Changes during the construction phase - how to deal with them?

The article sets out a clear process for managing the inevitable changes that arise during construction because of material substitutions, technical adjustments, or contractor errors. The author identifies three mandatory stages: 1) initiation—record every deviation in a standard change request and a single change register, usually initiated by the construction team, to provide control and enable retrospective analysis; 2) impact assessment—review the effects in sequence on scope, including technical matters under the chief project engineer’s responsibility; on time, through the schedule network model; and on cost, through the estimating department; and 3) decision-making and approval—the project manager’s responsibility, including agreement with the client, with significant changes potentially requiring a repeat expert review. The exact procedure depends on the internal allocation of authority between the engineering design and construction teams, as well as the contracting arrangement with the client. The key takeaway is the need for a clearly defined change management procedure that classifies changes and specifies the appropriate approval workflow, ranging from straightforward confirmation through design supervision to a full procedure for complex changes.

During the construction process, deviations from the design documentation that previously passed the examination almost always appear: due to the replacement of materials, technical adjustments, or contractor errors. Questions arise: how to work with these changes? Who should coordinate these changes with the owner and explain where the discrepancies with the approved design and working documentation came from?

The exact answers to these questions will vary from project to project and depend on two key factors:

- how powers are distributed within the company between the design department and the construction unit;

- what contractual scheme is established with the owner: what requires approval and what does not, how the price is formed.

But in general I can say the following: the change management process includes three sequential steps: initiating the change, assessing the impact of the change, making a decision on the change.

1️⃣ Initiating change - in practice, the initiator is most often the building block. Any change must be recorded through a change request using a standard form and entered into a unified register of changes. This is important for accounting and control; in this case, it will be possible to retrospectively "find the ends" and understand the reasons for project deviations.

2️⃣ Impact assessment - carried out before any decision is made. Sometimes this is a rather complicated process. It includes the following sequential steps:

- Content impact assessment. In essence, this is an assessment on the technical side (impact on related sections of the PD/RD). For example, we are changing equipment - it is important to understand whether this will entail a recalculation of design solutions, a load on utility networks, etc. This is the area of responsibility of the GIP and the design institute.

- Timeline impact assessment: assessed by the one who maintains the construction schedule, and the initial data is the results of the impact assessment by content. Here, using a schedule network model, a schedule scenario is created that takes into account the change, based on it a conclusion is made about the impact on the project timeline or its absence.

- Cost impact assessment: estimated by estimators or economic department. Initial data - assessment of impact in terms of content and timing.

3️⃣ Decision making and agreement with the owner - usually found in the area of responsibility of the Project Manager (RP) from the building block. Here we are talking about coordinating not only technical solutions, but also possible changes in the timing and cost of the project. I would like to note separately: if the changes are significant and affect the main design decisions, it may be necessary to undergo the examination again. The GUI is already connected here.

Ideally, the company should have a clearly defined change management regulations: who does what and when. It is important to classify changes and provide for each option its own approval algorithm. For example, a simple change can confirm site supervision and construction control. And for a more complex change you will need to go through the entire procedure described above.