Methodology: The Secret Recipe for Infrastructure

Creating quality and resilient projects is directly correlated with employing detailed processes and a replicable methodology. Máximo Muñoz, Business Development Manager for Mexico of Hill International, says his company has found the secret recipe. Whether it is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai or the Bancomer Operations Center in Mexico City, methodology is the key to success. “Regardless of who executes these set procedures or where, if followed, the project should be successful.” Hill International entered the Mexican market in 2004 and today specializes in two areas: project construction management and monitoring. After collaborating on its first construction contracts, the firm's leaders realized the opportunity for project management in Mexico. “We recognized that projects would usually experience some type of construction deviation, so we saw the opportunity to help clients by offering project management,” Muñoz says.
Project management is designed to anticipate and mitigate any possible risks that may arise during the planning, design, construction or closure phases of a project, resulting in its completion on time, within budget and of the highest quality. José Amarante, the company’s Business Development Vice President for Latin America, is convinced that the number and magnitude of risks in infrastructure is significant. “These projects deserve to have a qualified team permanently assigned to monitoring all the vital signs to successfully meet the project’s objectives.” Unfortunately, there is still a lot of improvisation when facing unforeseen conditions, often with a lack of a pre-defined alternative plan, he says. “This approach results in constant unnecessary delays and cost deviations. A well-dimensioned technical structure, incorporated at an early stage of the project is an investment, not an expense.”
Project management is not yet mandatory for all projects in Mexico, but Muñoz believes that it should be fundamental. “Developers should not see it as an expense but as an investment that will be rewarded with a successful project.” Convincing potential clients of its added value has been the company’s greatest entry barrier. “Hill is better positioned in the market segment that has already understood that project management is a necessary investment, as the correct management from the outset allows projects to develop smoothly,” he says.