Construction projects to succeed with the Milestone model
The Milestone model developed by Boost Brothers for construction projects is highlighted in the online publication of the Kunnallissuomi magazine. The Milestone model uses pre-planned and agreed milestones to monitor project progress. It provides the customer with the opportunity to steer the project in the desired direction and to address any potential failures in good time.
The Milestone model facilitates project monitoring
In the Milestone model, the construction project is divided into milestones during the planning and implementation phases, which means that the client has a continuously updated understanding of whether the project is progressing on time and whether the cost and quality objectives are met.
The milestone model is always tailored to the project, so intermediate targets may be set between three and twenty in the planning phase and between two and ten in the implementation phase, depending, among other things, on the size of the project.
The intermediate evaluation will gather information on five areas: realization of schedule, quality assurance measures, costs in relation to the investment and maintenance budget, user and subscriber satisfaction with the project team and the number and impact of innovations. The project team is responsible for data collection and its delivery to an external expert who will carry out the intermediate evaluation.
The Milestone model is particularly suitable for monitoring large projects, but it can also be used for smaller new construction and renovation projects. The model can also be applied to infrastructure and industrial projects.
A new perspective on project management
The model was developed in 2013 when Boost Brothers found that clients need new, more efficient tools to manage projects.
“In the past, project management could have been non-existent, projects were delayed, and the client paid too much for poor quality. Cooperation between designers, the client, the user and the builder was often weak. As a solution, together with other experts, we developed a joint milestone model for the whole project,” explains Matti Sivunen, COO at Boost Brothers.
With the first projects using the Milestone model it was realized that the development work had produced results. With the Milestone model, the customers of Boost Brothers have already succeeded in more than ten projects, such as Tikkurila church, Kinnari school in Järvenpää and Järvenpää’s new social and healthcare center.
Development continues
Boost Brothers is a construction solution company whose goal is to continuously develop cutting-edge construction excellence and help the client organizations achieve the project’s goals.
In recent years, the new, second-generation Milestone model has been developed to support more intensive monitoring of project progress, with more frequent milestones. During the planning phase, monitoring will be carried out in two-week periods and in the construction phase three-month monitoring periods will be introduced.
The new Milestone model has been piloted in three projects so far, and it has created a much more accurate picture of the design, enabling careful management of the design.
“In addition to meeting the client’s goals, we want to understand what designers, contractors and other parties need to succeed. We want to create a dialectical cooperation model with the Milestone model in which all parties feel comfortable,” says Sivunen.