Working in a region known for its “Very High Hazard” seismic zone and marked by extreme tropical weather — including typhoons — Pete is highly skilled in effectively addressing the complexities of remote Pacific projects. From managing long lead times for materials and equipment to overcoming labor shortages driven by the ongoing military construction program to relocate U.S. Marines to Guam, Pete’s expertise continues to drive impactful projects in the Pacific region and his award-winning leadership is a cornerstone of AECOM’s operations in Guam.

Tell us about what inspired you to join the industry.

Growing up in Guam, the beaches and reefs were an integral part of my life. I have vivid memories of swimming and playing in areas full of coral and sea life, and in other areas that were impacted by pollution, yet we continued to visit and swim because being in the water was such a fundamental aspect of island life. Those experiences left a lasting impression on me. I often thought about the impact of pollution and how it could be addressed to preserve our environment for future generations. This reflection sparked my interest in finding ways to improve environmental conditions, particularly through engineering.

My focus naturally gravitated toward water and wastewater treatment — areas where I saw an opportunity to make a tangible difference. My father, a civil engineer specializing in roadway and stormwater management, also influenced my path. While I initially thought our interests diverged — his were in infrastructure and mine were in environmental preservation — I later realized how interconnected these fields are. Civil engineering, in all its facets, plays a critical role in protecting and enhancing our environment.

This realization solidified my commitment to the engineering field, where I could combine my passion for environmental stewardship with technical expertise to create meaningful change. It’s a journey that continues to inspire me every day.

What is your favorite AECOM project that you’ve worked on and why?

One of my favorite projects has been working with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps on their drinking water compliance programs in light of legally enforceable drinking water standards in various locations, including Japan, Singapore, and Diego Garcia. These projects have been particularly rewarding because they combine technical challenges with the opportunity to travel and experience different cultures. Each location presents unique requirements for compliance, as these bases operate outside the U.S. and must comply with the Navy’s Overseas Drinking Water Program, modeled after USEPA national policy and state regulatory programs.

The complexity of addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to ensure that service members and their families have access to high quality drinking water, whether it’s produced locally or sourced from a host nation, is both challenging and fulfilling. It’s about bridging the gap between local practices and U.S. standards to protect human health. These projects have allowed me to apply my expertise in water systems while also gaining insight into diverse operational environments.

Traveling for these projects has been an incredible experience, taking me to places like Guam, Hawaii, Japan, and Diego Garcia. It’s inspiring to see how our work positively impacts communities and supports the well-being of those serving abroad. The blend of technical problem solving and cultural exploration makes these projects some of the most meaningful of my career.

Share a piece of career advice.

My favorite piece of career advice came from my dad. While some parents push their kids to strive for a doctorate, my dad would often say, “Be P.H.D.” He meant, Be Poor, Hungry, and Driven. Not to be poor financially, but to always remember to be humble and remember where we came from. Not to be hungry in terms of food, but to have a strong desire for improvement and success. And to always be driven, to accomplish new goals and strive for bigger and better things.

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Oliver orchestrates AECOM’s efforts to mobilise behind Defence priorities, supports our Defence team to find, win and deliver impactful projects, and plays a key role in serving a diverse and complex client base. He supports every Defence branch across AECOM’s full-service offering, from environmental and program management services to engineering consultancy. With more than 18 years of experience across the Defence, engineering and infrastructure sectors, Oliver brings a unique blend of operational discipline, strategic insight and delivery capability.

Looking back on your career and time at AECOM, what pivotal moment or experience affirmed your purpose or your values? Something that made you stop and think, “okay, this is why I do this.”

There wasn’t one defining moment, rather, a series of meaningful connections that reaffirmed my purpose. Funnily, shortly after joining AECOM, I updated my LinkedIn profile, and my former military colleagues encouraged me to reach out to the AECOM UK Defence team. That led to conversations and before I knew it, I was in the heart of something special, supporting major global projects and collaborating across Australia, the UK, and the U.S. on AUKUS.

Tell us a little bit more about your career journey. You just touched on the British Army.

