Louis Labonté, Eng. PMP
Program Director at Merkur
Mechanical engineer by training, Louis has over 20 years of experience in the manufacturing sector, both in Canada and internationally. He has led industrialization and plant implementation projects, while developing structured services and approaches to support his teams’ performance. As a mobilizing leader, he focuses on innovation, engagement, and collaboration to support organizations in their industrial transformation projects.
Hugues Côté, Eng. Senior
Project Manager at Merkur
Industrial engineer, Hugues Côté has over 28 years of experience in the recreational products industry before joining Merkur. Versatile and seasoned, he has worked in various spheres of the manufacturing sector, both in Quebec and internationally, giving him valuable expertise to support his clients on a multitude of topics. His mastery and in-depth knowledge of project management are essential assets for tackling the challenges related to improving manufacturing processes.
What if your next infrastructure project had to move forward… without all the answers in hand?
You may be responsible for a large-scale project: a new plant, an automated production line, a technological transformation. Like many industrial leaders today, you need to deliver quickly, in a context where everything is not yet clear, where information arrives piecemeal, and where decisions must be made before all the pieces are on the table.
Meeting deadlines, seizing a critical market window, responding to internal or external pressures; the reasons vary, but the challenge remains the same: how to deliver a complex project in a context of ambiguity, without compromising quality or sustainability?
In this article, our Merkur experts, Louis Labonté and Hugues Côté, share the principles that guide our approach to infrastructure projects carried out at high speed. Structuring the uncertain, giving shape to the apparent blur: that’s our specialty. Delivering quickly does not mean improvising, but requires a rigorous approach, concrete tools, and a project culture that accepts uncertainty while staying on course. Discover concrete benchmarks to help your teams move forward with confidence, even when everything is changing.
Challenges in Accelerated Infrastructure Projects
In the context of industrial projects, it is not uncommon to have to move forward while several parameters remain to be defined. For example: building a plant while the final product is still evolving, the manufacturing process is not stabilized, and the market window is critical. Every day counts, and the slightest delay can have significant commercial consequences.
This type of context is no longer the exception: it has become the norm.
In some industries, missing a seasonal deadline can mean an entire year of lost sales. For a startup, it can make the difference between a market breakthrough… or the end of the adventure. For an established company, such a delay can compromise a strategic shift or a long-awaited transformation.
In these situations, it is essential to act quickly, while maintaining a high level of rigor in decision-making and execution. Structuring action without waiting for perfect project stability becomes a key skill for delivering on time, despite uncertainty.
Why Accelerated Project Management is Essential
Today, adopting accelerated project management is no longer a strategic choice reserved for a few ambitious initiatives. It is a concrete response to operational realities that affect an increasing number of organizations.
Several factors converge to make this approach indispensable:
- Shorter product life cycles, which require rapid adaptation and execution without delay
- Projects that have become critical to ensure the competitiveness, even survival, of the company
- Increasingly narrow market windows, especially in sectors related to seasonal products, where a delay can compromise an entire year of revenue
- A context of permanent uncertainty, in which decisions often must be made before all parameters are clearly defined
In this environment, the ability to move forward despite the blurred areas becomes a real competitive advantage.
Merkur's Approach to Structuring Chaos
In a recent exchange with a client, a comment particularly caught our attention:
“We are moving forward on two interdependent fronts: we are designing the product while industrializing and building the plant. The teams are treading water, complaining about the lack of information and the fact that nothing is really fixed. We feel like we should have done detailed engineering… before even starting the project. How can I ensure we move forward effectively in this context?”
This is exactly the gap our approach aims to bridge.
At Merkur, we have developed a structured methodology to deliver complex projects in contexts of ambiguity and pressure. It is based on five pillars that frame action and promote tangible results, even when traditional benchmarks are lacking.
Pillar 1: Design While Moving Forward — With Rigor
In high-velocity projects, waiting for everything to be defined before starting is a costly illusion. You have to move forward while organizing uncertainty. That’s why we set up an evolving baseline: we freeze the essential elements to move forward, while keeping space for adaptation.
We structure uncertainties through prioritized hypothesis lists, a decision register that documents choices made in a changing context, and strategic phasing that allows milestones to be crossed intelligently. This approach aligns rigor and agility from the start.
Pillar 2: Integrate Product, Process, and Plant from the Start
Today, working in silos is no longer viable. The product, the manufacturing process, and the infrastructure must be thought of in an integrated way. We favor an approach where cross-influences between design and production are encouraged, with mirror teams collaborating in real-time.
The goal: to obtain clear alignment with business ambitions from the earliest stages, to design coherent, robust, and deliverable solutions on time.
Pillar 3: Decide Quickly and Well, Together
At this pace, classic governance is no longer sufficient. Decisions must be quick, informed, and collective. We establish a governance structure adapted to the project’s risk level, with streamlined decision-making processes, well-defined roles from the initial meeting, and constant proximity with the right stakeholders.
A slow decision can derail an entire project. Conversely, a clear and quick decision, well-documented, maintains momentum without compromising quality. This is sometimes referred to as a “no regret move.”
In the same spirit, the principle of “fast fail” encourages quickly testing a hypothesis or solution to detect errors or incompatibilities from the start, thus avoiding more significant losses later. These approaches share the same logic: moving forward without stagnation, while reducing risks at each step.
Pillar 4: Invest Where It Matters
In an environment where resources are limited and time is counted; every investment decision must be weighed. We support our clients in identifying critical levers, favoring realistic expectation management and transparent communication about necessary compromises.
Aligning external partners is also essential: everyone must be able to move at the same pace. In a recent project, the late choice of an unprepared supplier jeopardized the schedule. A quick intervention secured critical chains and limited impacts.
Pillar 5: Execute with Mastery Despite Uncertainty
Finally, execution is where everything plays out. Our team uses collaborative tools like Sharepoint and adapted dashboards to keep a clear vision of progress. Dynamic risk management, effective communication channels, and strategic provisions (financial, human, temporal) allow us to adjust the course without losing speed.
This methodology yields measurable results. It allows earlier identification of risk areas, avoids costly detours, and above all, delivers on time, even when significant adjustments occur along the way. It also promotes better coordination between disciplines, reducing overall costs, while creating reusable methodological assets for future projects.
Successfully completing your project is our mission!
At Merkur, we offer a structured approach that reconciles speed, rigor, and collaboration, without compromising quality. Implementing this type of approach requires a certain organizational maturity, and sometimes even a cultural change. For teams used to wanting to freeze everything before acting, moving to action in uncertainty can be a real challenge. But in many cases, it is the only way to stay competitive and deliver on time. The key? Not to seek to eliminate chaos, but to learn to structure it, channel it, and master it.
Are you facing accelerated infrastructure projects? Are you facing areas of ambiguity that are slowing down your teams?
Our experts can support you in adopting an approach adapted to these new challenges, with concrete tools and proven methodology. Contact us to discuss. At Merkur, organizing chaos is what we do best.
