This $8 billion energy project comprises the development of two gas fields off the coast of Libya. The scope includes the delivery of two offshore drilling platforms and infrastructure to transmit harvested natural gas to the existing Mellitah Complex, located approximately 100 km west of Tripoli, for treatment and distribution. The project will also deliver a new carbon capture and storage facility at the Mellitah Complex.

With a targeted output of 750 million cubic feet per day, the Structures A & E project aims to support domestic energy needs and increase Libya’s gas exports to Europe, reinforcing the country’s role in regional energy security, increasing competition and supply reliability, and reducing prices for customers. Production is expected to commence in 2026.

Hill will provide a full suite of project management services for the development, including project planning, design coordination and reviews, procurement support, estimating and cost management, schedule management, quality assurance/quality control, risk mitigation, change management and claims prevention, closeout support, and more. Our team will leverage global best practices in energy and offshore project management to deliver the infrastructure safely, on time, within budget, and in accordance with all Mellitah’s requirements.

“The Structures A & E project is of great national and international importance,” says Hill President, Middle East and North Africa Waleed Abdel-Fattah. “Especially because of our long history in Libya, we are honored to take part in an initiative that will help shape the country’s future.”

“Our local team looks forward to collaborating with Mellitah and Hill’s global network of energy experts to deliver the megaproject as envisioned, helping ensure energy security for Libyans and customers throughout the region,” adds Hill Chief Executive Officer Raouf Ghali. “This new assignment is a testament to our company’s long-term commitment to delivering the infrastructure of change in the country.”

GISI Consulting Group CEO Derek Amidon says: “Hill has a strong track record of delivering resilient energy infrastructure around the world – it’s part of what makes them such an undisputed leader in their space. With Hill’s project management expertise backed by the collective resources of GISI Consulting Group’s global platform, Mellitah is poised to deliver.”

To learn more about Hill International’s global energy experience, please visit: https://www.hillintl.com/energy/.

GISI Consulting Group is one company uniting some of the world’s top project management and engineering consulting firms to innovate and accelerate solutions on a global scale. To learn more, visit: www.gisiconsulting.com.

The post Hill International to Provide Project Management Services for $8 Billion Energy Project Off the Coast of Libya appeared first on Hill International.

Robert Regalado has joined Hill International, Inc. as Vice President Business Development – Southeast. In this role, Robert will spearhead Hill’s business development efforts across the Southeastern U.S., driving sustainable growth for our company, our clients, and the communities they serve.

“As a management consultancy firm in infrastructure, we’re part of an elaborate puzzle,” Robert says. “Of course, winning new work is important for our business, but our true goal is our clients’ success. So, my aim as a business developer isn’t signing more contracts, but building trusted relationships with owners, collaborating with their leaders and operational teams, generating a comprehensive understanding of organizational and stakeholder needs, evaluating and balancing priorities, integrating and enhancing processes and procedures, planning programs and projects for operational readiness, and ensuring complex work is executed in line with all client objectives. Sustainable growth for Hill will flow from that.”

Robert’s outlook comes from a nearly 40-year career of wide immersion in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. He has served in a variety of engineering, business development, and leadership roles, helping clients overcome obstacles at every level of project delivery to realize high-quality infrastructure. After kicking off his career as a civil engineer in water/wastewater, Robert quickly earned a management position. This, he explains, allowed him to engage with many different aspects of the industry, from project identification to planning, budgeting, design, regulatory permitting, construction management, operational support, and more. As he grew into business development, client management, and executive leadership, Robert harnessed this background to develop his wholistic business development approach.

“I’m still an Engineer, and helping our project teams solve problems is a fulfilling part of the job,” Robert adds. “Providing direct team oversight also helps establish credibility, assure quality, and maintain alignment with client expectations. Additionally, with active management, business development leaders can facilitate constant communication between the executive and project levels across consultant and owner teams. This helps prevent surprises.”

In addition to his wholistic business development approach, Robert also maintains a sharp regional focus. He has worked in Florida throughout his entire career, developing key relationships and deep familiarity with the Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Department, Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management, Miami-Dade Aviation Department, PortMiami, Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management, and many other regional agencies, local governments, and public utilities. Having worked with such organizations at every level, from design consultant through executive partner, Robert has insights into the culture, processes, and procedures that drive public infrastructure in Florida, as well as the market trends that matter to his clients.

