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PROJECT MANAGEMENT


fair statement to make about project man- agers across Network Rail.”


So what kind of qualifications and at- tributes do you need to carry out this kind of role?


McPherson said: “Generally, you need to be university educated. I’m an engineer by degree but we do have other people on the job who haven’t studied engineering.


keeping all of those stakeholders happy can be very challenging, especially when you are trying to find compromises when different people want different things.


“You can deliver a project to the usual time, cost and quality but if you’re not keeping all of the stakeholders happy, then you re- ally haven’t succeeded. For this reason it is absolutely essential that a project manager is engaging fully with any stakeholders throughout a project.”


“We also have very strict corporate gov- ernance,” McPherson adds. “And we are very closely scrutinised by the public as well, so it can be quite challenging, but it is absolutely necessary for that to happen. My background is actually in ports infra- structure, working for a private company, so it has been very different to be so much in the public eye.


“In the current economic climate it can be challenging to keep costs down, espe- cially when you do need to keep the station open. A lot of the work has to happen at night and at the weekends, which means it can be very expensive.


“Delivering a high-quality output, whilst trying to reduce your costs – and increase your efficiency – is very difficult as well. However, there are some very good initia- tives going on and we are responding quite well to those challenges. I think this is a


“Network Rail has a great scheme, which has been around for a couple of years now, where we subsidise people to take a specific Network Rail Masters in Project Management at either Warwick University or UCL and then join the company as a project management assistant.


“In terms of personal attributes, it is im- portant to have good leadership skills and to be able to lead a team and to draw them together so you can draw on all of the knowledge, skills and experience those people have.


“Being organised is obviously very im- portant and I think you need to be quite personable, because you need to able to build good relationships with people and really get people’s ‘buy-in’ during these projects.”


An important part of building good rela- tionships is being able to empathise with lots of different people.


The planned new entrance at Turnmill Street.


An image of the new Cowcross Street entrance at Farringdon station.


“You can deliver a project to the usual time, cost and quality but if you’re not keeping all of the stakeholders happy, then you really haven’t succeeded.”


It’s all about getting on with people as McPherson highlights: “You need to be able to listen to people, so you can un- derstand the perspective they are coming from, and then find a solution which meets with both of your requirements.”


A project manager’s colleagues can be as valuable as any of the complex tools avail- able to them, McPherson insisted, saying: “You have all of the usual tools, such as a good programme to follow, then there are your budget and quantities. You’ve also got your risk logs, contracts with suppli- ers, along with standards and legislation – but ultimately the best tool is the people around you.


“I’d see a project manager as a person who harnesses the knowledge, experience and skills of everybody around them in a safe and efficient way in order to achieve the benefits of the project.


“This means every- body goes home safe at the end of the day and the public get what we are trying to deliver.”


Heather McPherson


FOR MORE INFORMATION For more about a career in rail industry project management, visit: careers.networkrail.co.uk/programmes/ msc_project_management.aspx


rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 11 | 83


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