INNOVATION May-June 2017

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Not only is effective communication integral and necessary for a project’s success, it can also help protect employees and field crews. For Project Yellowhammer, effective communication required asking the right questions, talking to the right people, raising valid concerns, and offering acceptable solutions. It was an indispensable requirement in the field and in the office, and was integrated into every component of the project, and led to the project’s successful completion. When working on a project, everyone working on the project is responsible for communicating effectively—regardless of position, title or pay grade. It is a key interpersonal skill that permits smooth progression of a project. With the amount of terrain Project Yellowhammer covered, the level and number of people influencing and making decisions, and the project’s financial and schedule constraints, every stakeholder had to be able to receive and understand messages, as well as be able to communicate clearly and specifically to others.

Establishing a Daily Communication Practice Every morning, the engineering field crew lead and the earthworks contractor field superintendent discussed the day’s activities, objectives and targets, as well as directions from project upper management. They also met throughout the day to talk over modifications to haul roads, changes in traffic patterns, areas to be excavated, areas to be filled and compacted, and sediment- and erosion-control structures to be built. They reviewed directions from upper management and broke the directives down into well-defined tasks that could be easily understood by field staff. Thoughts and opinions were exchanged frequently so that the two supervisors remained on the same page and shared a common understanding of plans, targets, design, modifications, sequence, and schedule. These discussions and what they meant for the engineering crew were shared with the crew. Depending on the day’s construction footprint, the crew would work individually or in small groups across the site. A health and safety mindset and protocol remained the priority on this enormous, equipment-filled site.

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