He sees no shortage of opportunities on the horizon, either. In the Miami area, for example, Robert says aviation, roads and bridges, rail and transit, ports, schools, correctional facilities, infrastructure hardening, and water/wastewater are all sectors with potential for growth in the coming years. “For most public owners in Miami, it’ll be about balancing new construction priorities with required upkeep and state-of-good-repair projects, funding projects, and executing them sustainably,” he explains.

At Hill, Robert looks forward to collaborating across regional and sector teams to identify pursuits throughout Florida where our company can add the most value for owners. “Hill has excellent resources covering the full range of management consultancy, from the portfolio level to specialized construction-phase support,” he adds, citing Hill’s bench of subject matter experts, our relationships with stakeholders throughout Florida’s AEC industry, a “pure” project management focus that frees Hill of potential design or contracting conflicts of interest, and our team’s alternative delivery expertise as particularly valuable for clients in the state.

“Alternative delivery provides attractive solutions to many of the challenges facing public agencies working to deliver new infrastructure or maintain existing assets,” Robert goes on. “Public-private partnerships can be an attractive solution for resolving funding gaps, while design-build can deliver schedule savings on projects with well-defined scopes and existing specifications—projects like highway expansions, multistory buildings, or large infrastructure projects. No matter what their projects involve, our clients will be able to rely on Hill’s alternative delivery SMEs to select and implement the right delivery approach.”

However, delivery methods, a “pure” project management focus, stakeholder relationships, and even subject matter expertise are only a few pieces of the puzzle. “Even small infrastructure projects have a massive number of inputs, interfaces, and challenges to consider,” Robert says. “To name just a few, overlapping schedules, competing funding priorities, procurement and permitting challenges, politically backed scopes with associated stakeholder expectations can all complicate planning and delivery.

“To return to the puzzle conceit, you can’t buy infrastructure with all the pieces in place. You usually can’t even buy it with all the pieces in the same box! But by focusing on relationships first and offering wholistic life cycle support—identifying needs, prioritizing projects, identifying required expertise, building capacity, executing efficient procurements, managing project delivery, preparing for handover to operations—we can help owners figure out what the big picture looks like, collect the right pieces, and make sure project teams put the puzzle together in a timely, cost-effective manner.”

“Robert’s exceptional leadership and rich background will help him strengthen Hill’s relationships with public agencies and advance infrastructure development throughout the region,” adds First Vice President, Southeast Region Eladio Castrodad. “We’re glad to have him aboard.”

To speak with Robert about your organization’s infrastructure needs, reach out to him at RobertRegalado@hillintl.com. Learn more about Hill International, Inc. at www.hillintl.com.

The post The Infrastructure Puzzle: Robert Regalado’s Wholistic Business Development Approach appeared first on Hill International.

At one level, the disarrayed façade can be deceiving. Many of the programs and systems can and do “speak” with one another by sharing, processing, and storing data in the cloud in real time. However, there are inefficiencies and complications. One of the most troubling, for an owner, is a lack of transparency.

For example: proposed construction changes may be batched, formatted into multiple reports, and emailed over several days to an owner. Even with a small number of changes, it can be easy to miss a few delivered in this way. Unreviewed changes can quickly cascade into claims. Minor, unreported schedule-logic changes may be invisible at first, but the whole project team will feel their impact after six months when the critical path no longer makes sense—more claims! And when these claims arise, general contractors may own the project data that owners need to make their defense. In such a high-stakes environment as construction, with its multiplicity of stakeholders, the current environment of tech-enabled obscurity is unacceptable.

Fortunately, solutions already exist. In terms of technology, there is scheduling software that allows project managers working as owner’s representatives to review and evaluate schedule-logic changes with timestamped data. This helps ensure that all changes are rooted in team agreement and in compliance with contractual requirements. Likewise, most PMIS tools provide excellent collaborative platforms for document control and change management, provided that all parties have shared access to all project data.

Aside from tech, certain project delivery methods can promote transparency at the contractual level. Integrated project delivery is an approach that begins with a commitment to shared transparency. Contractors forecast trade and material costs, as well as profit expectations, as the project develops, while owners are transparent about their full budget capacity from the get-go. This can promote alignment and mutual satisfaction for all parties.

