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A large-scale infrastructure project is characterized by many stakeholders, who are often basically strangers to each other. A comprehensive introduction and securing a successful collaboration is increasingly starting to become a standard part of a tender or call for tenders. Because, how do you make sure that you don't lose each other, but keep your shoulders closed and stay together? Especially when the going gets tough. Ami helps construction teams bring the interplay in the chain to the highest possible level. And makes that success measurable. Also in the redesign of the A.C. de Graafweg (N241).
Ami is a party that, after 25 years of experience, knows the dynamics of all parties involved in the chain very well. "We speak the language and know and understand all the interests involved in large infrastructure projects, says Martijn Jong, managing partner of Ami. "For the redesign of the A.C. de Graafweg, we were approached by Boskalis, but it could also be a water management team or the province that called us in. It really doesn't matter who takes the lead in that, because for us it is important that we quickly assume an independent position. Everyone has to feel free. As consultants, we don't serve one interest, but rather the common interest."
Thanks to those years of experience, Ami knows how to appreciate the interests of all stakeholders in the chain. "We have extensive knowledge of both the commissioning parties and the contractor side. With governments, provinces, Rijkswaterstaat and water boards, you very quickly touch the political-administrative domain with all its complexities," Jong acknowledges. "Our goal is to properly align those interests and dynamics with those of the contractor. Even at the moment when things get complicated, for example when the project encounters unforeseen issues in the subsurface, or as is happening a lot now, in view of material costs and delivery times exploding, and so on."
Essential to the success of a project, according to Marije Bergmans, consultant and team coach at Ami, is an "open" culture among all key personnel. "We always start with an initial introduction both personally and professionally. Then we jointly build a learning culture, because being and staying successful requires that we continuously learn and improve together. Two things are important in this: a success compass and a value compass. The first is about the shared view of project success, uniting interests. While the value compass is much more about behavior; what behavior, specifically, do you want to see every day? The purpose of both compasses is to make success and behavior measurable and controllable as the project progresses. If you pay attention to 'how do we do it together' with regularity, the chances of facing each other in the event of unforeseen events are minimal."
Steering for success is not something you do once in a while; it has to be addressed with great regularity, Jong summarizes. "There has to be someone who regularly calls attention to how the team is doing. In addition to creating a foundation in co-creation, we also involved a team coach from Boskalis in our approach, who follows through on this during the project and continuously reflects to both compasses whether the outlined course is being maintained." Bergmans notes that securing a successful collaboration is increasingly embraced in the industry. "There is just still too soft an atmosphere around it. With a compass, we make the feeling measurable. They are handles to steer, so you can intervene early on to keep things straight and not at the moment it rubs or cracks. Then it's much more complicated to glue." Young concluded, "We are proud to be able to use our vision to support so many large and complex infrastructure projects on their way to success."
