incentives arrangements in which cost and schedule overruns and underruns are shared, instead of focusing on claims. Project execution. Lean construction and project portfolio management can be injected into all projects. Stage-gate processes can be enhanced to enable cross-functional visibility and minimize waste. Construction activities can be optimized and standardized to upgrade performance across contractors. Additionally, claims management can be upgraded, enhancing claims defense and the effectiveness of counterclaims. End-to-end digitization. Data can be used for meaningful conversations about performance, especially by digitizing the project stage-gate process with an eye on creating value and driving cross-functional collaboration. It can also help companies benchmark their projects as a basis for continuous improvement. Through a digital project control tower and a digital backbone, the necessary elements can be provided to all stakeholders, including suppliers. The build-up of onshore wind and solar PV projects is a major lever to keep pace with EU decarbonization plans. This once-in-a-lifetime growth opportunity for companies also comes with challenges that require organizations to find quick solutions and scale up their capabilities. Missing the boat on tackling those challenges now, as a joint effort across the EU, will put at risk all EU decarbonization targets. With the expected boom in demand for renewable energy, and the need to increase supply it infers, the time to assess and improve capital expenditure performance is now.
scale. Another option is to co-invest with partners in training facilities that are tailored to the partners’ respective project pipelines. Design excellence. Design processes could be further standardized to reduce reliance on the small groups of individuals who have, so far, been responsible for progress. The digitization of these processes would enable advanced analytics, adding to performance improvements while making more effective use of the resources needed to deliver. Optimizing from a total cost of ownership (TCO) perspective— using value engineering at the portfolio level, for example—allows for more informed trade-offs between individual project performance and overall portfolio value. Procurement excellence. The development of more flexible framework agreements, rather than requiring rigid price and delivery terms, can secure supplies, reduce lead times, and enable productivity enhancements, such as design standardization. In parallel, this helps suppliers attain scale benefits, such as advanced planning for procurement and manufacturing capacity, which makes their work smoother. Best-practice expediting processes include closely monitoring supply chains and manufacturing at contractor sites to manage supply chains and avoid surprises on delays and extended lead times.
Collaborative contracting models. Newer collaborative contracting models can drive
productivity as well—and involve a mindset shift from “owner and contractor trying to individually optimize their results” to “we can only win together.” Here, both sides need to make continuous efforts to establish collaborative ways of working across project execution, for example by aligning
Antoine Engerand is an associate partner in the Düsseldorf office, Alessandro Gentile is an associate partner in the Rome office, Jochen Latz is a partner in the Cologne office, Igor Stepanishchev is an associate partner in the Chicago office, and Benjamin Thaidigsmann is an expert associate partner in the Berlin office. The authors wish to thank Stefano Bergami, Florian Kühn, Karthik Kumarasamy, Holger Klärner, Andreas Schlosser, Lorenzo Moavero Milanesi, Alberto Bettoli, Alexander Weiss, and Humayun Tai for their contributions to this article.
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