Progressive design-build is another innovative delivery method that focuses on developing a high-quality project that meets all owner requirements through collaboration from the conceptual stage. While this can result in a satisfactory project for the owner—as well as satisfactory margins for design-builders—the lack of cost predictability at the outset may result in time wasted replanning a more affordable project.

Tech solutions and contract solutions can help increase transparency. However, at the core of a truly transparent approach are contract documents with clear technological expectations. This requires a mindset shift, as technological transparency is not yet as common as it ought to be in construction. Owners will have to work with their legal teams and their project management consultants to formulate specific contract language that enforces such requirements in a watertight manner. This marriage of the contractual and technological approaches will promote transparency, ensure access to critical data, deliver a fair playing field for owners and other project stakeholders, and increase the likelihood of project success.

About the Author

Hill International, Inc. Vice President Jonathan Stewart is a construction leader with more than 29 years of experience transforming operational departments and projects by driving efficiency, accountability, and cost controls. He helps to bridge the gap between business and technology with expertise in managing complex programs and multiple concurrent projects. To speak with Jonathan about your project’s technology needs, contact him via email at JonathanStewart@hillintl.com.

For more insights from Jonathan, click here: https://www.hillintl.com/articles/adopting-construction-technology/.

The post Tech-Forward Contracting: A Much-Needed Construction Solution appeared first on Hill International.

According to new Hill Vice President Pete Hankovszky, who has more than 30 years of program and project management and business development experience in rail and transit, even the most technical management solutions start with regular, face-to-face client collaboration.

“That’s why,” he says, “my professional passion is getting out in front of clients as early as possible and working with them to identify their needs. Once we do that, we can start identifying and prioritizing options, building teams that can deliver exactly the expertise our clients require, and drive project success.”

At Hill, Pete will leverage his decades of experience to strengthen Hill’s relationships with transit agencies throughout the country. He says this will facilitate more effective project management, funding, and staffing plans in line with owner expectations.

“I’m an avid fisherman,” adds Pete. “So, I like to think of the work we do in those terms. When you’re fishing, especially in a new place, you can always just head down to a body of water, cast your line a few times, make adjustments on the fly, and hope for the best. But if you visit local bait and tackle shops and develop relationships with people who fish the area—so that they may actually tell you what you need to know—you’re going to have a much higher probability of success.

“In project management, when we have trusted relationships with existing and potential clients, our conversations reveal more about an owner’s goals and the challenges they face, which affords us with opportunities to offer the most effective services.”

And Pete sees plenty of opportunities for rail and transit agencies across the country. “As always, upkeep and state-of-good-repair initiatives are crucial for keeping transit systems operable and safe,” he says. “Addressing internal staffing, systems, or policy challenges can help agencies get more value out of their operations. Long-term capital expenditures and expansions and the acquisition of new technology, have the potential to grow and transform our transit systems and to improve the passenger experience.”

Pete notes that there are also uncertainties, as well as plenty of questions that owners may have, such as: What’s the most impactful project we can execute? What resources do we need? How long is this going to take? How will this impact operations? How will we fund this? So, in addition to forging and strengthening client relationships, Pete looks forward to leveraging Hill’s collective expertise to provide effective oversight.

Pete expects his experience working on behalf of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to be valuable for Hill teams and Hill’s clients. He explains: “In a past project management oversight role for the FTA, I coordinated with transit agencies who received federal funding for their projects to make sure all grant requirements were met. To win funding and ensure funding stability throughout your project’s life cycle, the owner must have an effective funding plan in place from day one. As funding is a universal concern for transit agencies, I’ll be collaborating with our transit clients and program and project management teams to navigate funding opportunities and put funding plans in place.”

Pete’s FTA experience includes overseeing work on some of the largest and most high-profile transit projects in New York City during the 21^st century, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) more than $11 billion Long Island Rail Road East Side Access Project and the MTA’s more than $17 billion Second Avenue Subway Project.

Pete adds that he looks forward to making use of the many tools available at Hill. In addition to our deep bench of subject matter experts, Pete cites Hill’s internal business development tools that help ensure efficient resource allocation and enable us to keep a pulse on the market, rapid team mobilization procedures to make sure we engage potential clients with the right technical team as early as possible, and Hill University, Hill’s internal learning and development tool.

