News Detail

Breaking Down Silos

7/1/2004

ACI has 16 standing committees of the Board of Direction that oversee our chapter, educational, and technical activities; our certification, construction liaison, and international programs; our conventions; and the administration of our Institute. These standing committees are a critical resource and carry a heavy responsibility for the affairs of the Institute. Within the scope of the Technical Activities Committee (TAC) alone, over 5000 members of more than 120 technical committees are working on topics ranging from materials properties to design and construction practices. For the most part, these efforts are initiated by individual members. Each committee identifies a need, and the products or programs it will produce to address the need, and establishes its own schedule to complete its work.

This approach is one of ACI's fundamental strengths. Our members identify needs and potential solutions-and they "get it done." But a potential drawback of such an approach is that we can inadvertently channel our activities through silos within each standing committee, which can lead to duplication of efforts or missed opportunities relative to the work of other committees. This can occur because we ask our standing Board committees to guide the work that falls within their own scope but have not emphasized coordination of activities between them.

A simple but not trivial example: TAC recently worked with ACI's Information Systems staff to create a web-based format for annual reporting by committees. With modest tweaking, this system can meet the needs of other standing committees that might otherwise be independently considering their own systems. By recognizing such opportunities for coordination at an early stage, we can accommodate the needs of a broader segment of our membership and minimize investment of member resources.

Significant opportunities also exist for coordinated ACI initiatives that address major topics that cross the jurisdictional boundaries of our standing committees. Last month I reported on TAC's new specifications direction. There are potential educational, certification, contractor, chapter, and even international programs associated with this effort to improve the specification of structural concrete. Why can't we create an overall initiative on specifications through the coordination of our standing committees to provide solutions for these marketplace needs?

Another area ripe for coordination is electronic communications. The Internet Advisory Committee has been discussing an overall strategic plan to guide ACI in this area. The question is where do we want to be 5 or 10 years from now? There are limitless possibilities for the use of electronic tools to help us create and publish documents, for balloting, and for sales and distribution of ACI products. And what about electronic memberships to facilitate participation-especially from international members-and to reduce the cost of entry? This issue impacts all Institute programs and requires collaboration of all standing committees.

To help minimize the potential for creation of silos, and to take advantage of opportunities for coordinated programs and products, we need to encourage targeted, directed initiatives to complement our individually driven activities. As a start, the Board has placed emphasis on stronger communications between standing committees. Prior to each Board meeting, we now have an open forum where the Chairs of standing committees exchange information on their respective initiatives, brainstorm ideas, and identify potential joint efforts. It is a great start to delivering high-quality, market-relevant ACI programs and products. The Board will also continue working with standing committees to help identify marketplace needs that can benefit from ACI's knowledge base. We can also ask ACI's Strategic Development Council to assist with needs assessment.

Responsibility for going beyond silos is not limited to our volunteer members. We have also asked the ACI department heads to look for opportunities for increased communication and coordination. Elsewhere in this issue, we begin a new monthly feature to introduce the ACI staff, along with a brief summary of the functions of each department. I encourage you to review this page and those in the next few issues, and meet the staff. They do a great job for us and will serve a critical role in helping us to move beyond silos. And finally, perhaps you have suggestions for major issues that ACI should address. Your feedback is welcome.

Anthony E. Fiorato, President
American Concrete Institute
fiorato@CTLGroup.com

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