Continuum Advisory Group

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E/C/F Maturity and Growth

The purpose of owner E/C/F (Engineering, Construction, and Facilities) teams may seem obvious: build stuff so that business happens. You wouldn’t be wrong, in the same way that a computer’s purpose is to “do math fast.”

The strategic benefits of that team can be harder to identify. Continuum Advisory Group recently completed a study to uncover these benefits and interview people changing the relationship between E/C/F and the internal clients they serve. Above all, we want to show others how.

In our new blog series, we’ll be exploring the results of the study in greater depth. Each blog is focused on one of the eight identified themes from our interviews with 35 diverse corporations.

Our first blog in the series covers how companies view their E/C/F departments, both where they are and where they’d like to be.

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GOBA Recap

Where do we find opportunity for competitive separation in an environment with such constrained resources? As a homebuilder, how do we deliver high quality homes to our customers on time with a depleted trade base and high internal turnover? As a trade contractor, how do we establish a productive relationship with the builder that’s built on trust and transparency, in turn allowing us to meet their expectations regardless of our own internal capacity? As a supplier, how do we communicate our strategic capabilities in a way that addresses a builder’s cycle time challenges?
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Doing More with Less

Doing More With Less

Cars are a microcosm of human technology. We pour millions of dollars and hours into extracting more and more from arguably the same stuff: gas and metal. And efficiency isn’t just gas mileage, either. Take the Ford Mustang, for instance. The new V8 model puts out 435 horsepower with nearly the same size engine as a 90s model…which boasted a mere 236 ponies.

The fundamentals of the engine haven’t changed: gas, metal, air. What has changed is how those materials are used. The construction industry follows the same paradigm, in that ultimately we build things. But the journey there? The road can be bumpy, include detours and (at times) be long and winding.

Efficiency is more important now than ever. You have to do more with less.

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How Lean Construction Principles Create Efficiencies and Cost Savings

The construction business is not always one for subtlety.

When you’re building something huge – say a factory – brute force can seem like an effective way to power through the complexities of workforce coordination, materials management and other hurdles. And sometimes it works… but at a cost.

A big one, as it turns out. In fact, researchers have estimated that anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of construction resources are wasted on each project. Those resources range from tangible materials to abstracts like labor and morale.

Lean construction philosophy is focused on closing that gap. It challenges the notion that speed and quality are disparate ideas. It is the belief that you can reduce waste and increase productivity, safety performance and project value through advance planning, strategic thinking, proactive management, communication and artful leadership.

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Get Started Getting Started

When you think procrastination, laziness is definitely adjacent. Procrastination is a big problem in the construction industry, but for entirely different reasons. Most builders learn quickly that outright laziness is not an option in an industry driven by deadlines, high production standards and shifting customer demand. Instead, procrastination in construction is a bit more complex.
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Shifting Gears | Our view of the “Utility of the Future”

An often-heard term at Continuum Advisory Group is “the Utility of the Future”. This most often describes a shift to new or emerging technology that will define a new era of efficient operation. It can change how construction takes place and how companies operate.

While physical assets are critical, there’s another more important aspect of corporate operations at stake, management of the way we run the business. We believe that a “Utility of the Future” will change management practices as much, if not more, than operational practices.

Consider the current gas utility environment: The Industry is subject to increased regulation, deteriorating infrastructure, and an aging experienced workforce that serve an industry that young people are not attracted to. There are many moving parts and managing those parts will be the major challenge – or opportunity.

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Order Takers or Value Creators? | Engineering, Construction, and Facilities Study

Order Takers or Value Creators? Your Engineering, Construction, and Facilities (E/C/F) Department

Your facility is sort of like a favorite jacket. You wear it every day, so often that you forget it’s there. You walk through rain and wind, fixed on your phone or a friend or whatever else, and it’s your silent protector from the elements.

But then there’s a hole in it. Suddenly, you pay attention.

Your E/C/F department, when it’s functioning properly, may seem like it’s barely there at all. But imagine if that department played a more active, strategic role in your company. Imagine if you extracted all of its potential. Imagine if they stopped just taking orders and started sitting in your executive team meetings creating value for your company and shareholders. What could happen?

That proposition is the subject of a new, joint study between Continuum Advisory Group and the Construction Industry Institute (CII).

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Order Takers or Value Creators?

While those embedded in corporate engineering, construction and facilities (E/C/F) teams have long understood the value they create for the corporate bottom line, internal business customers may not realize the vital role these teams could play in enabling corporate success. The role served by corporate E/C/F teams is becoming increasingly critical to the success and survival of the corporation. The Construction Industry Institute (CII) and Continuum Advisory Group joined forces to better understand the relationship between the internal E/C/F departments and the overall corporate strategic plan.
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