“Hill University is a unique selling point,” he says. “In addition to the project management team we can build for our clients, we can build a learning center for them that houses key information about assets, project management best practices, operations and maintenance, you name it. This kind of tool can be invaluable for owners as they manage certain internal challenges, like training staff or creating knowledge centers.”

However, Pete says the potential to add value starts with relationships. With trusted relationships in place, he says that Hill will be able to promote the free flow of information and cultural alignment, help plan clients’ projects in the context of the market, build teams that deliver exactly the services required, and execute projects in line with client expectations.

“I’m excited to be part of this team,” Pete concludes. “Our professionals have an excellent reputation and many strong relationships with owners throughout the country. Hill’s pure PM model, having no potential conflicts of interest, can give owners added peace of mind. We’re here for you. We’re strictly on your side, and the foundation of our approach is our relationship with you. So, I look forward to collaborating with our clients and my colleagues, to take advantage of the opportunities out there to deliver stronger, more efficient transit systems.”

Connect with Pete at PeteHankovszky@hillintl.com to learn more about how Hill International, Inc. can support your rail and transit needs. Visit www.hillintl.com/rail-transit-practice/ to learn more about our rail and transit practice.

The post Hill’s New Vice President Pete Hankovszky on Relationships as the Foundation of Project Management Success appeared first on Hill International.

“I chose to come to Hill for several reasons, but the true team environment here is what really convinced me,” says new Vice President, Northern California and Transit Practice Leader Jeffrey A. Hurley. “Over the course of my career, I’ve found that a collaborative culture and openness to inputs are what really matter when it comes to reaching better outcomes.”

Hurley’s career in the California rail market spans more than 30 years and encompasses some of the most high-profile rail programs and projects in the state’s history. This includes serving in various engineering and management leadership roles on programs and projects for the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC), the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA), and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), among others.

“California’s rail market has evolved from when I first came out west decades ago into an environment focused on expansion, integration, and modernization,” he explains. He cites initiatives to improve safety, security, accessibility, speed, frequency, reliability, and sustainability as evidence of the state’s progress in upgrading and expanding its rail network. “Positive train control, electrification, and communication-based train control all moved the market forward over the past several years.”

However, Hurley adds that challenges lie ahead. “While the state has made significant progress, particularly with the California High Speed Rail project and the growth of commuter rail, funding, project delivery, and adapting to population shifts remain key considerations.”

Looming knowledge gaps compound these obstacles: “Rail operators have experienced major workforce reductions from the retirement of those who know how to maintain and operate their systems. Bridging the connection between these in-house experts and the next generation is critical to maintain momentum towards California’s vision of an integrated rail system that provides coordinated service.”

To meet those challenges, Hurley says California rail operators are ready to embrace change. “Agencies today are looking at new technologies to enhance safety, efficiency, and the customer experience,” he says, citing examples such as predictive maintenance, automated train operations and robotics for inspections and maintenance, digitizing real-time passenger information, smart ticketing systems, digital twins, electrification, hydrogen- and battery-powered trains, and advanced communication systems.

“Financial constraints, the regulatory environment, and the safety-first focus of rail will dictate how fast California rail operators move to integrate these new tools,” Hurley adds. “But aging infrastructure, increased standardization, and a cultural shift towards smarter technology are speeding up the process.”

He also believes alternate delivery methods can help realize the program and project goals of California’s railroads. “I’ve helped deliver design-build, CM-at-Risk (CMAR), and progressive design-build (PDB) projects, among other delivery methods,” he says. “Each has its advantages and opportunities.”

“The early contractor involvement in PDB can be particularly appealing, allowing for collaborative design development and cost input from the contractor while the owner, if they have the right expertise, can still be closely involved in the design,” Hurley says. “CMAR can help allocate risk to the parties best prepared to handle it, while design-build often makes sense on new alignments and projects with many repetitive design elements.”

Hurley continues.  “For our clients, the right alternative delivery method can reduce risk, streamline design and construction, and foster a more collaborative environment leading to better outcomes for everyone involved.”

