Introduction
Crossrail is considered as one of the largest construction project of Europe, which connects east and west side of London city cutting through its middle. The length of the railway project is about 118 kilometer, with 37 stations, which includes sea and air port links. The prominent centers it connects include Heathrow airport, Maidenhead, Canary wharf, Abbey wood, Shenfield, etc. The primary purpose of this multi-billion dollar project is to achieve large scale economic benefits, reduce cost of travel and significantly reduce the congestion in the central parts of the city. The projected is expected to completed in phases, the first phase is to be completed by mid 2015 and the total stretch to be finished by 2018.
Though it is a wonderful project, and sufficient funds are allocated by the government, it places many project management challenges. Building world class mass transit system for 118 km is huge, and transporting about 1.5 billion commuters in 45 minutes is mind boggling. The technology, engineering skills and project management competence is available for its successful completion. Some key challenges of the project are building a 21 kilometre tunnel passing through central London, building new stations in busy locations of the city, and integrating Crossrail with existing transport facilities. The main project team involved in building and operating the Crossrail system is responsible for developing scope, cost management and implementation schedules, and managing the risks and evaluation of the project.
Objective of the Project management
The prime objective of the present project management report is to ensure Crossrail construction is started and commissioned on time, within budget, and meets the expectations of the all the stakeholders. The current report focuses on the three aspects of the total project management, i.e. development of the project team, planning strategies for contracting and procurement, and construction management.
Project Management Team
Crossrail’s scale and complexity demands a project management team that is structured and works in an integrated manner. The core team must have a Director of Crossrail, who will coordinate four functions of the project through dedicated mangers for each function, i.e. constructions, railway systems, operation and maintenance, and project support.
The responsibilities and tasks of the construction department include land acquisition, environmental clearances, construction safety, civil designs and construction management .The Railway system function is expected to design system for Crossrail, manufacture the equipment or outsource them, install the individual equipment, integrate the systems, test the system and recommend for commissioning. Though the operations and maintenance department do not have much active role in construction phase, they need to be involved in the construction so that they will have thorough information about the installed systems. During the construction phase this team needs to ensure operational requirements are satisfied in every stage of design, construction and commissioning. Finally the project support team will drive administration and support functions relating to finance, costing, human resources, accounting, information technology, legal, procurement, public relations, quality control, etc. The core team must recruit and select the required staff to complete the project on time and within budgets.
Sourcing and Procurement Strategies
The core project management needs to establish a procurement strategy for Crossrail that is fair, open, transparent and competitive in nature. Tendering as per the law of the country is the most popular procurement strategy. Similarly, contracting policies and clauses must be developed by the railway system and Construction functions. The preliminary process of calling for tenders and contractors, etc may be outsourced, because it is not core activity of the project. Involving the four functions while making the policies shall avoid may confusions and enhances communication within the project team.
Crossrail procurement procedures may follow London city’s or UK laws compliance. Since the project is world class and requires safety measures as per the current security concerns, the selection of contractors, materials and equipment shall be put through rigorous process. The procurement process may include pre-qualification of the contenders, assessment of their competence, evaluation of prior experience, drafting of tendering clauses, tender assessment, award of the sub-project, and monitoring of the progress. All the procurement activities need to follow, open, fair and competitive processes and ensure that the tender participants have the required technical and financial might. The timing of tender and contract award are crucial in the timely completion of the project; hence the procurement process must match with the construction schedules of the project.
Construction Management
The construction of this large project is going to happen in multiple locations at the same time, hence for civil construction the Core project team may appoint resident site engineer for each location to carry out the planned activities. The resident engineer must ensure that the construction is as per the design and following the time schedules. The resident engineer also must interact with core team and the contractors / suppliers for coordinating the scheduled works. The resident engineer must act as the local leader for the site and must manage the human resources deployed at the site. Delegation, authority and accountability need to be decided by the core team in the presence of the resident engineers, so as to avoid delays due to organizational ineffectiveness. The Resident engineer may be given liberty to handle certain site based contingencies, but within the boundaries of the project culture. The close partnership between the core team and the resident engineer is crucial in keeping the project steady and for successful completion of project with least cost, high quality and within least time.
Conclusion
The massive project such as Crossrail requires a strong project management for effective implementation of the railway project from design, through commissioning of the trial run and inaugural ride. By following the principles of project management, especially the principles presented on PMBOK, the core project team can partner with contractors, suppliers, design consultants, and key human resources to resolve technical and commercial issues to the satisfaction of stakeholders. The key factors that determine the success of every project is meeting time and cost limitations. Constructing a complex railway system is not purely an engineering feat; many cultural and social characteristics of the region must be cared from the initial stage till the completion of the project. Because the railway has a long stretch of 118 kilometers, it may touch different cultures of the city and the rural sections. The core team and the respective resident engineers must be sensitive to the cultural and social differences and implement project with least disturbance to the stakeholders and with high cooperation from them.
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REFERENCES
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Weaver P. “A Brief History of Scheduling.” www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_042.html Crossrail (2014) www.crossrail.co.uk/
