The Project Chatter Podcast

In this episode Val and special co-host Joseph Ballouz talk about connecting and shaping cities with bike and placemaking enthusiast Chris Bruntlett. Chris Bruntlett is Marketing and Communication Manager at the Dutch Cycling Embassy, a public-private partnership that represents the best knowledge, experience, and experts from the Netherlands. As a long-time campaigner in Vanco...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Will Woodhead to discuss unlocking productivity from the hardhat movement. Will is an engineer by trade who has spent nearly his entire career to date working overseas. At age 21 he was sent to Dalian in northern China for a year by his employer to work on a floating production platform. We Will then move to a further 7 different countries in Asia and West Africa wo...

In this episode, we welcome Colin D Ellis in a special episode titled Culture, Whisky and Whine !   Colin D Ellis is an award-winning international speaker, four-time best-selling author and much sought after workplace culture and project management expert who works with organisations around the world to help them transform the way they get things done. He is originally from Liverpool in the...

In this episode Dale and Val discuss with Ian Heptinstall the Alliance contract model and or why it can be used more successfully with a provision of openness, collaboration and behaviours across all sides. In addition we discussed the value of the Critical Chain Method and how Theory of Constraints among other methods enable a more successful project plan.  Ian Heptinstall is Associate Profe...

In this episode, Val caught up with a passionate and dedicated storyteller. The value of stories on projects is immense. As data and technology service the digital position, we still require the breadth, depth and understanding of storytellers, managers and people on the ground to explain and narrate the changes and forces that deliver projects that matter.  Susan is a documentary filmmaker a...

In this episode, Dale is joined by Marco Frisenda and Jo Lucas as guest hosts to speak with Steve Wake and some of the presenters from EVA27 about Project Performance in Turbulent Times! You'll hear from.. Steve Elliot, Experienced consultant and expert adviser in the field of project controls within complex infrastructure programmes and projects; Tony Welch, VP Bids And Programmes Thales; Mark Wi...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Chirag Shah to discuss the post-pandemic Project Controls job market. Chirag is a passionate Project Controls Recruitment Expert. His mission is to deliver clients the best quality Project Controls and PMO professionals, who are trusted to bring projects in on time and within budget. Chirag does this by digging that little bit deeper, to understand the client's stor...

In this episode Dale and Val speak to Dr Yakubu about his research and book on the subject of inhibitors and enablers. This is a thought-provoking show, breaking down the various elements and factors that contribute to project failure and success. This episode is not one to be missed. Dr Yakubu Olawale is an Associate Director at KPMG UK Major Projects Advisory, where he consults, advises clients,...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Brendan Robinson to discuss whether Quantity Surveying is a dying profession. We also discussed Alliance Contracts. Brendan is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and Experienced Commercial Construction Professional. Brendan has worked for both Client and Main Contractor organisations for around 20 years. He recently joined a Construction Consultancy and specialises in Po...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Georgie Alderson-Slater and Vikki Rooney to discuss why Project Controllers struggle to lead. Georgie is a Director for GeoVic Limited, a project controls training and development company that centers on PMO Transformation. She has 20 years of experience in Project Controls, Contract Management, Relationship Building & Management, and Effecting Change. Her backg...

In this episode, Dale and Val talk to James and Jo about Zero and the embodied carbon movement to reduce the negative carbon impact the construction industry is having on the current and future climate. The ZERO mission is to create a new construction industry culture, that continuously measures and manages carbon through all project stages. It is critical that as an industry we unite and work tog...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Alan Mosca to discuss whether machine learning and AI can really make a difference. Alan is the co-founder and CTO of nPlan, where he leads technology, research, and product, whilst developing thought leadership about forecasting and risk. Before nPlan, Alan spent 7 years as a technologist in quantitative finance, on live trading systems, research, and front-office...