But to take full advantage of alternate delivery, owners can use the support of a partner like Hill. “For alternative delivery to work, owners can lean on an outside expert to help them find the right flavor for their specific goals and objectives and then to maximize the advantages of the method throughout delivery,” says Hurley. “Hill can help.”

Hurley expands on the value of a PM partner: “Northern California has 27 passenger rail and transit agencies with similar visions to improve mobility for their communities. From my point of view, the PM function is most critical in the planning phase to help those agencies define their projects. We can coordinate with stakeholders, collaborate with designers, identify funding opportunities, and drive the development process to make certain the constructed project meets the vision and expectations of our clients.”

Hurley’s collaborative attitude, perhaps, reflects his love of the Northern California lifestyle.

“I came out here many years ago for a visit, and I knew I had to make this my home,” he says. “For one thing, the surfing and snowboarding is always good compared to the East Coast. For another, people here understand the value of building sustainable, meaningful infrastructure that transforms communities and improves everyone’s quality of life.”

He concludes, “Helping to deliver these projects is my passion, and I’m looking forward to continuing this work with Hill.”

J.P. Villamizar, Hill Senior Vice President, said of Hurley’s arrival: “Northern California has many exciting rail projects coming online in the years ahead, and we want to help make these opportunities happen. Bringing Jeff on board benefits our rail practice and our entire company in numerous ways, and we’re lucky to have him aboard.”

The post Jeffrey Hurley Joins Hill’s Northern California Rail Practice appeared first on Hill International.

Based in Hill’s Phoenix, AZ, office and responsible for the company’s operations across the Mountain West, Chad’s career to date reflects the approach of treating every project according to its specific challenges and needs. However, he also stresses that capturing and leveraging best practices and lessons learned to benefit project down the line is a process more PM/CM firms should, if not must, embrace, to be successful in today’s data driven, resource constrained market.

“Knowledge transfer is going to become even more and more critical in the years ahead,” he explains. “As long-time SMEs, PMs, and agency leaders look to retire, we need to make sure we’re not losing that expertise.”

Chad speaks from experience. As a superintendent both in the Midwest U.S. and, then with Sundt Construction across the Southwest U.S. on a variety of demanding projects, Chad drove progress through collaboration and cooperation on site and learning from clients and colleagues. This mindset helped earn Chad the Superintendent of the Year award with Pasquinelli Construction and Project Manager of the Year with Sundt.

Following his contracting work but still early in his career, he canvassed mid-level project and portfolio managers across Jacobs Engineering—a global AEC company—to learn their pain points. His findings were surprising: opaque, lack of, and/or out of date data was leading to a largely reactive approach to project risks and challenges. To help solve this problem, and on his own initiative, Chad taught himself SQL and started querying project databases.

“I created a project ‘baseball’ card,” he says. “But instead of hits and RBIs, I had indicators, KPIs, etc. A PM could use this information to spot potential problems before they hit cost and schedule drivers, and come up with recommendations proactively.”

Chad’s initiative and the success of his tracking tools saw him quickly advance with Jacobs, rising to leadership roles in growing the high-tech manufacturing business line, and, ultimately, developing and executing global growth strategy for a $300 million-plus annual portfolio of projects and programs. As he did during his contracting days, he would go on to win numerous company awards for his performance, innovation, and client service.

With Hill, Chad plans to maintain his focus on data-driven decision making and pair it with the company’s emphasis on PM/CM thought leadership, client trust, and sector expertise.

“Every market, like every project, is different,” Chad says. “Phoenix is not Denver, and New Mexico is not Utah. The opportunities may all be driven by population growth, but the challenges and opportunities vary dramatically. What isn’t different is the demand for PM/CM support to meet those challenges and maximize those opportunities. That’s industry wide across the region.”

In Arizona, Chad sees the continued population boom pushing up costs, but also a blooming ecosystem around such as tech-driven battery and chip manufacturing, from suppliers to transport and related facilities. “Arizona is really good at keeping up with its infrastructure needs,” he explains. “That attracts businesses, especially smart businesses like technology companies, and their employees and suppliers create further demand for access to culture, jobs, education, and more. I don’t see any of this stopping any time soon—and one of the things I know Hill can offer are creative ways to help owners control their costs in this environment.”

