Public Works Department

Published 10th May 2017, 10:31am

We have a vision of the Public Works Department (PWD) becoming the service provider of choice for agencies needing design, construction and maintenance services for public buildings and facilities. To fully achieve this, we need to make significant changes in a number of areas. Our Project Future initiative is about identifying how we can make these changes.

In our Strategic Assessment, we set out five key outcomes we’re hoping to achieve. They are centred on efficiency and productivity; customer satisfaction; procurement; national resilience and emergency management capability; and opportunities for technical and vocational training and promoting Caymanian employment.

Achieving these outcomes will improve the standards of design and construction and the quality of maintenance services in schools, government offices and public facilities. In addition to having access to improved facilities at sporting complexes, beaches and parks, the general public will also be reassured that public funds are being utilised efficiently and sustainably. Internally, it will have a direct impact on the many men and women employed by PWD, who will have greater opportunities for professional and career growth through training and development.

Our Strategic Assessment actually combines two separate projects because the Recreational Parks & Cemeteries Section was recently integrated into PWD’s operational and management structure. We are still taking care to identify any unique challenges or opportunities facing each section but the merger allows us to maximise economies of scale, synergy and efficiencies.

One important thing explored in these assessments is what will happen if no changes are made to the way things are currently done. This is known as the “Do Nothing” option. Stakeholder consultations to date do indicate reasonable levels of satisfaction from a majority of our clients, who are pleased with the interest and commitment shown by most employees. However, there is clearly scope for improvement and we have found a need for greater quality assurance and to address the fact that there is still a perception of inefficiency carried over from previous years.

In order for PWD to stay relevant and meet the needs of our clients, we must find ways to re-invent ourselves while maintaining things that work well. At this point, the option of restructuring and creating opportunities for greater efficiency and private sector involvement appears to be the most viable course of action. Low hanging fruit include re-engineering our material supply chain and further enhancing the skillsets of our technical and professional staff, but we also need to streamline management structures and retain capacity on several fronts.

On this project, we used the business case methodology introduced for Project Future, which I found to be intuitive and easy to follow. The Strategic Reforms Implementation Unit was very flexible and open to proposals on ways to tailor the approach to suit some of the nuances of particular projects. The methodology also allows for consistency where materials are developed by several people at one time. With a unified set of guidelines, we were able to work collaboratively without unnecessary overlap or need to realign work done by sub-committees or individuals.

The main challenge has been balancing our “normal” workloads with the deliverables of the Project Future schedule. Though the targets are achievable, a project with such significance and long-term impact requires robust research, broad consultation, and careful thought. To meet this challenge, we allocate specific project time and schedule deliverables with as much lead time as possible while incorporating built-in redundancies.

The most important thing I will be taking away from this experience is a more finely developed competence in complex project delivery. I also have a feeling of realistic hope having seen the CIG’s ability to break away from “thinking in silos” and delivering initiatives with distinct “whole of government” benefits.