New books to digest, from construction to gender bias

Paul Morrell mulls failed projects, while Jo Stanford considers female stereotyping in the workplace.

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Don’t be put off by the title! This book provides relevant insight, through multiple lenses, on bias in the workplace that both men and women should be aware of. It’s not a book I would normally choose. While I am a woman, the concept of ‘women’ as a group is not something I feel particularly connected to. Therefore, a book about women’s bias towards other women, causing conflict in the workplace, wasn’t something I expected to relate to.

The first thing to note is that the research finds no evidence that there is any more conflict between women than between any other gender combination. Instead, expectations, perceptions and stereotyped beliefs make some women think that other women are more hostile to them in the workplace, particularly in a male-dominated environment.

Having established that fact, the authors discuss a range of gender-related biases in the workplace, their origins and approaches to tackling them. The reality of gender bias is not in question; the gender pay gap data in most sectors evidences that gender biases are the norm. Add in any combination of BAME, sexuality, disability, age or maternity to the gender bias and that divide gets much wider.

The structure, glossary of terms, tone and flow of the book make it easy to follow the arguments, and the ‘Making Things Better’ section at the end of each paragraph gives a positive set of actions for the reader to implement.

The research is entirely US-based, and while there are culturally specific forces that influence biases in the US, the majority of examples are relatable in a UK context.

Having said that I don’t relate to ‘women’ as a group, the book made me reflect on my lack of positive engagement in challenging biases against women. I have since taken action to involve myself in practical ways.

And that, ultimately, is the real value of the book. By shining a light on our biases against different types of women, and the biased beliefs, behaviours and ‘norms’ of our work environment, it encourages us to get involved and make a difference.

Review by Jo Stanford, projects portfolio professional and head of project profession at Health Education England

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To live without hope is not to live at all, according to Dostoevsky – so, for that reason if for no other, we should be grateful for a book that puts ‘construction’ and ‘success’ on the front cover and offers grounds for hope.

Of course, success and failure are opposite sides of the same coin, so it is no surprise to find that many of the lessons here have been derived from searching through the entrails of failed projects. We are meant to learn from our mistakes, but this book stresses what decades of experience have taught so many of those working in the industry: that this doesn’t seem to work in construction. It is also noticeable that, no matter what kind of project, nor where it is located, the causes of failure are pretty universal.

The book contains chapters by a total of 18 authors, with the result being more of a collection of essays than a coherent thesis, yet it is well structured. Although there isn’t a great deal new here (much of it can be found in the APM Body of Knowledge), and one recognises one or two contributors who couldn’t resist the temptation to ride a familiar hobbyhorse, there is some ‘real world’ experience added to what might otherwise be a pretty dry anthology of errors.

There are also two overarching themes. First, the authors acknowledge that many problems are related to the structure of the industry and the nature of its product. They talk of it being ‘at a crossroads’. The reality is that, given the extraordinary diversity of the industry and the demands placed upon it, there is no single crossroads, and the call to ‘modernise or die’ is a platform, not a programme. The industry fails to improve, both because it can’t (because no single actor controls enough of the process to bring about structural change) and because it doesn’t need to (because the international competition that has transformed other industries has not really landed).

The second theme is that, for all the systems and processes we might put in place, it is asserted that 99 per cent of crashed projects are attributable to human behaviour, and there are strong chapters on this area – neglected in an industry motivated by a ‘projects culture’.

Although the book is intended for everyone in construction, including clients, a constant refrain from a lead author refers to contractors underpricing projects, mismanaging work (or their companies), losing money and failing to produce adequate returns for investors. These are real concerns – and, of course, if they are a risk for the contractor, they are also a risk for the client.

Nonetheless, no matter how much objectives might be aligned, the reality is that contractors and clients have different objectives, and readers whose principal business is the protection of clients’ interests will need to keep turning over the coin to consider its other side. It would, however, be no bad thing if clients and contractors had, as part of the social intelligence promoted in Tony Llewellyn’s chapter, a better understanding of each other’s problems.

So, it is not a case of a crossroads, but more of a long and winding road of individual projects, where competitive advantage comes from being able to demonstrate not just the required body of knowledge, but also the instincts, attitude and skill necessary to navigate one’s way through the minefield. This book will help.

Review by Paul Morrell OBE, a former senior partner at Davis Langdon and the UK government’s first chief construction adviser, 2009–2012

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This guide is a collaboration between members of APM and the Association of Cost Engineers that gives a structured explanation of cost estimating. The authors set the scene early – good practice in cost estimating is key in response to the evidence that “underestimation of project costs is a key reason for project failure”.

The guide describes a typical estimating framework as an overarching feature of the book. Each chapter looks at one of the fundamental activities within this framework, to be applied to any type of project. Recommendations are woven throughout each section, incorporating real-life experience, with care taken to clarify terms and abbreviations. A glossary provides a useful reference point.

The guide explains the three basic methods of estimating, recommending when best to apply each, and looks at different ways of expressing uncertainty and risk within a cost estimate. It also looks at the impact of different approaches to risk management on the overall cost profile. A short book, it has many figures and diagrams to explain the concepts and methods described.

The guide meets its purpose, providing a short and to-the-point explanation of the fundamentals of cost estimating, while the estimating framework provides a useful context for the sequencing of each of the key activities explained. It also alludes to the iterative nature of lessons learned, and the need to incorporate them to improve the estimate each time. As a theme, this would have been interesting to develop further. Particularly aimed at the current and next generation of project professionals, this is an easily accessible guide to good practice in cost estimating.

Review by Kelachi Amadi-Echendu, consultant at ResoLex and a chartered civil engineer