Message from the Chair
2008 promises to be another great year both for the ECC Conference and also for the Engineering Contracting and Construction Industry.
The record levels of project activity seen over the past 18 months looks set to continue for certainly the next 18 months and everyday I am seeing new innovative practices and technologies being adopted on projects that are improving productivity, shortening ever tighter schedules and that are also attracting young people in the industry. The challenges are even greater than before with the materials and resource shortages putting great pressure on every aspect of a project. But the industry is rising to these challenges and we are aiming to bring to the next ECC Conference leaders that will share their successes and thoughts for the future.
2008 is the 40th anniversary of the ECC Conference. Forty years these days is a long time but the mission of the ECC has remained the same, to bring together owners and contractors to share vision and thought leadership to improve the overall capital projects business. As the board and I ponder the agenda we are building for the 40th conference, we looked back forty years to see what has happened in this time and to see whether there are any insights from the past to guide us into the future. Forty years ago we were in the middle of the Apollo space program. Indeed Apollo 13 was underway…and what a project management challenge that was! The Apollo space program achieved great things both organizationally and technically – things we are benefiting from today. We are really pleased to have Gene Krantz join us this year – Apollo 13’s Mission Controller and author of the book “Failure is not an Option” be one of our main keynotes this year.
Indeed in today’s manic capital projects business, “failure is not an option” for either contractors or owners. So our agenda is focusing on the challenges, solutions and innovations around today and in the near future. Leaders from different industry sectors of the owner community will share their vision of their capital projects. Business leaders both within and outside our ECC community will debate leadership and management in the project business. And we’ll again look at technologies that will have a material impact on our business in the near future.
So I hope you will join us for what promises to be a challenging and rewarding 40th Conference. Aptly entitled “Lift Off – Launching our Future Today” – the 40th Conference will bring thought leadership and vision from the past 40 years experience to the next five years (at least!) of the Engineering Contracting and Construction business.
Hope to see you in Scottsdale in September!
Anne-Marie Walters
2008 ECC Chair
|