My career journey is marked by diverse and enriching experiences, beginning with a master’s degree in naval architecture at Southampton University. I then embarked on an unexpected adventure in Turkey, contributing to the construction of the Maltese Falcon, a groundbreaking modern square rigger. This project honed my technical expertise and fuelled my passion for innovation and collaboration.

A persistent calling to serve led me to enrol at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the home of British Army Officer training. This equipped me with leadership skills and resilience.

My time in the military was both challenging and transformative, providing close support to operations and fostering a sense of purpose. Meeting my wife, Hannah, prompted a shift towards technical engineering roles, which eventually led me to Perth, Australia, where I worked on the Perth Children’s Hospital project. After fulfilling my military service obligations, I made the move to Melbourne, where I led major bids for and managed significant, innovative projects like the Victorian Heart Hospital and Marvel Stadium, which included advanced sport facility technology integrations.

Ultimately, one rainy Melbourne day, my wife and I decided to return to Perth, aligning with our original plan and embracing new opportunities. Joining AECOM marked the beginning of a new chapter in client service, leading our talented Defence team. I apply my diverse experiences and leadership skills to impactful projects, contributing to the company’s global values.

Tell us a little bit more about yourself outside of work.

My personal life is deeply intertwined with family, fitness and community involvement. My wife and I are a strong team, balancing our careers and parenting our three energetic children, aged 7, 8 and 9. Our shared commitment to supporting each other enables us to manage our busy lives effectively.

I’m actively involved in my children’s activities. Volunteering and coaching for Nippers, it’s chaos, but it’s fun! They’re a bit like soldiers: keep them moving, don’t let them get bored. It’s incredibly rewarding. I also coach rugby during the winter. Staying fit through daily training is a priority, to maintain my physical and mental well-being. While I enjoy kite surfing and windsurfing in sunny, windy Perth, much of my focus right now is on family-oriented activities, reserving personal hobbies for when the kids are older.

How do you see your role evolving in the next few years in this changing and evolving industry?

I see my role focusing on empowering our talented teams and unlocking opportunities across AECOM’s global network.

The Defence team has unique capabilities, unmatched worldwide, and my aim is to facilitate the sharing of these strengths with colleagues in regions such as the UK, the Pacific, and the U.S.

This transformation is not about individual success but about supporting collective excellence and ensuring we continue to set the benchmark in consultancy.

What kind of legacy do you hope to leave — in your team, in the work you deliver, or in the culture you help shape?

I aim to leave a legacy of creating a self-sufficient, empowered team. Drawing inspiration from military practices, where a second-in-command is always prepared to step up, I strive to ensure that my team operates autonomously, requiring minimal oversight. By fostering confidence and trust, my job is to enable team members to make informed decisions and deliver exceptional results.

I’m also committed to our involvement in the Veteran Employment Program, supporting veterans in their transition to civilian careers. By creating pathways for our veterans to thrive, I aim to shape a culture that values service, inclusivity and long-term impact.

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Jess Yoder has more than 40 years of capital infrastructure delivery experience spanning the public and private sectors. He specializes in advancing major programs, focusing on building outcome-focused governance structures and delivery systems that set large-scale initiatives up for long-term success.

Jess’s work on transformative projects like the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Pure Water Southern California Program and the Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) has shown him how modernizing water systems directly benefits the environment and the communities they serve. Passionate about infrastructure that creates lasting value, Jess is dedicated to helping cities and regions meet future challenges through smart, sustainable water solutions.

What inspired you to join the industry?

My career in engineering began with a suggestion from a friend. I grew up outside Fort Wayne, Indiana, and after high school, I knew I wanted to attend college and had an academic scholarship but wasn’t sure what to study. A friend at Purdue University encouraged me to explore engineering. I enrolled, enjoyed it, and earned a two-year associate degree, which led to a role in Fort Wayne’s public works department. It soon became clear that advancing would require a bachelor’s degree and licensure, so I returned to Purdue to complete my degree.

After earning my license, I was appointed city engineer by the mayor of Fort Wayne. Following several years in that role, I sought new challenges and moved to Hillsborough County, Florida, where I managed a newly formed Capital Projects Department and later served as county engineer. With the county experiencing rapid growth, I gained valuable experience overseeing large public works programs, especially in the water sector.

