Dubai: It wasn't that long ago that everyone in the local construction and real estate sectors would swear by project management and everything that it stood for.
Then the property markets eased and projects got delayed or ran aground, and it became a term of vilification.
Now as a nascent revival is sighted in construction activity, the time has come to give project management its due and integrate it better within wider scheme of things. One company which hopes this will be the case is Wrench Solutions and its founder Daniel Varghese.
"An organisation today wants to be totally on top of each deliverable and budget and [thus] ensure profitability on every project," said Varghese.
"We have received several enquiries in the last two quarters and are considering them at the moment. I believe this is a good sign and shows the correlation between the improving market conditions."
The company, which launched its operations in India and later ventured into the UAE technology sector, specialises in automated process management solutions. Its local credentials have been boosted by winning contracts from engineering and architectural majors Al Habtoor, Murray & Roberts, and Khatib & Alami.
Now, with a gradual upturn in project led activity, Wrench Solutions is hoping for more.
Demanding clients
"Clients have become very demanding and thus need periodic reports and evidence of the project status online," said Varghese.
"This has pushed these organisations to identify a system that can help them enforce the quality management process and provide real-time project status reports."
Typically, a good-sized project would churn out anywhere between 200,000 to 400,000 printouts. That's a whole lot of paperwork to get through. "Documents are the lifeblood of construction projects and inefficient document management methods are one of the main causes of project delays," said Varghese. "Companies are open to implement any solution that can help them improve the efficiency of project delivery, bring more transparency in execution and, more importantly, cut costs.
"During these times companies also expect implementation to happen faster so that they can get the benefits of their investment immediately."
When Wrench Solutions comes on board, it carries out the implementation on-site and then extends it for a certain period post-completion. Then the support is handed over to the on-line team as "this is the fastest way to reach a client."
Typical contracts vary between $1 million (Dh3.6 million) to $10 million, depending on the quite specific nature of client requirements.
Domain specialists
"Our support is run out of India as it is cost-effective and we need them to be close to the product development team to provide instant solutions," Varghese added. Currently, there is a team of around 120 members servicing client requirements. "We have domain specialists with extensive industry knowledge. As implementation is done through our partners in the region our manpower resources doesn't increase with more implementation."
Wrench Solutions sees itself sticking to the formula of being a key partner in the region's construction sector. "Other industries such as aerospace, new product development, and machine building don't have a large presence in this market," Varghese said. "Furthermore, Middle East is where the maximum infrastructure projects are being executed — we see a large opportunity in this part of the world."
And what is his take on running a business? "The earliest definition of entrepreneurship, dating from the 18th century, used it as an economic term describing the process of bearing the risk of buying at certain prices and selling at uncertain prices," Varghese said.
"According to me, it's about creating a ‘unique product' or ‘service' which gives maximum value to the organisation that adopts it and of course creates monetary benefits for the entrepreneur. The key thing that is common now as in the 18th century is the capability of taking risks - this is a must-have quality in each entrepreneur."
What to do
Top five tips for promoters of small and medium enterprises:
1. Need to have a well thought-out "unique business idea".
2. A strong business plan that includes all the details, including the rollout plan of the idea, the business value and build in a tool to keep measuring it.
3. Clearly differentiate and innovate your offering against the competition's. Do the same with strategy to constantly stay ahead.
4. Define clear goals and relentlessly try to meet your goals under any circumstances.
5. Last but not the least — have faith.