The Australian construction industry faces a significant challenge: a shortage of skilled workers. This issue is driven by an ageing workforce and the ongoing struggle to attract and retain talent. To address this problem, companies, governments, and educational institutions must work together. Effective Planning, Development and Partnerships Aligning HR with business strategy is important for identifying and attracting skilled workers….
Team Building
In my previous posts, we explored the challenges faced by engineering teams working with offshore design support offices and how lean principles can help streamline workflows. This week, we’ll look at specific lean solutions we implemented that can transform engineering workflows and achieve better outcomes. Streamlining Information Flow One major issue identified was the disorganised flow of information, leading to…
In my recent post “Lean Management in Design and Construction“, I provided an overview of how lean principles, originating from the Toyota Production System, can drive significant efficiency and performance improvements in the workplace. This week, I want to look into a specific application – optimising workflows between a local engineering team and their offshore design support office. The team…
The first subject I studied as part of my Masters was lean management. I had only ever heard about lean management in a negative context, whenever I had heard people speak about it, they were talking about companies cutting staff to the point teams had to work steady overtime to keep up. So I was quite curious as to what…
Have you ever wondered why projects consistently take longer than originally planned? I touched on the topic in my Master’s dissertation and found that the answer may lie in a cognitive bias known as the planning fallacy, and I recently stumbled upon a fantastic article by Dave Stewart, “The work is never just ‘the work’” where he discusses his personal…
The concept of intellectual property and originality is always somewhat of a hot topic. Many people feel protective of their ideas and content, often becoming upset when they see others sharing similar thoughts or concepts. However, I believe that knowledge sharing is essential for personal and collective growth. In this post, I want to explore why I embrace others sharing…
It’s late. My wife is single-handedly managing dinner and cleanup, very much unlike our usual team effort, because I am stuck, glued to my screen, attending a work meeting that began at 6 pm and has stretched well beyond its scheduled hour. As I finally log off, my bowl of food sits on the table. I sit down and finally…
The gender pay gap is a persistent challenge that reflects how we, as a society, value the contributions of men and women in the workforce. In Australia’s Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, this disparity is particularly pronounced, with women significantly underrepresented in the field and often facing barriers to advancement. As a proud member of the AEC community, I…
Managing change effectively can significantly impact your company’s growth and success, whether it’s minor adjustments or major overhauls. Outcomes can vary significantly – some changes succeed while others fail. Similar to individuals facing challenges and undergoing transformative experiences in life, organisations also encounter complexities, uncertainties, and resistance during change processes. The first step in navigating organisational change is differentiating between…
“Mindset: The New Psychology of Success“, authored by psychologist Carol Dweck, offers profound insights into our professional lives through its dichotomy of fixed and growth mindsets. As part of my Master’s thesis, I examined this concept in great detail, since our mindset can affect everything we do, from how we react to feedback to our willingness to take on new…