After five years in Florida and two decades in public service, I transitioned to the private sector. I moved to Nevada to oversee a $2.5 billion water system for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, as well as helping launch several other major water infrastructure programs in Southern California.

My next opportunity brought me to San Francisco to manage the $4.5 billion Wastewater System Improvement Program for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. While there, I worked alongside AECOM teams and was eventually invited to join the firm. I began in the Water business line within the Program and Construction Management practice.

Today, my role at AECOM is to help our program teams and clients launch complex programs through expert guidance in the creation of high-performing teams, program initiation, system deployment, program controls and risk management.

What is your favorite AECOM project that you’ve worked on and why?

One of the most rewarding projects I’ve worked on is the Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s (HRSD) Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow, or SWIFT, in southeastern Virginia. This forward-thinking $3 billion program treats wastewater to drinking water standards and recharges it into the Potomac Aquifer, the primary water source for over 4 million people. It’s a smart, long-term solution that addresses issues like water supply, sea level rise, and environmental protection for Chesapeake Bay. The program was launched in 2010 under a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.  AECOM was hired as the program management consultant in 2018. 

What made this program especially ambitious was the scale of transformation required. HRSD had to upgrade its existing facilities, including plants such as the James River, Nansemond, York River, and Army Base, as well as the Virginia Initiative, to incorporate advanced treatment processes capable of producing drinking water. On top of that, they had to design and build entirely new infrastructure: injection and monitoring wells, pipelines, pumps, tanks, labs, and real-time monitoring and control systems.

I was brought in to help set up the program. My role focused on establishing the program’s organizational structure, governance and foundational systems. I helped our program team develop program plans, define performance metrics, and set up tools and processes that allowed our teams to work effectively with the client.

What I enjoy most is building that foundation for successful delivery, helping agencies like HRSD go from a big vision to a well-structured program that delivers real results. With SWIFT, getting the setup right was critical. Once that was in place, the team could move forward with confidence and purpose.

Tell us a story of how your work positively impacted the community.

One of the projects I’m most proud to be a part of is the Pure Water Southern California Program. This groundbreaking project was developed through a partnership between the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. Together, they’re tackling three critical issues: increasing the state’s water recycling capacity, reducing reliance on imported water and decreasing discharge of treated wastewater into the ocean.

When fully built, Pure Water will deliver up to 150 million gallons of purified water daily, enough to support 1.5 million people. It’s an ambitious solution that transforms previously unused water into a reliable resource for groundwater replenishment, industrial use, and the regional drinking water supply. This benefits the 19 million people served by Metropolitan and the 5.6 million served by the Sanitation Districts.

Advanced treatment facilities will be constructed, along with 40 to 60 miles of new pipelines, at least three major pump stations, and a host of support facilities, from laboratories and recharge areas to future direct potable reuse infrastructure.

This is a major undertaking being delivered in carefully planned phases through 2036, and success depends on having a strong foundation from the start. That’s where my role comes in. I focus on establishing the program plans, performance metrics, implementing oversight and strategic risk management frameworks, and data management and reporting systems.

The program provides benefits even beyond improvements to the water system. It will create close to 50,000 jobs and generate billions in economic output — delivering a lasting, positive legacy for the communities we serve.

Share a piece of career advice.

One piece of career advice I always give students and young engineers is to be willing to take calculated risks. We learned in math class that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line and it may be tempting to think of your career path that way; a straight line from college to your future goals. The greatest potential for growth involves twists and turns, taking risks, embracing new opportunities, and even what may seem like a lateral move or a step backward.  I took a risk and stepped outside my comfort zone when I left Fort Wayne, where my family and friends were, for Florida. It was a 1,200-mile leap of faith that opened doors I hadn’t imagined. It helped me grow as a person, take on new challenges and advance my career. Betting on yourself, when it’s a well-considered decision, can be one of the best moves you make.

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At the launch of the Ireland Annual Review 2025 back in January, I had the privilege of joining a panel of industry experts to discuss the future of infrastructure in Ireland. The conversation spanned housing, real estate, transport, energy, healthcare and water.

