004 - Docs, Chaos, and Control: Keeping Billion-Dollar Projects in Sync with LeAnne Allgaier

What does it take to keep billion-dollar projects running on the latest version? 

Document Control expert Leanne Allgaier joins Orion Matthews to unpack how great document management saves time, money, and even lives across the world’s largest industrial projects.

In this episode of The Major Project Podcast, Orion Matthews sits down with Leanne Allgaier—a veteran document control leader who’s managed major assets from gas fields to refineries for companies like BP and Phillips 66.

They explore why Document Control—the discipline ensuring every engineer, contractor, and regulator has the right information at the right time—is one of the most underrated functions in billion-dollar project delivery.

Leanne breaks down:

• Why document control is not clerical work, but a technical, process-driven function critical to cost, schedule, quality, and safety.
• How to structure doc control under Project Services, define lifecycles, and establish version control that prevents costly errors.
• The dangers of “ready, fire, aim” project starts where doc control is added too late—and how early planning avoids rework and risk.
• How to scale document teams across project phases and transition to operations.
• Practical leadership lessons: earning compliance, handling pressure, and using humor and empathy to build trust.
• The role of checklists, procedures, and “one source of truth” in maintaining integrity under deadline pressure.
• How AI tools like OpenText and M-Files are already transforming search, reporting, and document insight—accelerating, not replacing, skilled document controllers.

From managing pipelines and refineries to mentoring the next generation of document controllers, Leanne shows how a discipline often overlooked at kickoff becomes the backbone of safe, efficient, and compliant mega-projects.

🎧 You’ll Learn

• Why document control belongs in project pre-planning—not after execution starts.
• The real ROI of good doc control (cost, schedule, quality, and risk).
• How to build scalable document control teams and choose the right tools.
• Leadership strategies for compliance, clarity, and collaboration.
• How AI and automation are reshaping the future of document management.