Process Owner | General Contractor

“ If everything is well defined in the Contract and the process document, the management and interaction between the Contractor/GC and the GM/Phoenix shall be limited to management of the Constraints alone ”

While constraints in a perfect world are all about some of the unknown events/situations emerged in a project which needs to be dealt, in reality, this is misused as a book of excuses by the Contractor to hide under, in case of delays. The most efficient and well-planned Contractor would have least constraints as they are forecasted and resolved in time. But in reality, we get to hear constraints as the reasons for lack of progress in works on the ground.

As Phoenix, we need to be very critical and serious about the constraints raised by the Contractor and make sure they are resolved in time as and when they are raised. Any delay in the resolution of constraints will entail the contractor additional time and money. As Phoenix, we need to take cognisance of all the constraints, irrespective of whether it is within the ambit of Phoenix to resolve them or not. Further, we should also be conscious of when these constraints are raised. If raised in time, they could be resolved and addressed in time without any delay in the Project. But this seldom happens and when it is escalated the damage is already done to the Schedule.

As a matter of general awareness, the Contractor shall be raising Constraints falling within his domain of influence and those under Phoenix’s domain of influence. However, our team will initiate action only for those notified and accepted as falling into Phoenix domain of influence. There could be some constraints that may require action from Phoenix as well as the Contractor, and they should be identified and separated in clear terms, which all actions are falling in contractor’s domain and fall in Phoenix’s domain.

The most important factor in dealing with constraints is the ability to clearly identify the exact issue and be able to clearly portray the problem statement. This is the only way it can efficiently be solved through proper delegation to the right parties to resolve it in a timely manner.

Given that this is a supercritical strategy used by the Contractors to push back on Phoenix, we have proposed a comprehensive constraint resolution system hereunder;

Quality is the centre of interdependent elements - Scope, Cost and Time – strike the right balance."- The concept of Triple constraints