Standard Products Working Group – Update, Findings & Next Steps

The VBK and Water Challenge programmeutilize standard products to enhance quality, efficiency, and consistency. These standard products consist of detailed templates or best-practice examples of completed projects, which are applied in new projects.

For the past year, the Standard Products Working Group has included representatives from engineering firms and HHNK to develop and improve these standard products.

In this newsletter, the Standard Products Working Group provides an update on the current status and next steps.

Findings from the past year

Over the past year, the working group has developed the first set of concrete formats and examples of standard products.

We started with products that are most commonly used in projects, such as the "Prescan Omgeving" product.

To give this product as an example: we looked at how we could ensure that this product meets the needs of the project teams as closely as possible.

For example, the product includes a clear table that shows at a glance whether there are any risks from the “environment” that could affect the continuation of the project.

To ensure consistency across projects, guidelines have also been established regarding which (public) source information is consulted and how the findings are documented.  

One of the Working Group’s findings is that the applicability and use of standard products can vary from project to project. 

Project teams report that clear templates and real-world examples help ensure projects get off to an efficient start, but they cannot always be applied directly.

For example, every project has its own unique characteristics, which means that custom solutions are still necessary. In addition, standard products are not always well-received. 

This underscores the importance of good discoverability and focusing on standard products at the outset of projects.

What are the working group's plans for this year?

In the coming year, the working group will focus on further improving the accessibility and usability of the standard products. Among other things, the focus will be on:

• Improving access to fixed formats and sample products from completed projects within the SharePoint environment.
• Raising awareness of these resources at the start of new projects.
• Focus on applying and improving standard products, rather than on developing them.

The working group will maintain contact with project teams so that practical experience can be effectively utilized to drive further improvements.

Request to project teams

When new projects begin, we specifically ask project teams to review the available standard products via SharePoint. If you’ve completed a good example of a standard product, it’s helpful to share it via SharePoint so that we can avoid duplicating work and make the most of each other’s knowledge and experience within HHNK.

The HHNK SharePoint site contains both standard templates and relevant examples from previous projects. Below is an overview of the templates, along with a link to the SharePoint page.

Here are the links to approved formats andformats not yetapproved on SharePoint.

Note regarding the windows: If you do not have access to this page within the HHNK environment, please consult a colleague who does have access.

Best regards,

The Standard Products Working Group