Best Practices

GOOD NEWS! We know what is wrong and we have the tools to fix it.

Do we need best practices?

Best practices need to be proven effective, but the industry is always evolving and therefore new innovations in process and technology can jump start new ways of doing things.

Why are best practices not implemented or not successful?

Awareness, culture and lack of effective mechanisms for implementing and sustaining new processes are the main reasons for unsuccessful implementations. 

What is a best practice or value-improving practice?

A practice that is more efficient and effective than other practices. A Value-Improving practice is an out of the ordinary practice used to improve cost, schedule or reliability of a capital construction project.

What best practices are available?

Several organizations have worked diligently to provide rigorous development of best practice documents. Topics are wide-ranging from front-end planning to contract management to skills of employees to everyday safety best practices. This handbook will highlight best practices from Construction Industry Institute (CII), Construction Owners Association of Alberta, as well as several local Alberta sources.

When should best practices be implemented?

The best practices are summarized into key categories as to when they should be implemented aligned with the Gated Process.

Which best practices should I chose?

You can compare all the best practices alongside their research results on impact to cost or schedule in our best practices summary.

Your Best Practice “Yellow Pages”

Here is a handbook that has a summary of each best practice including where to find it, how much it costs, and impact the best practices has historically on projects.
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We also have the best practices organized below in topic areas:

Partner Best Practice Websites

APIN resources area: APIN Resources Best Practices
COAA Best Practices
and CII Knowledge Base 

Project Planning Best Practices

Best Practice Source Benefit Cost
Front End Planning CII Measured – High Measured
Constructability CII 4-7% impact cost and schedule Unknown
Modularization CII Identified but not quantified -High Unknown
Industrial Modularization CII Identified but not quantified -High Unknown
Workface Planning and Advanced Work Packaging COAA Estimated High ~14% Estimated 0.5-2%
Project Rework Reduction Tool COAA Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown
Stage Gate Review CDC Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown
Scope Planning CDC Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown
Work Breakdown Structure CDC Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown
Project Scheduling CDC Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown
Estimating CDC Unmeasured, High Impact Unknown
Project Management Plan CDC Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown
Implementation Planning CDC Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown
Earned Value CDC Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown
Status Reporting CDC Unmeasured, Medium Impact Unknown

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Risk Management Best Practices

Best Practice Source Benefit Cost
Project Risk Assessment CII Unmeasured, High Impact Unknown
Probabilistic Risk Assessment CII Unmeasured, High Impact Unknown
Risk Management CDC Unmeasured, High Impact Unknown

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Collaboration Best Practices

Best Practice Source Benefit Cost
Partnering CII 10% Cost, 50% Quality, 20% Schedule Unmeasured
Alignment CII Unmeasured, High Impact Unmeasured
Team Communication CII Proven Better Communication has impact Unknown
Team Building CII Measured, inside report Measured, inside report
Dispute Resolution CII Avoiding costly claims unknown, setting up boards
Contractor Prequal. COAA Unmeasured, High Impact Unknown
Communication Management CDC Unmeasured, High Impact Unknown
Issue Management CDC Unmeasured, High Impact Unknown

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Skills and Competencies Best Practices

Best Practice Source Benefit Cost
Competency Verification COAA Unmeasured Unmeasured
Apprenticeship COAA Unmeasured Unmeasured
Apprentice Mentoring COAA Unmeasured Unmeasured
Essential Skills COAA Unmeasured Unmeasured
She Works COAA Unmeasured Unmeasured
Foreman Skills Development Tool COAA Unmeasured Unmeasured
Absenteeism Tracking Tool COAA Unmeasured Unmeasured

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Change Management Best Practices

Best Practice Source Benefit Cost
Project Change Management CII Unmeasured Unmeasured
Benchmarking Best Practices CII Measures all BP’s Measures all BP’s
Project Change Management CDC Unmeasured Unmeasured
Implementation Planning CDC Unmeasured Unmeasured
Lessons Learned CDC Unmeasured Unmeasured

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Value Improving Best Practices

Best Practice Source Benefit Cost
Optimizing Engineering Value CII Targeting 80% cost growths due to design deviations Varies depending on strategy
Constructability Reviews CII 4.3% project cost, 7.3% schedule 10% of savings
Design for Maintainability CII Wide-ranging benefits Unmeasured
Value Improving Practices VIPs IPA Unmeasured, high impact Unmeasured

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