A collaborative process is an efficient one

Vysus Group’s Planit22 campaign is based upon three pillars; education, collaboration and integration.

Vishal Lagad, AMC Operations Director for the Americas, explains what collaboration means to him, and what is needed to improve international collaboration in order to meet sustainability commitments worldwide.

In a practical sense, collaboration is handpicking ‘pockets of excellence’ from both internal and external stakeholders, creating a more effective and efficient method to solving problems.

This means drawing the best people from any geography, background or position in the company. It is by this method that we are able to support the client to the absolute best of our ability.

Essentially, we have to consider whether we have the correct people, in the right area of expertise. If not, where can we source the additional support?

Collaboration is essential for project efficiency, as evidenced by our pipe vibration analysis in the Netherlands earlier this year. Expertise from external organisations provided the necessary regional compliance knowledge, and this was supported internally by our own vibration analyst based in Houston, Texas.

Further collaboration with international partners enabled us to fulfil the additional base work to meet our deadlines. If there were areas where we could bring somebody in from the outside, it meant we could get it done efficiently and have people working in parallel rather than traditionally, step-by-step. Having various groups working in synergy was a vital component in the project’s success, and we would not have been able to meet the client’s needs if not for our collaborative efforts.

The technological advancements and increased pressure to facilitate working virtually due to Covid-19 have given us the tools to get on the same page. Whilst time zones can be viewed as a logistical nightmare and an obstacle to some, the bottom line in driving collaboration comes from mindset.

Being in this industry for twenty years, and observing the common mentality of self-reliance and assuredness, things are changing and there has certainly been a shift. Once you realise what you have to offer is finite and limited, and that there are other people out there with their own resources, you discover that the best way to solve a problem is not always what was done traditionally.