It was good to see the water sector included in the conversation. Water is fundamental to every aspect of economic and social progress. Without it, there is no housing expansion, no industrial growth, and no way to sustain a thriving population. We often say that economic growth is thirsty work, and it is good to see that Ireland recognizes that investing in resilient, future-proof water infrastructure is just as important as building roads, rail and housing.

But water is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. What I see happening in Ireland today — just as I have seen in many other parts of the world — is an urgent need for a shift in how we approach infrastructure delivery. The key to solving the challenges ahead is embracing programmatic thinking — an approach that moves beyond isolated projects and instead delivers infrastructure in a strategic, coordinated and efficient way.

What programmatic thinking really means

For too long, infrastructure delivery has been fragmented, with different agencies and sectors working in silos. In many cases, projects that should be connected — such as housing developments, water supply systems and transport networks — are planned and executed independently. This lack of coordination not only drives up costs but also leads to inefficiencies, delays and missed opportunities.

Programmatic thinking changes that. As we explain in this year’s report, it is not just about delivering a collection of projects; it is about delivering a vision of success. It allows us to:

• Maximise efficiency by leveraging economies of scale and reducing duplication.
• Attract international expertise by creating a clear and reliable pipeline of work.
• Accelerate delivery by streamlining procurement and approval processes.
• Ensure long-term sustainability by designing infrastructure that meets future needs, not just today’s.

In my experience working across the globe, the most successful infrastructure programs have been those that break down silos and bring together multiple sectors. In Los Angeles, for example, we have seen transport, healthcare, water management and urban development integrated under a single strategic framework. Instead of competing for resources and attention, different agencies work collaboratively, resulting in faster, more effective project delivery.

These large programs present a unique opportunity to drive meaningful change across our communities. To maximize their impact, they must be integrated, leveraging their scale to attract investment, talent and innovation — ultimately strengthening the economy and supporting national growth. This is why complex programs require cohesive, strategic leadership, ensuring alignment across sectors and delivering long-term benefits for all.

Ireland’s unique opportunity

Ireland is at a critical juncture. Unlike many other nations struggling with infrastructure deficits, Ireland has a rare combination of strong economic growth, budget surpluses and a growing population. The country has the ability — and the resources — to invest in infrastructure strategically, rather than reactively.

However, to fully capitalize on this opportunity, Ireland needs to provide certainty and commitment. As I emphasised at the event, international infrastructure firms and investors are watching closely. They need to see long-term stability in government policies, clear pipelines of work, and a commitment to follow through on major projects. Without that, the best talent and resources will go elsewhere.

This is especially true in the water sector. While Ireland is a water-rich nation, the supply is not always where it is needed most. Climate change is adding new pressures, with more frequent flooding in some areas and water scarcity in others. These challenges cannot be solved with short-term fixes. They require a comprehensive, programmatic approach that prioritises resilience, efficiency and sustainability.

The supply chain challenge — and how to fix it

One of the most pressing concerns in infrastructure delivery today is the strain on the global supply chain. This is not just about materials — it is also about people, skills and expertise.

Ireland, like much of the world, faces a significant shortage of skilled workers in engineering, construction and infrastructure management. This is a challenge that could impact the pace and cost of delivery if not addressed proactively.

At the event, I spoke about how infrastructure investment is happening everywhere — from the United Kingdom’s AMP8 water investment program to Australia’s massive transport projects and the United States’ historic infrastructure bill. This means that the best talent and global contractors have options.

In my experience, programs that overcome the issues around supply chain are the most successful. If Ireland wants to attract top-tier firms and expertise, it needs to become the location of choice by offering:

• A clear, long-term pipeline of work to give companies confidence in investing here.
• Efficient procurement and approval processes to avoid unnecessary delays.
• A collaborative contracting environment that fosters shared risk and shared reward.
• Commitment to workforce development — building talent at home while also attracting international expertise.

We also need to rethink traditional working models. In this new digital age, we do not need to rely solely on in-person expertise. Many aspects of infrastructure planning and design can be done remotely.

