September 20, 2024
September 20, 2024
During summer of 2024, we won a tender from one of our regular partners. Our task was to set up connection points for utility networks (electricity, water supply, and sewerage) within a large city park.
In managing construction projects, we rely on our internal regulations and checklists—straightforward working tools that are continuously updated and have evolved alongside us through lessons learned and completed projects. This is fundamental production management, but the current generation of construction managers often shifts its focus toward soft skills and shooting short promotional videos for social media. However, in a highly regulated environment like construction, it is precisely this academic foundation that ensures clients get the quality, timelines, and budget they desire. We firmly believe in this principle, and our experience consistently backs it up.
The initial conditions and technical requirements for this project were “high stakes”: a tight deadline driven by the financial model, remote connection points from the supply source, and the need to cross existing roads, driveways, and underground structures. These factors became even more challenging due to significant uncertainty about the location of existing underground utilities—an important, if not decisive, element for projects of this nature.
Our own experience, as well as that of many colleagues in the industry, led us to adopt a fundamental principle known as “Gemba.” We never start a project until we have visited the site and thoroughly studied it. This may sound obvious, but most of our peers tend to overlook it.
We examined the conditions and began developing the working documentation in tandem with field surveys and updates on the location of existing utilities—power lines, communication networks, various water supply lines, and drainage systems. We used a range of modern cable locators, enabling us to circumvent numerous issues during construction and installation. In fact, we uncovered more than ten inconsistencies between the actual utility layout and the customer’s documentation, resolving them before the documentation was officially approved for work.
During construction, we encountered several hurdles: equipment breakdowns requiring a change of methods in the construction plan, certain tenants refusing site access, and a minor delay in the delivery of cable lines due to manufacturing quality issues. Despite all this, we completed the work and handed the project over to the client a full week ahead of the scheduled deadline.
4 types of external utility networks and systems, 8 routing paths, open-cut and trenchless methods, over 10 detected collisions across 9 hectares of a popular city park, with no restrictions on visitor access.
In a short timeframe, under extremely tight conditions, uncertainty regarding existing utility lines, and a remote power source, we managed to establish new utility connection points for our partner, enabling further commercial development of the site. We also updated the engineering survey materials, enhancing the overall geodetic accuracy for the park and, consequently, improving the baseline data for the partner’s future projects.