Elsewhere in the region Chad sees the same need for PM innovation. “In Colorado, in addition to infrastructure growth, you have aerospace and technology companies expanding, while in Utah mining and manufacturing seem poised to take off. And, in New Mexico, projects related to education and energy transmission may be coming down the pipeline soon. It’s an exciting time in an exciting part of the country. I don’t think a shortage of opportunities will be an issue.”

Chad says Hill is ready to take advantage of those opportunities: “I came to Hill for several reasons, one of which is the company’s client-first focus. This is the right approach for these markets. I haven’t been with Hill too long yet, but in the Phoenix office I’m already impressed with the expertise and commitment of our team.”

Chad adds he also came to Hill to be a part of the Global Infrastructure Solutions, Inc. family of companies. “I’ve worked for companies using most ownership models, and GISI’s employee ownership model is the best.”

Senior Vice President, Western Region Manager Greg Heinz, will work with Chad to help him build the region and continue Hill’s success in Phoenix and beyond. “Chad comes to Hill with a track record of success and abundance of confidence,” says Heinz. “I know we’re going to make good things happen for our team and our clients across the region.”

The post Ready, Set, Grow: First VP Chad Koelling Takes Charge of Hill’s Mountain West Region appeared first on Hill International.

In 2017, the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (MEWA) assigned NWC the responsibility for management and supervision of the entire distribution sector throughout the Kingdom, including the 13 MEWA regional water services directorates. Subsequently, all directorates were merged under NWC, and since then NWC has become responsible for the water distribution sector across the Kingdom.

Currently, the NWC is working to manage its water resources by investing in new technologies, promoting smart water use, and modernizing its water infrastructure.

From its cluster offices in Jeddah, Abha, Madinah, Riyadh, Dammam, and Qassim, NWC’s approach to delivering its massive portfolio of water programs and projects offer an example of how water authorities in even the most challenging conditions can leverage innovation and conservation to ensure steady and safe supply to their customers.

As announced in September 2023 by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, NWC’s nearly $80 billion in projects will be delivered in phases over the next several years and will include connecting drinking water with customers, boosting underground water resources, increasing reservoir capacity, reducing network losses, and improving treatment processes and facilities. To help deliver these ambitious projects, NWC awarded Hill International the Program Management Oversight (PMO) contract for their projects.

Hill President, Middle East and North Africa Waleed Abdel-Fattah explained: “Hill’s PMO support encompasses strategic planning and on-site project and construction management, functional support to NWC business units, reporting to NWC’s head office, change management, claims avoidance, project controls, contract management, engineering interface management, testing and commissioning management, knowledge transfer, and project handover and closeout.

“Taken as a whole, these services will help the NWC to realize their new projects holistically, as well as to enjoy schedule and cost efficiencies and proactive knowledge management that will benefit not only these specific projects, but their organization as a whole.”

Abdel-Fattah concluded, “As the world looks to better manage its natural resources, the NWC’s approach provides an excellent example of how technology and commitment, combined with the right planning, oversight, and monitoring support, can realize construction programs and projects of size and scope successfully.”

The post PMO in Saudi Arabia: The Holistic Approach to Realizing a National Mega-Portfolio appeared first on Hill International.

Most AD procurements require fast-tracked schedules. For example, I formerly worked on an AD rail megaproject with an extremely aggressive schedule. On that project, the contractor planned to produce shop drawings and issue pre-final (90%) submittals for owner approval simultaneously. When the owner did not approve the pre-final submittal, the impact on the baseline schedule was hard to mitigate.

This is generally true of any fast-tracked project. Any resubmittals of design packages or permit applications will impact the schedule, contributing to delays and cost overruns that the owner will eventually share—even if the contact language is clear that the contractor is responsible! Plus, on projects with fast-tracked schedules, owner-requested scope changes after contract award are likely to contribute to additional delays and cost overruns.

These are just some examples of schedule risks on AD projects. So, how can project teams mitigate them?

