[February 16, 2017] U.S. President Donald Trump promised during his campaign that he would build a “great wall,” do so inexpensively, and make Mexico pay for it. Although Trump’s wall is intended to make America safer, it is a politically charged subject and for many diverse reasons. Politics to the side, I will argue that it is possible to build the wall so that it can be good, fast, and cheap; just a Trump claims.
In this post, I’ll provide some of the ways to make this happen. The focus here will be on the physical construction effort but there is a longer-term maintenance and operational piece that cannot be overlooked. Political resolve will be difficult to muster and that’s why senior leaders like President Trump are in the job; to convince people to come together and support the wall.
There’s an old saying in the construction business that goes something like this, “Do you want it good, fast, or cheap. Pick two.” Known as the Project Management Triangle or Iron Triangle, this adage is based on the concept that the forces of quality, speed, and cost bump up against each other. The challenge is getting all three (quality, speed, and inexpensive) and that is what I will propose can be done with the wall.
Here are several ways to build the wall good, fast, and cheap … in no particular order:
1. Use traditional and non-traditional workers. In additional to existing skilled construction workers (Union members and not) this means harnessing the power of:
- Local manpower: used often in less-skilled and non-construction roles (e.g., administration, logistical, intelligence, operational, legal, religious, security, and diplomatic)
- Volunteers: provide on-the-job training and take good care of them.
- U.S. Armed Forces: military Engineers and Logisticians but also in other roles as mentioned above.
- Non-U.S. citizens: this could be military engineers from American allies as well as skilled and unskilled civilian labor from those countries, especially including Mexico.
- Incarcerated citizens: everyone should be able to voluntarily help build the wall regardless of where they may be institutionalized.
2. Create a new organization based on the CCC1 and WPA2 to quickly provide a continuous pool of workers and alleviate unemployment. Like these two organizations, it could provide the desired ends. The intent would not be to provide all the labor; it would supply a large percentage. Using the CCC and WPA updated models, it is conceivable that citizens who commit to a period of time would be given the opportunity to learn a marketable skill and provide labor for the wall at a reduced price.
3. Create and change laws that support the wall. Declare the wall a top priority for improving the safety of Americans; a national security issue. If a law or regulation does not benefit this effort and it does not create other legal or moral problems, then change it or remove it. For example, monetary and in-kind donations could be made tax deductible.
4. Outsource traditional government roles. Provide the authority to non-governmental organizations with proven track records to oversee and conduct vital functions of wall security and construction implementation. Government is historically inefficient, entrenched, and ineffective. This means much of the work and its oversight should be in the private sector by established business leaders.
5. Stand up anti-corruption efforts. Speed and money means corruption will be present and highly corrosive. Early policing of all contractual agreements and subsequent money flows and influence should be strongly enforced.
6. Ensure the entire effort is fully transparent. Every facet of wall construction will be questioned whether it is cost effective, timely, and meets the intent of the requirement to build. Transparency means keeping the public continuously and fully informed on its progress. This is where every effort to ensure the project is brought in on time and under budget is so crucial.3
Nothing is simple. It will take a lot of convincing people to accept the idea that some individuals doing the exact same job might be paid differently and will work under differing conditions. And it will be expensive.4 We are only limited by our imaginations. Good, transparent, tough leadership will be the glue that holds the project together. Trump’s wall is possible and work can begin now.
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- CCC: Civilian Conservation Corps – a public works New Deal program under U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, designed to build good citizens through vigorous disciplined outdoor labor.
- WPA: The Works Progress Administration – another of President Roosevelt’s public works organizations and in this case it was created to get people off welfare.
- A special note on accounting for the total cost of the project. Cost will be a major roadblock to getting the wall construction effort moving. Any use of labor must be properly accounted for properly. For example, while the military is expensive, their cost is an existing, sunk cost, but must be shown as an actual expense to the project.
- http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/09/this-is-what-trumps-border-wall-could-cost-us.html