Category: Case Study
Integrated Programme Control for Thames Tideway & HS2
Working on some of the biggest infrastructure projects in recent British history, take a look at how we created a robust Integrated Programme Control strategy for our clients, Thames Water, HS2 Ltd and Highways England.
With these large-scale national infrastructure projects utilising budgets of between c£750m to c£28 billion, creating a robust and effective Integrated Programme Control strategy was crucial to the ongoing management and eventual success of these projects.
As the appointed Head of Programme Management Controls, Subash Tavares was tasked with building an integrated strategy. Beyond IPC, these particular projects also involved elements of Organisational Development, Reporting and Governance to keep it on track.
The graphic above shows the workflow used for each of these projects, designed and implemented by Subash, to support the design and set up of the Programme Control teams for each of the programmes: Thames Tideway, HS2, Smart Motorways and the Lower Thames Crossing.
- Key considerations for these projects included:
- Establishing a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Developing an initial and baseline schedule for each project
- Accurate recording of all assumptions included in the cost estimates, including the use of data analysis to drive decision making
- Developing a robust risk estimate.
Beyond the initial planning, on an ongoing basis it was important to regularly review and update the cost and resource estimates, and align this with the baseline schedule supplied and agreed.
These projects needed the (integrated) use of a wide range of programmes to make them work successfully. This included Microsoft Power BI, SAP, MSP and P6, ARM and Sharepoint, to name a few, which all needed to work together in tandem to create one, central and truthful source of data. This was not only important for ongoing reporting reasons, but also to ensure that the project was on track, and to mitigate any potential problems before they arose.
Beyond the use of programmes, it was important to create and implement the relevant processes and procedures for each project too. This included risk management, a project controls handbook, resource and workforce planning, initial and ongoing cost estimates, and strategy reviews.