There is not a single solution to mitigating schedule risk, and different types of AD procurement are associated with different risks. In my experience, however, a spirit of partnership can help achieve better schedule risk management and better outcomes on any project. When delays happen, all parties should wear their “project hats” vs. their own hats. They should work together as one team with one goal rather than exchange letters pointing fingers at one another. More specific tactics include:

• As project teams develop their baseline schedules, they can include a learning curve. This allows a project team to better manage expectations and execution. For example, local reviewing agencies have their own administrative preferences and technical requirements. By allowing time to become familiar with standards and preferences of authorities having jurisdiction, the project team can help ensure approvals the first time, prevent delays, and even expedite review and approval of work packages.
• To mitigate delays related to design submittals and permit applications, project teams can agree to expedited reviews and partner with approving agencies to develop process improvement plans (PIP). PIPs can help ensure engineering packages are complete prior to resubmittal and promote compliance with all plans and specifications during construction, helping prevent delays related to rework.
• To maintain a realistic schedule throughout the project and to avoid scope creep, I recommend that owners and contractors price any owner-requested changes using time and materials (T&M) even if their contracts allow for such changes. More importantly, the owner should not include these changes in the project’s substantial completion date. This will help ensure that substantial completion is achievable as originally scheduled for the project.

By sharing scheduling risks on projects procured via AD procurement methods, cultivating partnership on their project teams, and leveraging the tactics listed above, owners can reduce the risk of schedule delays, avoid the need for enforcing liquidated damages, and deliver our crucial infrastructure projects on time and within budget.

About the Author 

Vice President Sami Soufi is an award-winning program executive with more than 30 years of experience leading the delivery of rail and transit megaprojects, including the $6 billion MTA Purple Line Rail Extension in Riverdale, MD, the $3 billion WMATA Silver Line Rail Extension in Washington, DC, and the $13 billion Riyadh Metro in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sami holds a Master of Science in Construction Engineering and Management from the University of Maryland, College Park; a Master of Engineering in Structural Engineering from McGill University; and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Middle East Technical University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Maryland and Virginia. To speak with Sami about your own transit project needs, contact him via email at samisoufi@hillintl.com.

The post Alternative Delivery & Schedule Risk: An Owner’s Guide to Scheduling Alternative Delivery Projects appeared first on Hill International.

That lag has little to do with available technology. Construction technology is, for me, one of the most interesting and promising fields in the market. New hardware and software solutions have the potential to keep personnel safer during high-risk construction activities, streamline document submittals and responses, and reshape the way we think about project controls, and new functionalities and compatibilities enhance our existing tech all the time.

A critical question for construction, which notoriously involves major safety and financial risks and is filled with stakeholders with varying levels of technological comfort and capacity, is what will be the method of adoption.

I had the privilege of participating in a stimulating conversation about this topic at the Project Control Summit 2025 in Galveston, TX. The panel was called “The Great Debate: Old School vs. New School Project Controls,” but that may be a misleading title.

All the panelists agreed that new technologies, such as the latest project management information systems (PMIS), schedule analytics applications, and generative artificial intelligence, have the potential to improve project controls and can support more robust reporting, drive more accurate and standardized data, facilitate process automation, and provide better insights and objective analysis, all of which contribute to better project outcomes. We also agreed that “old-school” processes must help shape the application of new tech.

Our “Great Debate” actually focused on how to adopt emerging technologies: whether it is best to let adoption happen organically at the project level and use case studies to support investment in PMIS platforms over time, or whether organizations should take top-down approaches, with senior leaders mandating broad changes throughout their organizations and monitoring for compliance to support operational objectives.

Both sides made compelling arguments. The organic approach can provide evidence of benefits prior to full-scale implementation. This reduces risk and allows teams to tailor the schedule of their changes to the realities of their work. The top-down approach creates common methodologies, simplifying training and organizational knowledge sharing, and standardizes quality of service across an organization.

Without suggesting a clear winner, I would like to raise one important point, applicable to all organizations, by considering the question from the negative. Resistance to change at lower levels of an organization can slow down the adoption of new technologies and create employee (and potentially customer) dissatisfaction, but resistance from senior leadership will result in no change at all.

So, whether organic or top-down implementation seems correct for your organization, I encourage leaders in the construction industry to stay open to the possibility of technological change and adopting better ways of working. While the process should never be rushed, when the right time to step forward comes, leaders have to lead. Otherwise, as construction technology evolves, we risk getting left behind.

About the Author

Hill International, Inc. Vice President Jonathan Stewart is a construction leader with more than 29 years of experience transforming operational departments and projects by driving efficiency, accountability, and cost controls. He helps to bridge the gap between business and technology with expertise in managing complex programs and multiple concurrent projects. To speak with Jonathan about your project’s technology needs, contact him via email at JonathanStewart@hillintl.com.

