Food Engineering Magazine: “2010 Annual Plant Construction Survey”

Food Engineering Magazine: "2010 Annual Plant Construction Survey"
SSOE Group's Ken Gruenhagen, senior project manager of SSOE's food division, is interviewed for Food Engineering Magazine's 2010 Plant Construction Survey: Enter the Era of Intelligent Asset Management. Continue Reading →

Area Development Magazine Article: “When Is Bargain Commercial Real Estate a Steal?”

Area Development Magazine Article: "When Is Bargain Commercial Real Estate a Steal?"
SSOE Group's Bob McCain discusses how to tell if you're getting a steal when it comes to commercial real estate purchases and how to tell when bargain prices are too good to be true. Continue Reading →

Food Processing Magazine Article: “2010 Capital Spending Outlook: Pent-Up Demand Causes an Explosion in Projects”

Food Processing Magazine Article: "2010 Capital Spending Outlook: Pent-Up Demand Causes an Explosion in Projects"
With the recent release of the 2010 Capital Spending Outlook for the food industry, health and safety are a major concern. SSOE Group's Mike Murphy discusses the importance of health and safety when designing a food facility. Continue Reading →

China’s Smaller Cities Make Big Promises

China's Smaller Cities Make Big Promises
The shift in development from the major Chinese metropolises to smaller emerging cities is a trend with serious implications for global businesses. Until recently, companies planning to develop operations in China honed in only on the areas around Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. These large Westernized cities, often referred to as Tier 1 cities, offered labor at bargain prices as well as the infrastructure to support development. Both the Chinese and the foreign companies have come to understand each other’s business practices, and that has lowered the hurdles for outside developers. However, the dramatic social and economic changes that have rippled through China in the past few years are now reshaping the landscape for industrial, commercial, and retail facilities development. “Although industrial investment seems close to levels we were seeing before the 2009 recession in China,” says Andrew Kwok, SSOE’s General Manager of Asian Operations,” new foreign investment is experiencing a geographic shift.” Attracted by lower development costs (including land, labor and materials), operating costs, and more aggressive government incentives, some investors are opting to develop in more dispersed regions in China. Corporate giants like Ford, GM, Borg Warner, Coca-Cola, Cummins, Goodyear, and P&G are among them. Continue Reading →

Project Planning: Not Enough or Too Much?

Project Planning: Not Enough or Too Much?
People involved in project development will tell you that diligent planning is critical to project success. That seems obvious. But if you ask if most of their projects meet their target in terms of cost, schedule, scope, and business goals, they would have to admit they don’t. The studies back that up. The Standish Group’s 2009 Chaos Report “shows a marked decrease in project success rates, with 32% of all projects…delivered on time, on budget, with required features and functions” says Jim Johnson, the Group’s chairman. “44%…are late, over budget, and/or with less than the required features and functions, and 24% failed which are cancelled prior to completion, or delivered and never used.” Why the dismal report? Dan Vining, Business Leader for SSOE’s Project and Construction Management Group at SSOE and an expert in project planning, cites three key reasons why total project success is so elusive...and they all point to planning deficiencies. Spending too much time or effort on the wrong kinds of planning activities. Not spending enough time understanding the owner’s business purpose and perspective. Not enough integration of services between project phases. Continue Reading →