In this episode, Dale speaks with Jason Lancini about why construction software sucks! Jason chooses a very provocative title to make his case for user-centric software development in construction project management. Jason is COO and leads the product team and operations at Aphex. As a former construction project manager and engineer, and a former, former construction labourer he is passionate abo...

In this episode, Val ventures in Han Solo fashion discussing the best value performance metrics approaches with Rich Plumery. Rich provides a non-linear and diverse background with which he credits his understanding of what works on projects.  Rich discusses his findings and summation of the Project Controls 10 commandments  Thou shall: 1) Eliminate systemic risks within the organization...

In this episode Dale and Val talk with Dr Tammy Watchorn about change management approaches in Tammy's Ninja Moves book release this week https://www.amazon.com/Change-Ninja-Handbook-interactive-adventure/dp/1788603702  Dr Tammy Watchorn trained as a scientist before moving into the complex landscape of healthcare to lead change. After some slow starts she began to realise that her hard-won a...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Mathilde Roubille to talk about Digital Engineering in Construction. Mathilde is a consultant with strong experience in embedding digital engineering (including BIM and Information Management) in large infrastructure projects. Coming from a structural engineering background, she leverages her technical experience on major projects (Riyadh Metro and Doha Metro in the...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Spencer Easton to discuss Takt Planning on Construction Projects. Spencer has been in the construction industry for 18 years. He is the Co-Founder / Trainer for LeanTakt and a Project Director at Elevate Construction. He co-authored the book Takt Planning and Integrated Control. He worked in the trades for the first decade of his career while attending night classin...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Adrian Pyne to discuss what project agility really looks like. Adrian is above all a project professional. He has led or rescued Transformation programmes widely from Telcos to eCommerce, Finance. Mining, Aviation, and the public sector. He has designed, built and operated P3 (project, programme and portfolio management) capability, PMOs, and Professional Services b...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Ed Van Der Tak to discuss the future of Project Planning and Technology trends. With over 30 years of experience in planning and scheduling, Ed has worked in various positions and areas within Project Planning & Management. He lives and works in The Netherlands but has also worked and trained in the Middle East. In the early 1990s Ed started his career as a plan...

In this week’s pod, we welcomed Russell Willis and Johnny Hepworth to discuss their project from Project Hack 15 – How good is my team at Risk Management? Russell is an infinite Learner with 20+ years of experience in Project Controls, PMO, Data Analytics and Business Intelligence. He now specialises in the catalisation of all these fields into a holistically cohesive and coherent source for dynam...

In this episode Dale and Val talk with Dr Alexia Nalewaik about expanding our social and climate responsibility beyond financial incentives. Noting the influence of projects on local infrastructure, business and environments, in some cases creating thriving communities. Have we moved into social measures for projects? What's holding us back? Are we ready to introduce other ROI measures? Dr Alexia...

In this episode, Martin and Val talk to Santosh Bhat in detail about the lesser-known  Time-location method and how it can be applied on projects. The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: Time chainage is a form of presenting activities from a project schedule. It differs from a Gantt chart by the addition of a second dimension i.e. location. It allows you to plot where activit...

In this week’s pod, we were re-joined by Paul Goodge and Warren for the second innings of the philosophy of Project Management. Paul is internationally regarded as a Programme Management and Change Management specialist. He is noted for his ability to swiftly and accurately diagnose issues and evolve solutions both from a technical and a behavioural point of view. Over his career he held a variety...

In this episode Val and our special host guest Jo Lucas, go down the rabbit hole with Kate on many subjects related to her studies and fantastic work to help communities through informal networks and leveraging technology. Kate talks about people 'doing the right thing' after her thesis and book and how technology and qualitative community data is helping to change policy and inform us more deeply...

In this week’s pod, we were joined by Bojan Tasevski to discuss how to turn your schedule into effective communication and delivery tools. For over 12 years, Bojan Tasevski has been a noteworthy leader in the project management technology space, primarily focusing on creating software products that ease the life of project teams of all sizes. Many people may know him as the Managing Director of Sy...