The Relationship Between The Client, Clients Project Team And The EPCM Project Team

The inter-relationship between these parties and the effect on the outcome of the project is often grossly underestimated. There are numerous success stories where the parties have worked as complementary teams aiming at the best outcome for the client company and achieving significant success. While there are a good number of occurrences where either the roles of the parties were unclear or perceived to be different from what others in the team believed or required them to be and the results were less than desired. This usually resulted in ongoing conflict, incorrect focus, working to different agendas and the result being a less than optimum result to Client Company. Mining, by its very nature of exploring where you cannot see, be it a shaft being sunk, tunnel being developed or other excavation that needs to be made, requires a very special working relationship between the parties. To understand this, and it applies equally well to mine and plant construction and other multiple function projects, one needs to start by describing the relationship of the parties. Often people believe that because they manage ongoing complex operations and large numbers of people that they can manage projects and as such the participants will ?fall into line.? At the outset it needs to be stressed that ?Project Management? is a specific type of management and needs to be understood as such. There are enough Colleges and Universities that teach project management, not only as a subject but also as a Master Degree. As you start up your project the relationship you establish between the client, project team (C.P.T) and the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Management team (EPCM) will largely determine how successful your project will be. It is essential that from the outset a spirit of co-operation, support and respect be nurtured, and that it be actively carried through the project life cycle. There are several methods to facilitate this including team building exercises right at the start. This time and money will be well spent and recouped many times over during the project life cycle.