One of the most effective examples of this has come from Uisce Éireann (Irish Water), which has successfully opened its doors to global expertise and leveraged international talent to support local delivery. This model demonstrates how organizations can broaden their talent pool and ensure that vital infrastructure projects move forward efficiently.

Collaboration is key

Another major takeaway from the discussion was the need for collaboration across all levels of infrastructure planning and delivery. The projects we develop today are far more complex and interconnected than they were in the past. A new housing development is not just about homes — it is about water supply, transport access, energy efficiency and climate resilience.

To get this right, we need a unified strategy that brings together all key stakeholders — government agencies, private sector partners and global experts. We need to create shared success metrics, where everyone, from designers to contractors, is working towards the same vision. And most importantly, we need to commit to long-term thinking rather than short-term political cycles.

This is exactly the approach that has worked in other global infrastructure programs, such as in Los Angeles. These collaborations did not happen by accident — they were intentional, strategic and focused on the bigger picture.

A once-in-a-generation moment

What excites me most about Ireland’s future is that the potential is enormous. The country has the resources, the ambition and the opportunity to become a global leader in sustainable, strategic infrastructure delivery.

But to do that, Ireland must embrace programmatic thinking, commit to long-term planning, and foster a culture of collaboration over competition. It is time to move beyond the old, fragmented approach and build an infrastructure system that works as a whole, not just in pieces.

A programmatic approach is not one that just delivers a project, it delivers a vision of success. The vision for success in Ireland is going to be underpinning of economic growth and success in providing housing for a growing population.

This is Ireland’s once-in-a-generation moment to create an infrastructure model that will serve its people for decades to come. The question now is — will we seize it?

Read this article to learn more about the increasingly successful application of programmatic principles across the island of Ireland.

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In the ever-evolving landscape of infrastructure and construction projects, alliance contracts have emerged as a transformative approach to program management. These contracts, rooted in collaboration and shared goals, offer a compelling alternative to traditional EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) or staff augmentation models. By aligning all stakeholders — owners, designers and constructors — toward achieving a target total cost and key schedule milestones, alliance contracts create an environment where success is shared and challenges are collectively addressed.

The core of alliance contracts: Risk and reward sharing

Alliance contracts are built on the principles of shared risk and reward. Unlike traditional frameworks where risks are allocated to individual parties, alliances distribute these risks equitably. This is achieved through mechanisms like the “pain share/gain share” model, where participants collectively bear the consequences of cost overruns or share the benefits of cost savings. This alignment fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation, as all parties are incentivized to make decisions that are “best for the project” rather than solely protecting their individual interests.

Delivering cost savings and agility

One of the most significant advantages of alliance contracts is their ability to reduce overall project costs. By focusing on the total value delivered rather than the dollar-per-hour cost of individual contributors, these contracts encourage efficiency and innovation. For example, integrated commercial models within alliances often include performance pools tied to non-cost-related key result areas, such as schedule or quality. This ensures that every decision made by the team aligns with the overarching project objectives, ultimately driving down costs and enhancing value.

Moreover, alliance contracts offer unparalleled agility. In times of market or financial uncertainty, the collaborative framework allows for rapid adjustments to project scope, timelines or budgets. This flexibility is particularly valuable in today’s volatile economic environment, where the ability to pivot can mean the difference between project success and failure.

Beyond cost: The value of collaboration

The collaborative nature of alliance contracts extends beyond financial benefits. By integrating supply chains and fostering open communication, these contracts mitigate risks associated with project interfaces and dependencies. For instance, practices like design and schedule integration ensure that all stakeholders are aligned, reducing the likelihood of delays or cost overruns.

Additionally, the emphasis on shared goals and transparent decision-making builds trust among participants. This not only enhances team performance but also creates a legacy of best practices that can be applied to future projects.

Conclusion: A paradigm shift in program management

Alliance contracts represent a paradigm shift in how we approach program management. By focusing on shared objectives, total project cost, and schedule milestones, these contracts deliver superior outcomes compared to traditional EPC or staff augmentation models. They enable clients to achieve significant cost savings, adapt to changing circumstances, and foster a culture of collaboration and innovation.

