Ask the Expert (Facilities Planning)
How should we prepare for a large security project?
Everyone wants what’s best for
his or her university or college project, but
quite often, the opinions on what is best
differs from one stakeholder to another.
Without a finite delegation of authority and
agreed-upon roles — determined in the
very beginning — the project is sometimes
left open to interpretation by all involved
and, in some instances, can cause delay in
implementation and completion.
Most large campus projects require a
wide variety of skills and expertise in order
to complete the work. With individual
stakeholders assigned to the same project,
yet originating from separate on- or off-campus
groups, such as the IT department,
campus planning, facilities management and
university police, this cross-functional team
can be both beneficial and problematic. For
campuses to benefit with a positive outcome
it is crucial to define the roles and responsibilities
of each group, while also setting
clear objectives, so that consistent, seamless
collaboration is achieved by all parties
throughout the life of the project.
In the beginning establish who the
owners are, who is taking the lead, who will
be supporting and contributing and who will
complete day-to-day operations. Keeping
an open communication strategy among all
stakeholders eliminates unnecessary strain
and inefficiency throughout the project.
By building positive team dynamics and
working toward a common goal, the process
of moving from planning and designing to receipt
and ownership can be a smooth process
from beginning to end.
This article originally appeared in the issue of .
About the Author
Kyle Gordon is vice president of Business Development, Commercial Strategy, for STANLEY Black & Decker He can be reached at [email protected].