MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD

SUBJECT: Trip Report

Destination: Tokyo, Japan

Dates: February 15-20, 1999

• To speak at a public symposium on Earned Value Management

• To meet with representatives of the Project Management Institute, Tokyo Chapter (PMITC) and Japanese government agencies

In 1998, the Japan Ministry of Construction (MOC), the Advanced Construction Technology Center (ACTEC—an MOC foundation) and the PMITC surveyed project management practices used by government and industry in several countries. The wide-ranging survey encompassed advances in project management since 1954, including Value Engineering, Program Evaluation and Review Technique, Cost/Schedule Control Systems Criteria (and its contemporary version, Earned Value Management (EVM)), Total Quality Management, and various international and national standards.

Survey teams visited the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Australia, where they called on government agencies, industry associations, private companies, educational institutions, and professional associations. After reviewing survey results, the MOC decided in December 1998 that it would establish its vision by April 1999 to implement EVM for public works. PMITC and MOC officials sponsored a one-day symposium in Tokyo on February 17, 1999, to announce the decision and to introduce EVM to the public. I was invited as the guest of PMITC to present the US DoD experience with EVM and to meet with government agencies during the week.

• Ministry of Construction

• Japan Sewage Works Agency

• Japan Highway Public Corporation

• Ministry of International Trade and Industry

• Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications

The construction industry accounts for some 15% of Japan’s Gross Domestic Product, hundreds of thousands of contractors, and more than 7 million employees. I also met separately with representatives from the following major construction companies and civil engineering associations: Shimizu Corp., Penta-Ocean Construction Co., Ltd., Kajima Corp., Obayishi Corp., Nishimatu Construction Co., Ltd., Toda Corp., Taisei Corp., the Japan Civil Engineering Contractors Association, and the Japan Civil Engineering Consultants Association.

320 people attended the public seminar:

• 8 from the construction and transportation ministries
• 15 from 9 various agencies
• 120 from 40 major construction firms
• 60 from 26 major design consulting firms
• 50 from information technology firms (8 Compaq, 6 FS, 2 IBM, 18 MicroSoft, 7 Mitsubishi, 2 Sharp, Ricoh, etc.)
• Others from commercial firms including Tokyo Electric Power, Japan Railway East, NKK, Bank of Japan

The survey teams did a thorough job. The MOC and its agencies can be expected quickly to embrace the principles of integrated project management using EVM and to communicate them to other government organizations. The MOC objective is to have a national standard in place by 2002 and to implement EVM for all public works projects by 2004. Pilot implementation is scheduled to begin with the new fiscal year in April 1999. The Japan Sewage Agency has its own provisional EVM system and will require its use by the Agency’s contractors soon. The MOC intends to participate in international discussions on project management standards and to join the International Performance Management Council, currently chaired by the United Kingdom.

Discussions were candid and productive. Japanese representatives discussed the problems associated with the collapse of the "bubble economy." We found common ground on several project management and EVM issues and opened up some new avenues of communication. For example, I had an opportunity to meet briefly while in Tokyo with another Japanese management group, the Japan Project Management Forum. Its membership comprises high tech and heavy industries, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Inc., JGC Corp., Chiyoda Corp., Management System Research Corp., and Digital Engineering & Management, that are familiar with DoD’s management practices but not familiar with the recent evolution to EVM. The trip served as a catalyst for this group and PMITC to discuss common interests. I will keep in touch with all interested parties.

In summary, the visit met the hosts’ expectations while furthering DoD objectives for project management. Japan’s independent decision to embrace DoD-pioneered EVM project management principles following a worldwide, yearlong search for best practices adds confidence that we are on the right track.

Wayne F. Abba

Senior Program Analyst

OUSD(A&T)SA/PM