In an era where agility and efficiency are paramount, alliance contracts offer a proven framework for success. At AECOM, we leverage our extensive experience in program management and alliance contracting to help clients navigate complex projects, ensuring that every decision made is aligned with their long-term goals. Together, we can build a future where Energy infrastructure projects are not just delivered on time and under budget but also set new standards for excellence and sustainability.

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Managing transit programs is a complex craft, and delivering programs on time and within budget is easier said than done. In my decades of experience working on highly complex transit programs around the world, I’ve found that mastering these three C’s — creating, coordinating and communicating — is the surest path to successful program delivery. Here’s how my teams and I applied these principles to our work on the Metro Line 3 in India, the first underground metro line in Mumbai, to keep this ambitious program moving forward.

Creating
Effective program management on infrastructure programs requires the ability to create innovative solutions that keep work on track and minimize disruptions to daily life around the project site. That’s exactly what we provided for Mumbai Metro Line 3. We added above-ground roadway platforms that allowed vehicular traffic to continue flowing even as we were tunneling 98.5 feet (30 meters) below, creating twin tunnels nearly 21 miles (33.5 kilometers) in length. Our innovation prevented road closures that would have greatly inconvenienced the community, enabling people to continue accessing work, school and other destinations as tunneling and construction work progressed underground.

Coordinating
Transit programs are by their very nature multifaceted and frequently overlap across the jurisdictions of a myriad of local, state and federal government agencies. Whether it’s a transit program in Mumbai, Dubai, London or New York City, having first-hand knowledge of each agency’s priorities, operations and expectations is the surest way to establish coordination plans that minimize project delays and reduce cost overruns. For the Metro Line 3 project, closely coordinating our work with the Bandra Kurla Complex, a business and residential district in Mumbai, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the governing civic body of Mumbai, enabled us to manage and adapt tunneling methods and hours so that vital tunneling work could proceed as planned, allowing this critical program to remain on schedule.

Communicating
Establishing a culture of communication, which includes sharing ideas and tackling potential program concerns together, helps advance a unified team. This was the case with the now-completed Sahar Road crossover for Mumbai Metro Line 3, which allows trains to switch tracks up and down the line. The crossover project included two 744-foot-long (227-meter) caverns made up of six different sections. Its mountainous terrain and water drainage requirements added to the intricacy. Communication across the 30-member consultant and contractor team allowed us to establish a consensus on the complex crossover design, construction planning and logistics management, which allowed this critical portion of the Line 3 project to advance on time and within budget.

Capability is the linchpin
While creativity, coordination and communication are important, they must be backed up by a fourth important “C,” capability: the resources and knowledge to deliver a successful transit program. At AECOM, our decades of experience and depth of knowledge delivering transit programs across the world — Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North and South America — affords us a unique ability to provide tailored solutions, manage the unexpected and meet evolving client needs on infrastructure programs of all scales and scopes. By combining our extensive program management experience with global expertise and local insights, we can provide the type of uniquely tailored solutions needed to meet any challenge that arises — assuring we can deliver transit programs that benefit communities for years to come.

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This substantial of a capital outlay is not easy to come by, however. Each regulatory period brings new cost pressures as water regulators continue to push down the cost of water and wastewater services to consumers. To eliminate excess spending, water companies are compelled to reassess their operational strategies and find more efficient ways to deliver their capital programs.

Reducing the cost of capital investment can be a difficult task. Standardization is playing an ever-increasing role in reducing design costs, but people and plant machinery on the ground still make up the biggest portion of expenditure and present the biggest risk. If they’re not fully utilized, then they will become overheads, or expenses that are not directly contributed to producing a product or providing a service. These added expenses mean that the cost of every meter of pipe laid or every cubic meter of concrete poured would inevitably increase.  To prevent this, many water companies have put efficiency targets in place to address this risk, like the South Australian Water Corporation, which has set a capital delivery efficiency target of 5 per cent for the 2020 – 2024 period.

Keeping the contractor funnel filled is key to meeting capital delivery efficiency targets. The easiest way to do this is to make effective and timely decisions in every stage of the project. Achieving this  requires a solid governance structure and process – from portfolio-level investment decisions to program and project initiation, design, delivery and change control – as each stage of the decision-making process can negatively impact the continuity of work on the ground and the output costs.

