Navigating the fast lane: balancing speed and resilience in information management
During a recent holiday with my family on the Mull of Galloway, I found myself reflecting on boats, particularly an analogy I heard about modern yacht racing vessels in the context of robustness and resilience. And I was thinking about how this relates to the rise of technology in information management…
Racing Yachts
Modern yacht racing vessels are seen as the pinnacle of sailing technology. They are fast, sleek, and packed full of technology all aimed at one thing: Speed.
To accomplish this they are built from lightweight materials, designed and built to tight tolerances for hydro and aero dynamics. They are crewed by highly trained professional sailors, who have honed their skills over years, often starting in slow, more traditional boats.
This speed comes at a cost. Racing yachts have significant maintenance requirements, can be vulnerable in rough seas, and are less durable than traditional boats. Comfort, utility, and resilience are sacrificed for specific performance. Similarly, in construction, there is a trade-off between speed and robustness. Quick turnarounds can compromise the quality and resilience of the product or process.
Just as racing yachts are built for speed and not for leisurely cruises, in construction our people are often incentived for fast information production and exchange which lacks the robustness of slower, more methodical approaches.
I’ve been thinking a lot about ships recently. What do you think of my last article - an allegory of bring new technology to ship building? Click the link below so you can give me your thoughts 👇
Specificity, speed, resilience, and robustness
When something is designed for a specific purpose it will excel in that area but then suffer in environments or situations which it wasn’t designed for. Whilst performance is very important a balance needs to be struck with resilience and robustness.
Things go wrong, they unravel in ways that were never planned - there is always inherent uncertainty. This also makes them fragile.
We see this in construction technology, telecommunications, sailing boats, and the animal and plant kingdoms. Specialised designs often struggle outside of their normal environments. Imagine a koala bear, evolved for the eucalyptus forests of Australia, suddenly placed in a Norwegian pine forest—survival would be challenging.
Nassim Taleb’s book Antifragile focuses in on this subject. He argues for systems which gain from challenge and error, they become stronger - not fragile, not robust, but Antifragile.
Technology in Construction Information Management
In yacht racing, engineers and sailors balance speed with robustness. They build boats for maximum speed but must also consider durability and safety. This balance is crucial in information management for construction. The drive for quick information exchange can lead to errors and a lack of thoroughness, making projects more fragile.
In the past, construction information was produced through a slower process. The process for producing and exchanging drawings, reports, method statements, specifications, and schedules looked something like this:
Produce and print copies.
Internally checked, by those with signatory authority and subject matter expertise, to ensure appropriate for sharing and/or submitting.
Exchange - by mail or courier - which meant that they were sent in a box with a register or ‘transmittal’ showing what was included and what it could be used for.
If you wanted to ‘correspond’ a letter would be posted (and maybe faxed!). All this took time, but it was very robust and resilient.
Today, documents can be produced and shared instantly via email. Potentially without proper and thorough checks. An email can be send to ‘correspond’ in seconds, and without too much thought about the contents. How often do you have to deal with issues due to an ill conceived email?
So now we have speed. But this speed is leading to errors and issues.
Implementing Rigorous Processes
Information Management (in accordance with ISO 19650) aims to bring robustness back to information management by establishing rigorous processes. These standards ensure that information is produced, checked, and exchanged methodically, enhancing resilience. Just as the best sailors learn their art at slower speeds and graduate to faster racing, construction professionals must balance speed with thorough processes to ensure project success.
The challenge is that the fast era has spoiled us. It all feels like far too much effort and time.
Approvals prior to sharing feel like hassle - why can’t I just ping it out by email?
Document naming conventions feel like a waste - it takes nearly 90 seconds to name this document the way I’m supposed to, who has the time..?
Technology has removed friction, and people are rewarded for speed and convenience rather than following robust processes. You will always take the easiest path.
Finding balance
I’m certainly not advocating for a return to the age of pen and paper, bicycle couriers, and 1st class postage stamps. What I’m trying to get to here is some reflection and recognition that though modern technology has made your projects faster, it has also made them more fragile and less resilient to the radical uncertainty that construction (and the world) operates within. I’m advocating for balance, for adding some friction and rigour back into the process.
It won’t shock anyone that I believe that the Information Management standards (including ISO19650) are a great place to start. Not because they make everyone’s job easier, but they are resilient.
To improve project resilience, consider the following questions:
Where am I or my projects systems or processes fragile?
What happens if x goes wrong? What is my contingency plan?
Where can I afford or benefit from slowing down? Where is it safe to speed things up and optimise?
Does the technology serve a defined purpose and add value, or am I simply trying to ‘innovate’ for its own sake?
There are inherent trade-offs in modern construction between speed, specificity, robustness, and resilience. You can make more informed decisions about how your projects, processes, and systems operate if you’re alive to this. Taking a considered approach can lead you to more sustainable, reliable, and adaptable construction projects - better prepared to face the uncertainties of the future.