Industrial Megaprojects: Concepts, Strategies, and Practices for Success

Abstract

More than half of large-scale building projects, such as drilling platforms, chemical plants, or dams, have miserably poor results: billions of dollars in overruns, long delays in design and construction, and poor operability once they are finally completed. Occasionally, these fiascos make the news, but for obvious reasons, companies usually bury the disasters with as little publicity as possible. Yet, management at the companies know full well the complexity and the difficulty faced when mounting megaprojects. Industrial Megaprojects explains the underlying causes of over-budgeted, delayed, and unsafe megaprojects: poor project management, destructive team behaviors, weak accountability systems, an almost pathological focus on the short-term, and the unwillingness to invest in deep technical expertise. Modern life as we know it relies on the success of these projects. Leaders and stakeholders of future megaprojects would be wise to heed the warnings and take note of the best practices outlined in this book.

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