As programs managers, we help our water sector clients lay solid foundations for successful program delivery by defining the operating model before the initiation stage. This ensures that the governance structure is articulated clearly, together with defined terms of reference as well as roles and responsibilities. Laying the right framework enables the contractor funnel to be filled with the right work, minimizing overheads or on-costs so that clients can deliver their capital investment programs with greater efficiency and reduced cost.

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Just as delivery models demand different approaches, every project is unique. Likewise, different clients want different levels of control over their programs. To satisfy clients and integrated stakeholder teams and to drive effective, proactive interventions, the program management team must generate insights that provide the appropriate level of visibility over commercial and financial data as well as project delivery progress. This is as much about identifying areas for improvement as creating a culture that always examines where further improvements can be made.

At AECOM, we constantly innovate the way we use systems, tools, and data analysis so that we can trust the data and the insights it brings. Here are some key ways that a combined data analysis and behavioral approach helps us to avoid the use of ‘I think’ or ‘I feel’ in decision-making, allowing us to drive project efficiencies while helping clients meeting strategic outcomes, particularly on large infrastructure programs.

Collaborate and integrate early with key stakeholders

As a consultant, we establish the exact level of control clients need by engaging in upfront communication before the project even starts. Once that’s achieved, we can tailor the level of visibility around cost and risk management throughout the program lifecycle as well as assurance around delivery. It’s crucial to get this step right. Get it wrong, and clients lose confidence quickly.

Ultimately, it’s up to the consultant to understand clients’ needs. Of course, the better the relationship between client and consultant, the easier it is for parties to collaborate. This trust is often built up across multiple programs.

Establish data trust

Managing and presenting information sits at the heart of effective program delivery organisation. Digital dashboards, such as Power BI, allow us to give clients maximum visibility of their projects as they are fed by data from multiple sources to generate regular progress reports.

For this process to work most efficiently, it is important to establish data trust right from the outset so that all parties can focus on the trends and intelligence gleaned from the information rather than the quality of what is being presented.

For example, in our work with West Midlands Combined Authority, we manage four different design packages and use Power BI to consolidate project information in one integrated overview. The skill and experience of the program team is critical in translating the data so that the information informs decision-making and drives improvements.

In addition, the program team must judge exactly how to present the information to best meet stakeholder needs and intents. In reality, the possibilities are endless – all data levels could be opened if the client so wished and presented either digitally or on paper. In the past, this would have been a huge, resource-intensive undertaking. Now, however, the process is much more efficient and a lean team of skilled operatives using a single source of truth can meet even the heaviest of data demands.

Opening a window on strategic outcomes

Most programs exist to create or enable some form of wider strategic outcomes. Having a thorough understanding of these outcomes allows us to drive the right data through the digital dashboard so that it becomes the lens through which customers, owners and delivery teams can measure performance against them. Right from the start, all program team members should be able to answer the question, ‘Why are we doing this and how are we contributing to those outcomes?’ In this way, individual organisational needs are no longer the primary driver for decision-making.

Ultimately, setting the environment for how multi-discipline different organisations work together and behave commercially will drive program success, which should be measured on the realization of the wider benefits as well as the traditional critical success factors of time, cost, and quality. Generating insights from trusted data to provide the appropriate level of visibility is key to making this happen.

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The exposure was 1.3 seconds at f/14, ISO 100 on a Canon 5D mk III camera with 24-105mm lens and circular polarizing filter on a tripod.

Photo © Mike Niedringhaus / AECOM

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AECOM was selected by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) to manage the comprehensive LAX implementation plan for modernizing the airport. The LAX master plan provides for the design and phased construction, while continuing to serve 65 million passengers a year. One set of Enhancements to the airport AECOM designed and managed included 800-foot roadside canopies, new entry pavilions, new escalator and stair connections, new arrival plazas at terminals, and roadside lighting and signage.

This exposure was taken at 8 seconds at f 14.0 at ISO 100 on a Canon 1Dx mk II camera with 70-200mm lens.

Photo © Robb Williamson / AECOM

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