New Book by Construction Industry Thought Leader Solves Capital Project Dysfunction

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Jan 16, 2024, 08:00 ET

"Built to Fail" by Todd R. Zabelle is released with Forbes Books

This release is posted on behalf of Forbes Books (operated by Advantage Media Group under license).

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Built to Fail: Why Construction Projects Take So Long, Cost Too Much, and How to Fix It, by Todd R. Zabelle, is now available. The book is published with Forbes Books, the exclusive business book publishing imprint of Forbes, and is available on Amazon today.

Todd R. Zabelle releases Built to Fail with Forbes Books.

Todd R. Zabelle has spent his career designing and building things. An expert in engineering, fabrication, and construction, his work is animated by the conviction that society depends on large-scale capital projects like ports, roads, power grids, and water systems. Yet, today these projects can barely get done.

With Built to Fail, Zabelle examines why so many capital works projects are routinely finished late and over budget, and why there is no vision or will to fix these challenges.

In Zabelle's diagnosis of the construction industry, outmoded approaches to production and management, myopic loyalty to Taylorism, and planning and administrative activities that stall designing and building have turned a once-generative industry into a bureaucratic boondoggle with a diminished public reputation.

"Capital projects are feats of human ingenuity and engineering that make modern life worth living," Zabelle said. "Dams control the flow of waterways, provide clean drinking water and hydroelectric power. Airports, highways, and train terminals facilitate the passage of innumerable people from one place to another and grease the wheels of global commerce. Power plants and other types of energy infrastructure keep the lights on, the factories churning, and society functioning smoothly. When they don't get built, we all suffer. And we all pay for it, in one way or another."

The solution Zabelle advances in Built to Fail is as big as the projects he seeks to fix. He advocates an innovative, forward-thinking approach to construction that leverages operations science and revolutionary advances in digital technology to cut through the red tape and deliver on-time and on-budget.

About Todd R. Zabelle

Todd R. Zabelle has dedicated his professional life to designing and building things. As the founder of several successful companies and a cofounder of the Project Production Institute, Zabelle is an internationally recognized leader in improving construction. His current company, Strategic Project Solutions Inc., has worked with some of the biggest names in both private industry and academia.

Zabelle has published numerous papers in technical journals on optimizing engineering, fabrication, and construction and presented at many conferences around the world. His work has been cited by notable authors and industry luminaries and earned him recognition in UK's Rethinking Construction in 1998, prepared for the then deputy prime minister.

About Forbes Books

Launched in 2016 in partnership with Advantage Media Group, Forbes Books is the exclusive business book publishing imprint of Forbes. Forbes Books offers business and thought leaders an innovative, speed-to-market, fee-based publishing model and a suite of services designed to strategically and tactically support authors and promote their expertise. For more information, visit books.forbes.com.

Media Contacts

Forbes Books Media Contact: Laura Grinstead, lgrinstead@forbesbooks.com

SOURCE Forbes Books