerns. As approvals always have a political dimension, this can speed up the process: The greater the political interest in an approval, the more the authority will do to implement it.
5. Hold regular team workshops.
No project runs completely as planned from the first day of implementation. In order to be able to react to this in a timely, flexible and creative manner during the course of the project, other platforms for internal communication are required in addition to formal reporting structures. Regular workshops for the teams involved in the project, but also for other people involved in the process, are a good way of doing this.
The success of such workshops stands and falls with the concentration of the participants on the respective topics. In order to take participants out of their day-to-day work, the workshops
- should not take place at the workplace and
- should last an entire day.
The workshops must also be designed in such a way that an open discussion at eye level is possible. They should therefore
- be organized, hosted and moderated by an external consultant.
If the workshop results can be saved and incorporated into the implementation plan, the project can react flexibly to changes and deviations from the plan.
In addition, the effect of such events on the mood and culture in the team is enormous.
6. Ensure appreciative and coherent communication with the authorities.
Successful communication with the authorities is the king discipline for the successful implementation of large projects. It is not only important to communicate with the authorities in an appreciative manner, but also the perspective from which the communication is made. No authority likes to simply be told what a project sponsor would like. But almost every authority appreciates it when a project sponsor takes an interest at an early stage in the ways in which the authority could come to an approval of the project, taking into account the many environmental and planning law requirements.
The decisive factor here is mutual trust, which the project management should take care to build from the outset. This requires:
- time.
- Unified communication of the objectives. Communication with authorities must come from a single source. Unclear or even contradictory signals reduce the willingness of an authority to take the project management and thus the project as a whole seriously.
- Regular technical discussions with the experts from the approval authorities, in which the technical work packages of a project are mirrored and the corresponding expert opinions are prepared. Such discussions convey competence and a serious interest in the implementation of the project.
Mutual trust ultimately facilitates cooperation and speeds up the process.
7. Develop a differentiated lobbying strategy.
Whether expanding infrastructure or building industrial plants: there is no such thing as a major project without political and public awareness. This is why a differentiated communication and lobbying strategy must be developed, staffed and implemented from the outset.
This requires dedicated structures and personnel resources in the project. Having politically sensitive communication carried out by central departments or external agencies virtually "on the side" does not lead to success, especially in approval procedures with public participation. When communicating with external stakeholders, there are two key factors:
- identifying and specifically addressing the stakeholders who act as multipliers in the immediate environment and the wider region.
- Communicate in a differentiated manner: Do not simply water down your own positions or only communicate them in writing via press releases or similar, but rather represent them authentically with dedicated employees on site, for example with an information office, participation in public events or in your own series of events.
This direct communication should be supplemented by classical elements of lobbying using in-house structures and associations or via external service providers. Such a communication strategy will only be successful if the project management provides these resources with a clear and honest picture of the project status and the communication situation at all times. A regular exchange, for example in a "communication task force", is conducive to this.
8. Take financial and risk controlling seriously.
In many large planning and approval projects, financial controllinglags behind the actual cost development. Once costs are out of control, there is often a hectic shift from one budget to another, which often exacerbates problems.
Firstly, it is more sustainable and more promising to incorporate business management and controlling expertise into the project team from the outset and secondly, to assign responsibility for organizing coordination with central controlling, for example.
In the phase of investment project implementation that is crucial for the outflow of funds, professional claim management must also be added. It is not uncommon for the project team to lack the necessary expertise, or only to a limited extent, which can result in considerable financial losses in the event of an emergency. Such gaps can also be easily filled with external service providers.
The same applies to risk controlling. Here, it must be possible to think and say everything that is conceivable, always under the motto:
What can go wrong, will go wrong.
The greater the risk of reputational damage is, the more caution should be exercised as a project sponsor, for example in the case of major projects such as the expansion of transport routes, the expansion of power lines or similar infrastructure projects of this magnitude. Only if there are no prohibitions on thinking can the risks be honestly assessed and evaluated in terms of the facts and appropriate countermeasures developed.
