How can one prepare for the unpredictable? How to plan in a changing environment? Łukasz Piskorski is our experienced project manager who has detailed knowledge that work on the execution requires, above all, change management skills. On our blog, he reveals how he prepares for a new investment. What is more, he shares his ways of building lasting relationships with the investor and the contractor despite the challenging working conditions.

Łukasz, you have been working in Akson for over 12 years. Do you remember your beginnings in the company?

Yes, I even remember my first day at work. I assumed then that it would be a temporary job, but as you can see, fate had other plans. I stayed and went through all the levels I could: I started as an electrical engineer, and today I am a project manager.

I remember the beginning as quite challenging. I’ve had a variety of jobs, better and worse, hard and light. It wasn’t always no sweat, but in retrospect, each of them taught me a lot. I think, however, that the awareness that we are building something more significant, creating, and taking part in interesting projects – was the reason why I stayed for longer. The second reason was the team. We get along great here. Of course, there is some tension between us when stress related to completing the investment on time arises. However, we feel that we can rely on each other and despite some disagreements, we always make an effort and push each other to tie up loose ends. And we always succeed.

Did you have a mentor or a tutor who introduced you to work at that time?

I did, and I was very lucky to have found this person. It was Klaudiusz, who taught me perseverance in pursuit of the goal. It was he who showed me that if we want to achieve something, we have to devote ourselves to it, and get involved in it.

As we look back, which investments have been particularly memorable for you?

One of such more serious realisations was in Wrocław at the National Forum of Music. It was a massive facility with many technical solutions. I remember it to this day. I also remember my trip to Sweden. It was our first foreign project, and it was of great importance at that time. It was the very begging of our adventures and trips to other countries. I also have fond memories of Sweden itself and would like to visit it again.

After many years of travelling mainly abroad, you have recently received supervision over the implementation of a facility for a local investor. In addition, it is located in the town of your residence – Iłowa Żagańska. Tell us how this investment happened, maybe some details?

It was really my initiative. I saw that a large plant was being built near Zielona Góra, in Iłowa, and I suggested to my boss that it might be worth going there. The more so that the facility is large – it is a logistics centre belonging to a German company. After the first talks with the investor, we signed a contract and soon after I received information that I would be implementing this project. This was great news for me because Iłowa is my hometown and I’m glad I can carry out the project on-site for several months.

Before we talk further about this investment, tell us what, from your point of view as an experienced project manager, is the most important when a new project starts.

Most of all you need to remember that the mere preparation for taking up work on the facility is as important a stage of implementation as the execution itself. So you need to ask yourself: what do we need to consider at the very beginning? What determines our schedule and how should we act to meet the applicable deadlines? How many people do I need? What about the material, and conditions? Do I have the right amount of information regarding the scope of work and documentation? It is a multi-faceted analysis and a lot of talks related to contracting, the expectations of the investor, the ordering party, as well as the expectations of my boss. You can compare it to solving a puzzle. In the beginning, there is chaos, and my role is to put all these elements together to create a beautiful picture.

You said it’s a big investment, so it’s definitely going to last a while. Tell us how you prepare for such assignments. What happens from the moment the project is handed over to the manager, in this case, you?

The first step is definitely a meeting with the general management of the construction site. This is the moment when we set all the conditions. They are also specified in the contract, but for me, as a manager, such a direct meeting is the best opportunity to learn the details, dispel ambiguities, and get to know the facility and the general contractor. We determine, among other things, what lies on our side when it comes to providing materials and services, and what the investor is obliged to do.

Thanks to this meeting, I also have the opportunity to see the plant and see how everything looks from the inside. Because although we always get documentation, at such an initial stage it is still not entirely complete. On-site, we are able to assess the actual size of the object and see with our own eyes what we will be dealing with.

Then tell us now what exactly these works will cover. What type of installations will your team install at the plant in Iłowa?

We will perform the sound warning system along with the standard sound system. Altogether it will be around 6 thousand elements of the sound system itself, which we will install, wire and connect to the control panel. It is therefore one of the largest investments carried out by Akson.

The main function of such a system is to warn of danger and to detect a fire at an early stage so that people can evacuate as soon as possible. Sound warning systems can divide the facility and warn, for example, only one part of the hall that it is necessary to evacuate because in other parts the fire partition is able to ensure the safety of people. Of course, if something happens and the fire is not brought under control, employees in the other parts receive a signal early enough to start the evacuation. With time properly calculated to calmly pack up and leave the plant.

So the system will work according to a specific scenario. Who fixes it?

The scenario must be included in the project, which, in the case of this implementation, is provided to us by the general contractor. It is developed by designers together with a representative of the Fire Department, who makes sure that the design meets the evacuation requirements applicable to a given facility. Therefore, it takes into account its cubic capacity, the layout of rooms and other elements.

Our role is to implement this project and, of course, if such a situation arises, to report any ambiguities or errors that may occur at the implementation stage. Then we take into account corrections in the designs so that the investor and the contractor have complete documentation. At the very end, when receiving such an installation, a firefighter is also present to check whether the scenario is consistent with what he planned. Only after its approval, the facility can be put into use.

You already know the assumptions and conditions of implementation, and you have read the documentation, what does the next stage look like? Do you create a work schedule, or gather a team? What else do you need to take care of?

In the case of the investment in question, our schedule largely depends on what the general contractor will provide us on-site because according to the contract, the delivery of tools and equipment is on his side. It also dictates when and with how big of a team we will be able to enter the investment. If, for example, there are 10 lifts on site, I need to limit the number of people in my team to those 10 machines. Otherwise, I will not provide the others with work. The general contractor also opens the work front in a given area and on this basis I determine how many workers and on what days I will need. I select the equipment and human resources because it is also important that the employees have the appropriate qualifications – whether electric or for the lifts mentioned earlier.

Answering your question, there is a work schedule, but you have to react to changes on an ongoing basis. Of course, we have a pre-arranged team, we start slowly. In fact, the first days and weeks are the moment when we can find out how the cooperation with the contractor will proceed, what we can expect and what we can count on. We can plan a lot before starting work on-site, but in practice, it often looks completely different.

When is the completion of works on this investment planned?

The facility is scheduled to open in September next year. So we have to plan the work and choose the resources in such a way as to finish before this date. This means that we also have to correlate our tasks with other contractors because if our technological line is to be placed on a structure that someone else performs, we must set deadlines together, and get along so as not to disturb each other.

However, the date of commissioning the investment is the date that we must stick to. So it may happen that one day a team of 5 people will be working on a construction site, and another day a team of 50 workers will step in to meet the deadline. However, everything is flexible and we know from our many years of experience that we too must remain open to change. I think that this is the distinguishing feature of our company, this flexibility combined with expert knowledge. Thanks to this, even when obstacles appear, we are able to cope with them.

That’s a great summary. In that case, we wish everything to go smoothly and, above all, on time. Thank you for the interview.

Thank you.