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JR COMPANY’S TOP TEN THINGS
THAT CAN GO WRONG
ON A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
By Michael DiMercurio, (With Thanks to Ron Barsema)
Ron Barsema, the vice president of engineering and construction for a large chemical process industry manufacturer, shook his head in anger as he took in the alarming statistics presented to him by the company’s project managers. With the myriad of construction problems within the company’s capital project program, Ron’s goal was obvious: somehow he had to get the company’s construction projects back on track.
For this company, as for many others, a successful construction project was one that met the following goals:
At the time, the company’s projects were coming onstream significantly later than scheduled, over budget, with startup problems. Fortunately, safety was not a problem due to the company’s aggressive safety policies. But the company’s CEO and board of directors were becoming more concerned by the day.
Ron gathered the entire department together for a training session. He stepped up to the podium and gripped it hard enough to make the wood squeak. He was a tough guy, square jawed, steely eyed, with forearms that bulged from the rolled-up sleeves of his starched white shirt. He was famous for being pugnacious from his first days at the company. He’d graduated with a mediocre “C” average from a midwestern engineering university and shown up for his interview with the company some twenty years before. He had failed the interview, obviously considered to be not bright enough for the job, as he told the story. After being walked to the door, he said he didn’t even realize that the answer had been, “don’t call us, we’ll call you.” A week later he showed up at the receptionist’s desk in a suit and tie for a job he hadn’t been offered. He just assumed the company had interviewed him and that he should show up. Embarrassed, the human resources recruiter made emergency calls to the heads of departments, and the project management boss rolled his eyes and said, send him up. C-average Ron walked into the job and kicked the hell out of it, and was promoted rapidly through the ranks until he was appointed to take over the beleaguered engineering and construction department.
His first action was to gather the entire department together for a council of war. The first words he said to his troops were:
“Gentlemen, there are only 10 things that can go wrong on a construction project.”
The JR Company list is an amplification and alteration of the original Ron list.
ORIGIN OF THE TOP TEN LIST
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