Ernest Graves
in his mind what it is he wants. Then you have the designer and builder. He doesn't
always know exactly what it is he's going to do to respond to the requirement.
In the case of the Israeli airfields, certainly there was the issue about the shelters. The
Israelis had a need for shelters. But they weren't sure exactly what the configuration
would be, and they certainly didn't have a definitive list of what was going to be in the
shelter. They knew they wanted hydrant refueling, but they didn't know precisely what
delivery rates and so forth and so on.
Yes, if you take enough time. But often, even when time is provided, the people don't
come to grips with these issues. You will say, "All right, we'll have a meeting next
week, and you will bring to the meeting a complete list of your requirements."
You will go to the meeting, and they will not have a complete list of their requirements
because of this, that, or the other thing. Then you will say, "All right, we will make a
cost estimate of how much it costs to build this list, and you'll have a meeting next
week." Well, you show up at the meeting next week.
Two things. One, the list of requirements is still incomplete. Two, the cost estimate is
incomplete and full of errors. So you ask the engineers to go back and complete the
cost estimate, and the requirements guys to go back and complete the list. Then you'll
have a meeting the following week. Well, neither will have done exactly what he said
he was going to do. The engineer will have a bunch of excuses about why he couldn't
estimate the cost of this or that aspect. The user will still not have decided something
about his requirements.
It takes real tenacity and firmness to get these planning drills done. It's true to say they
didn't take enough time to decide it. But it's also true that they didn't work very
efficiently with the time given.
Q:
I see. And the same situation obtained with the Newport plant?
A:
I'm sure from knowing the way these meetings go. "All right. We're going to negotiate
this change order. Please come back next week with your costs." Well, the contractor
will come back. He won't have seriously looked at it. He'll just grab a number that he
knows is enough and he'll come back with that. Then you ask, "Where's the backup?"
"Well, we didn't get around to that."
It's hard work to resolve these issues.
Q:
Sooner or later, they have to come to grips with things.
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