Coatesville VAMC Fall Protection Systems Repair

When the Coatesville VA Hospital needed a repair on their fall protection systems, Valiant Group stepped in to implement procedural efficiencies. The goal was to improve communication and reduce or eliminate wasted time/resources on the project.

• Repair and install new fall protection systems at the Coatesville VA Hospital facilities

• Provide VA with consistent and accurate information to facilitate proper coordination of work
• Maintain unhindered operations of the facility as they care for patients

For the Coatesville VA Hospital, Valiant Group focused on reducing or eliminating the Waiting, Correction/Defect, and Under-Utilized People categories. To close the gap, Valiant Group instituted high-frequency but low-duration check-ins/meetings. There was also a focus on communication styles that not only pushed information, but also gave the owner the ability to pull information.

The intent of the communication efforts was continually updating the 3 week look ahead, weekly look ahead, and plan of the day, so all the key stakeholders stayed informed every step of the way. Concurrently, Valiant Group implemented simple collaboration tools that allowed automatic workflow processing. Automatic notifications and approval updates were sent any time key tasks or milestones were accomplished. Stakeholders were also notified when RFIs were submitted for consideration, clarification, and guidance.

Overall, the Valiant Group team met with key stakeholders and the owner one hour per week. And because these meetings occurred at the same time each day, they always started and ended on time. The team saw the value in the engagements. The owner and stakeholders were able to easily see which tasks were being planned, in construction, at risk and in need of support, and which tasks were completed.

The value was in the dialogue with people who had the authority to make decisions and direct resources. Construction is fluid and the base plan was continually adapted to answer four key questions:

1. What should we do (Base Schedule, scope, etc.)
2. What can we do (5, 3, 2 weeks look ahead)
3. What will we do and verbally commit (weekly work plan and plan of the day)
4. What is done/accomplished (project monitoring)¹

By using these questions to guide each meeting, Valiant Group successfully improved efficiencies on the project. The automated project management system improved communication by ensuring every key stakeholder was notified of important milestones in the project. And the outcome was a vastly improved system that kept the project on schedule and within budget.