Interview | Sir John Armitt
3,000 apartments became untenable. Funds from the programme contingency were released to fund the work and now the apartments have been sold to the private sector to recover this money. In designing the general infrastructure for the Olympic Park a long term approach was taken with a high quality design being adopted for roads, bridges, landscaping and services to provide the foundation for a new viable quarter in London. Targets were set for environmental considerations such as renewable energy, the carbon footprint of buildings, rainwater harvesting, waste management, potable water consumption, movement of materials to and from site. Targets were also set for diversity of employment, training opportunities and safety performance. All targets were met. For major projects the choice of contract form and commercial arrangements are critical. A single form of contract, the NEC (New Engineering Contract) version 3, published by the Institute of Civil Engineers was chosen as this requires the highest level of openness and cooperation between client and contractors. The main contractors were incentivised to meet or beat target cost and programme with the emphasis on reward not penalty. Virtually all targets were met or exceeded. Transparency at all levels was an important feature and every quarter performance against annual published cost and programme targets were published publicly. Two other aspects which were crucial to a successful Games were transport and security. The ODA had a transport planning team of 30 who produced plans over several years working with public and private stakeholders such as representatives of disability groups, transport operators, and public bodies. Consequently several hundred million pounds was invested, particularly in rail infrastructure, the benefits of which were realised by Londoners even before the Games. Record numbers of passengers were successfully moved in London during the Games with over 4 million in a day on the London Underground and all 10,000
GIVEN THESE KEY LESSONS THESE ARE MY RECOMMENDATIONS.
1. Recognise the three key questions: WHY? Do we need to act – what need are we seeking to meet? WHAT? Is our solution – how does it interact with other systems? HOW? Will we deliver our solution, particularly how will we fund it, what commercial contractual approach is to be adopted? Will the project be operated post construction?
2. Be clear and consistent, decide what is most important, time, cost or quality – they are rarely complimentary. 3. Guard against an optimistic budget. Success is coming in under budget. 4. Establish a clear Governance structure, as soon as the ‘why’ debate is concluded, representing key stakeholders. 5. Establish a strong project client team with clear delegated authority.
6. Introduce the end user/operator to the specification and design process at the beginning.
7. Commit adequate time and resources before construction starts. 8. Create an open collaborative approach between the various organisations/ players.
9. Recognise the power of personalities. Be prepared to change key people if they are getting in the way of a collaborative environment.
10. Set high standards in safety, quality, programme and cost reporting and risk assessment, from day one. 11. Adopt a stage gate review process to force clear decisions at appropriate stages.
12. Set short term objective every 3-6 months and celebrate success.
construction the ODA created an online learning legacy. This data is now publically available at
learninglegacy.independent.gov.uk.
Conclusion
What are the critical lessons that I have learnt and what are the main recommendations I would make regarding major infrastructure projects.
My seven key lessons are:
1. There must be a consensus between the key stakeholders on the objectives or the ‘why’ of the project. 2. The approach of the client is critical.
athletes and officials arrived for the various competitions on time. An early decision regarding Games-time security was not to assume an attack which would have meant having to ‘harden’ the buildings against blast. The alternative approach is to rely on intelligence and prevention. To reduce risk the park was enclosed by a security fence and all void spaces and air movement systems were inspected before closure. Access to the Park during construction was through biometric controlled gates and during the Games airport style checks on all spectators were made. During the last year of
126 GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY 2014 | ISSUE 01
3. Decisions made before construction starts will be the most important to the likelihood of success.
4. A culture of collaboration between client, end users, designers, contractors and supply chain is vital. 5. Having a fixed completion date and a sensible contingency in the budget is vital.
6. Projects cannot be viewed in isolation. Their long-term effectiveness will depend on how they are integrated within an interdependent system. 7. Personalities will dominate for good or for bad.
GO
FURTHER INFORMATION
www.armittreview.org
global-opportunity.co.uk
INTERVIEW
|
SIR JOHN ARMITT
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