Transparent Change Management: How to Navigate Shifting Project Scope and Work Environments

Industrial projects and shifting expectations go hand in hand.

Material costs change overnight, site conditions vary, and timelines stretch longer than anticipated. Successful projects don’t hinge on avoiding this everyday reality.

Instead, they are carried over the finish line by effective change management.

Brandon Stanchock, CEO of SWF Industrial, is a veteran leader with over 14 years of experience in managing the unpredictable. He believes that transparency, paired with empathy, creates the foundation for change management. Because when you’re dealing with complex projects involving multiple stakeholders, the key isn’t just having the right plan.

You need to be having the right conversations at the right time.

Understanding the Nature of Change in the Field

The changes that affect metal fabrication and construction projects come in various forms but often co-occur. Stanchock categorizes them into three primary areas: scope creep, timeline adjustments, and environmental shifts.

The most challenging aspect? These changes rarely translate linearly from client to contractor.

“A two-day change on the customer side isn’t always a two-day change on our side,” Stanchock notes. The ripple effects impact scheduling, resource allocation, and safety protocols in ways that aren’t immediately obvious.

Environmental changes, from physical site conditions to team dynamics, add another layer of complexity. You may discover unexpected underground utilities, deal with weather delays, or have to manage workforce fluctuations. The key insight from SWF’s approach is that flexibility must be paired with control to be effective. Without understanding your capacity, crew capabilities, and operational limitations, flexibility can become chaos.

Real-Time Decision-Making: Handling Change as It Happens

One of the most critical lessons from Stanchock’s experience is the importance of addressing changes in real-time rather than deferring them until the project’s completion.

“We always deal with change orders and duration adjustments during the moment they happen,” he emphasizes. “Everything is relevant, memories are fresh, and it doesn’t become muddied by time.”

This approach prevents the dangerous assumption game that often derails projects. Without immediate clarity, teams might assume staffing levels will remain the same or that other project elements will automatically adjust. These assumptions compound over time, creating a series of cascading problems.

“Everyone forgets the handshake that happened when enough time passes,” Stanchock observes. By capturing change details immediately — the reasoning, its impacts, and any agreements — project teams maintain clarity and accountability at every step.

Leading with Transparency

Transparency in change management operates on two fronts: internal team communication and external stakeholder relationships.

Stanchock’s philosophy centers on finding win-win solutions that protect the internal team while serving client needs effectively. “You have a lot of external factors, so you have to insulate your internal team,” he explains. “You try to find a win for the customer, but you don’t hurt your internal team to pull that off.”

This balance requires honest communication about what’s realistic and what isn’t. When changes create difficult situations, Stanchock advocates for direct conversations about the challenges while simultaneously working to identify solutions that work for everyone.

The key is setting realistic expectations, even when they’re difficult. “We have to tell the customer what they don’t want to hear, but be realistic so they understand where we’re going. Then we can go back to our internal team and get their feedback.”

Internally, this transparency prevents the surprise factor that creates adverse reactions. Because the team understands the full context and has input into feasibility assessments, they’re prepared for the challenges ahead rather than blindsided by them.

The Role of Trust in Project Management

Trust serves as the foundation for effective change management. “You can’t have a meeting to discuss reality if there’s no trust,” Stanchock notes. When trust exists between all parties, difficult conversations become collaborative problem-solving sessions rather than adversarial negotiations.

Building this trust requires bringing the right people together for critical discussions. Not just project managers and field supervisors but the actual decision-makers who can commit resources and approve changes.

The weekly alignment meetings that SWF employs serve multiple purposes:

• Maintain a culture of open communication
• Ensure decision-makers stay informed about project realities
• Create opportunities to address minor issues before they become major problems

Trust also enables the kind of candid assessment that prevents project failures. Teams can honestly evaluate capacity, acknowledge limitations, and explore creative solutions without fear that admitting challenges will damage relationships.

Flexibility with Accountability

The paradox of effective change management is that flexibility requires control. “You can be as flexible as you want to be if you have the control,” Stanchock observes. “We know our capacity, crew, and conditions. That makes us extremely flexible.”

Control manifests in three critical areas: scope, schedule, and cost. By maintaining tight oversight in these areas, SWF can evaluate change requests against real constraints rather than best-case assumptions.

Evaluating every change comes down to relatively standard questions, such as “Can we do it?” and “Should we do it?” It’s one thing to have the resources, skills, and capacity to execute the change successfully. But even if you can do it, does it align with your commitment to employee well-being and project success? 

Scenario Planning for Safety & Continuity

When project conditions change, safety considerations must be at the forefront. Stanchock emphasizes the importance of running comprehensive scenarios before implementing changes: “Construction is many things happening simultaneously. If everyone isn’t on the same page, it becomes less safe.”

The scenario planning process examines how changes affect not only the immediate work area but also all interconnected project elements. This might include evaluating how:

• Shortened timelines could impact worker fatigue
• Scope changes affect material staging
• New requirements influence coordination with other trades

Each scenario must be evaluated against its impact on scope, schedule implications, and cost consequences. Changes that seem minor in one area often create significant impacts on others. By planning these scenarios comprehensively, teams can implement changes safely and efficiently.

SWF’s weekly cadence of cost control and schedule review creates regular checkpoints for this scenario planning. Rather than waiting for problems to emerge, they proactively identify potential conflicts and adjust plans accordingly.

Tools of the Trade: Building Strong Systems

Effective change management requires systematic tools and processes more than just good intentions. Stanchock emphasizes the critical importance of non-verbal planning tools: “Have a plan that you can actually share with people that is not verbal.”

The specific tool matters less than its accessibility and clarity. Whether using Gantt charts, Excel spreadsheets, Primavera, Microsoft Project, or even dry-erase boards, the goal is to create a visual story that everyone can understand. “Get it in a form so everyone can see the story of how you got here,” Stanchock advises. “That’s how you create continuity.”

These visual planning tools serve multiple purposes:

• Eliminate ambiguity about project management status and next steps
• Create accountability by making commitments visible to all stakeholders
• Enable more effective change discussions by providing baseline context
• Help new team members quickly understand project history and trajectory

SWF implements this through weekly cost control reviews and regular scheduling updates for the shop floor. For larger, more complex projects involving general contractors and construction managers, they maintain global project visibility that extends beyond their direct control.

Advice for Emerging Leaders

Stanchock offers straightforward guidance for managers new to handling complex project changes: focus on making plans visible and create a culture of asking the right questions. This visibility creates the foundation for collaborative problem-solving rather than top-down decision-making.

The cultural component involves fostering an environment where teams regularly ask, “Can we do it?” and “Should we do it?” These questions prevent the reflexive “yes” that often leads to overcommitment and team burnout. They also ensure that decisions consider both capability and wisdom.

Most importantly, emerging leaders must prioritize their team’s well-being alongside project success. “I’m very concerned about attrition of employees, probably more than attrition of work,” Stanchock admits. “Our goal is to build a company where success never comes at the cost of character, care, or people.”

Committing to this philosophy requires having difficult conversations with clients to maintain sustainable workloads and making decisions that prioritize long-term team health over short-term profits.

Mature Project Management Protects Budgets, People, and Timelines

Strong project management isn’t just about hitting deadlines. It’s about protecting teams, planning with integrity, and solving problems transparently. Effective change management enables adaptation while protecting what matters most: team well-being, project quality, and client relationships.

For companies seeking to enhance their change management capabilities, the path forward involves building trust and fostering cultures that encourage open and collaborative discussions. The result is a sustainable success that protects both people and profits.

See what makes the SWF approach pivotal for navigating the most challenging project changes. Let’s build something extraordinary together.