The post Adopting Construction Technology: The Leadership Mindset appeared first on Hill International.

Defining & Prioritizing Available Data

Program-wide data encompasses forecasted budgets and actual costs, project schedules, scopes, material specifications, environmental protection data, sustainability markers, stakeholder feedback, safety performance, and more. When multiplied by all of the individual projects within a program, program-wide data can feel dizzying.

Program management consultants can help owners make dizzying data more manageable by defining and prioritizing data during program planning. This enables the efficient collection and management of specific data sets, reducing administrative costs, facilitating the development of key performance indicators and overall program tracking, and helping ensure that decision makers have access to the right data to make informed decisions throughout a program’s life cycle.

In addition to the vast amounts of relevant and valuable data that a program team should gather, there are also distractions. This “noise” consists of less relevant information that can overwhelm program teams with unnecessary collection, processing, and storage efforts without any strategic benefit.

Owners can work with program managers to clearly define the types of data required for their program, the purpose behind collecting particular data, who will receive related reports, and how the program team intends to leverage the information.

Clarifying Data Production & Ownership Responsibilities

In defining and prioritizing the data available on a program, program managers can also help owners plan organizational data management responsibilities. A program manager who understands the nuances of construction management and project controls—as well as the types of data produced at these and other levels throughout a program organization—is best suited for this role.

By defining data management responsibilities at the outset, owners can establish clear requirements and procedures for managing data. This fosters accountability and allows for the enforcement of contractual obligations. Additionally, owners can collaborate with their program management team to design data management plans. This proactive approach helps prevent common data management challenges, such as misaligned data collection priorities, unrealistic expectations, and untrained staff. A clear understanding of who holds the rights to certain data sets is also crucial at a program’s conclusion, when different stakeholders may require access to data they do not own.

As a general rule, program staff that regularly engage with certain data sets are best suited to manage that data. For example, estimators, schedulers, and project engineers each have unique responsibilities on a program. These professionals should be responsible for managing cost data, milestone dates, and contract specifications, respectively. By empowering team members to take ownership of the data relevant to their functions, program organizations can enhance data accuracy, streamline processes, and improve overall project outcomes. Fostering a culture of data stewardship among specialized staff also helps ensure that other stakeholders have access to the critical information they need, contributing to better decision-making and successful program management.

Selecting the Right Tools

A variety of software solutions exist for program-wide data management. This program management information system (PMIS) technology facilitates the collection, sorting, storage, and reporting of data. As each available PMIS has its pros and cons, owners should consult with an experienced program manager who can identify which PMIS is most suited for their construction program based on its data management, project controls, and/or construction management needs. For instance, on Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s Capital Improvement Program, we have used Oracle’s Primavera Unifier for more than a decade. The software’s flexibility and adaptability have proven essential for managing complex projects and accommodating diverse reporting needs across the program.

Once a software is selected, program managers can help set up the PMIS, manage access, and implement training. This includes customizing reports to provide the right data to the right recipients at the right time based on the owner’s established data collection and management priorities.

In addition to software, business processes can help make data management a breeze or a pain point. At a minimum, formal data management processes should include regular training for staff and regular validation to prevent outdated data, poor data collection practices, or critical program decision-making based on the aforementioned. A formal testing phase can help ensure staff understand data management processes at the outset of a program. More importantly, regular reviews of data management processes throughout a program’s life cycle will determine their continued relevance, allowing teams to eliminate redundant or outdated processes and create new ones as needed.

Data-Delivered Program Success

Owners that collaborate with their program management staff to define and prioritize their available data at the outset of a program, clarify data production and ownership responsibilities early, and select the right software and processes to manage data will collect more accurate and timely data. No matter what a program comprises, better data will drive better decision making, lead to more reliable project controls, and contribute to overall program success.

About the Author

Martin Lopez serves as Senior Director, Program Management at Hill International, Inc. He has 38 years of experience in global program and project management, project controls, and construction claims. His key experience includes the $2 billion Capital Improvement Program at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and the $5.2 billion Panama Canal Expansion. He is a registered civil engineer in California. Martin can be reached at MartinLopez@hillintl.com.

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