Define Activities:
The primary activity is to develop the longest road tunnel in Australia. The tunnel will be 9km long, and reach from the northern exchange, near North Wahroonga, to the southern exchange, near Northmead. This will include the creation of not only the tunnel itself, but also tunnels for onramps and off ramps, as well as additional earthwork, the widening of brides, creation of drainage infrastructure, new pavement and the replacement of signage to indicate the tunnel, once open. The purpose of this construction is to create an alternate route for trucking traffic, to remove roughly 5,000 trucks from the Pennant Hills Road each day, by connecting the M1 Pacific Motorway directly to the Hills M2 Motorway (“Overview”, 2016). Deliverables for this process could include: preparation work and establishment of work sites, or temporary work headquarters, digging, creation of infrastructure, paving, and completion.
Sequencing of Activities:
Bareena Avenue Northern Ventilation Facility location will be completed first, as a temporary construction site and compound. It will also provide the first ventilation outlet above the tunnel project itself. (“Northern Ventiliation Facility,” 2016).
Piling must be created for stability and to construct footings for the larger project (“Project Status”, 2016).
Establishment of work site will occur at four locations, the southern exchange, Wilson rd. Trelawney St and the Northern Exchange. These must be established before work can begin, because they are workforce facilities for the remainder of the project, and are the central location for tools, resources, and essential services. Each site will provide power, ventilation, water, water treatment, workforce facilities, spoil handling, and connection to roads (“Overview”, 2016).
M1 Pacific Motorway widening must be completed. “M1 Pacific Motorway Widening”
Shaft excavation Will begin, to reach the required tunnel depth at each of the four headquarter locations. This will be accomplished through a combination of digging and controlled blasting (“Project Status”, 2016)
Tunneling can begin after excavation reaches the tunneling depth at all four locations. (“Project Status”, 2016)
After the tunnel is dug, it can be fitted, including paving, wall lining and structuring (“Project Status”, 2016)
Once the tunnel is complete, mechanical and electrical infrastructure can be fit into place inside the tunnels. (“Project Status”, 2016).
Hills M2 Integration, which includes, must be complete. This will allow “enable southbound traffic from the NorthConnex tunnel to merge safely with westbound traffic on the motorway (“Hills M2 Integration”, 2016).“
Finalization, including hanging signage can be completed after the infrastructure inside the tunnels is complete (“Project Status”, 2016).
Estimated Activity Resources:
Human resources include equipment operators, engineers, masons, electricians, blasting specialists, and general laborers. Equipment include dynamite, augers, roadheaders, cranes, concrete trucks, pavers, rollers, and bucket trucks. Materials include Hawsbury Sandstone, Ashfield Shale, electrical supplies, and signs. (“Overview”, 2016).
Stage one will require a digging machine, electrical supplies, and a variety of human resources. Stage two will require digging machines, concrete trucks, and paving and rolling equipment. Stage three will require all resources, at different stages of the establishment process. Stage four will require the auger, possible dynamite and blasters, and concrete work. Stage five will involve use of the auger and digging equipment. The sixth stage will require excavation equipment, most predominantly featuring roadheaders, and the controlled use of dynamite. Stage seven will involve the paving equipment, and road laying expertise, along with masonry work to lay the sandstone and shale. The eighth stage will include electrical and infrastructural engineers, to complete those elements. The ninth will include road work, dirt work and paving. Finally, the last stage will use general laborers to finalize the elements like signage
Activity Duration
The project as a whole will take about five years, from site identification to clean up and completion. Generally, digging the tunnel is expected to take 2 ½ years, or one week for each 25 -30 meters of tunnel length. This means that each private property that is drilled under may experience vibration and disruption for about a week (“Overview”, 2016). This means that 5 work periods will be dedicated to each 25-30 feet of tunnel, not including the time put into each of the other phases.
Stage 1: 175 days
Stage 2: 75 days
Stage 3: 100 days
Stage 4: 25 days
Stage 5: 25 days
Stage 6: 25 days
Stage 7: 300 days
Stage 8: 375 days
Stage 9: 50 days
Stage 9: 25 days
Develop a Schedule:
Stage 1: November 2014.
Stage 2: June 2015
Stage 3: September 2015
Stage 4: January 2016
Stage 5: February 2016
Stage 6: April 2016
Stage 7: April 2017
Stage 8: August 2018
Stage 9: November 2018
Stage 9: Jan 2019
Control the Schedule:
The schedule will be controlled by careful allocation of resources, and workforce. Multiple elements will be going on at the same time, so it is possible that resources can be allocated out of one project and toward another to keep the project on schedule. It is also realistic to consider gaining human resources from other areas of the larger municipal, or provincial budget to hire additional workers, or buy additional equipment to keep the project on schedule.
Project Procurement Management
Schedule Baseline:
April 2014 to January 2019.
Cost baseline: $3billion
Scope Baseline:
The tunnel will be 9km long, and reach from the northern exchange, near North Wahroonga, to the southern exchange, near Northmead.
Subsidary Planning: The scope of the project is limited, by the established list of tasks to be completed in order to create the new thoroughfare. The costs will be limited through careful budgeting and seeking of a competitive supply chain. The schedule will be controlled by careful allocation of resources, and workforce. Multiple elements will be going on at the same time, so it is possible that resources can be allocated out of one project and toward another to keep the project on schedule. It is also realistic to consider gaining human resources from other areas of the larger municipal, or provincial budget to hire additional workers, or buy additional equipment to keep the project on schedule. However, the addition of resources will directly affect the cost management plan, and so time and cost must be balanced in an effective and deliberate way. Human resources will be assigned to a specific element or stage of the process, and then reassigned, at completion to another stage, or terminated, if their specific skill set is no longer needed. This does not pose a conflict since all related jobs are considered temporary, as a result of the terminal nature of the project. Quality will be protected by the use of high quality products, or resources, and highly skilled human resources. Communication will be managed in sectors, at each for the four temporary work headquarters and through the use of work radios which can be worn, on each employee for the project. Risk will be minimized through strategic planning and execution. Overall, stakeholder interests can be best managed by correctly managing all other aspects of the problem for cost effective and high quality completion, within the original 5 years plan.
References:
North Connex Tunnel Project (2016). Hills M2 Integration. Retrieved from http://northconnex.com.au/project-construction/hills-m2-integration
North Connex Tunnel Project (2016). North Ventilation Facility. Retrieved from http://northconnex.com.au/project-construction/northern-ventilation-facility
North Connex Tunnel Project (2016). Overview. Retrieved from http://northconnex.com.au/project-construction/overview
North Connex Tunnel Project (2016). Project Status. Retrieved from http://northconnex.com.au/project-construction/project-status
