Philip’s wide-ranging discussion looks at the definition of efficiency from a number of different standpoints, and provides credible evidence that there is room for improvement across all aspects of the railway industry. With reference to the Thameslink project and the contribution from Simon Blanchflower, he highlights that efficient delivery of infrastructure projects is particularly relevant at this moment in time, and where it is generally recognised that there is room for improvement.
There were also echoes of the themes raised in RailReview’s interview with Sir Peter Hendy last year, particularly “the biggest mistakes have been when the railway has tried to do something which is not properly scoped, planned or costed”.
There is, it seems, an ever-present challenge of projects that are destined not to hit the ground running through ill-defined scope, poor knowledge of existing assets, unforeseen interfaces and a lack of buy-in by end users. Add in a shortage of experienced project management resource, and it is no wonder that the sums budgeted prove to be inadequate as they fail to allow for the inefficiencies already locked into the process in its early stages.
I have been lucky to be involved in the delivery of some exciting and complex multi-disciplinary projects in the rail sector, frequently with an operational interface. The best of those projects have had strong leadership, a desire to foster good working relationships at all levels and across all stakeholders, and a unity of purpose through clear consistent communication. Coupled with well-established competent stable resources in all the right places, including end-user representatives in the build phase, the foundations for success were laid.
On one of these projects, the client’s project director explained to me how he saw his key role as the enabler, working upstream of the designer and contractor teams to sort out scope, get stakeholder buy-in, agree an access strategy, and get budgets (including suitable contingency) approved. The project team was then empowered to deliver within its agreed remit. It wasn’t all plain sailing, and there were scope gaps, unforeseen interfaces and a few unexpected situations on the way, but because decisions were made and relationships were strong it was possible to work out the solutions and implement them.
I believe that the ability to make decisions quickly is an important factor in the efficient delivery of projects. Inevitably change occurs - even the best-planned projects can find unexpected circumstances to be dealt with. But integral to success is a governance regime that has empowered the project team to make the right decisions at the right time. The creation of an agile environment is vital for efficient use of the project resource.
Too often, decisions are taken away from the project for significant periods of time, and in the meantime the resources are not utilised effectively. This situation is also counter-productive in that it leads to frustration among teams who are no longer being focused on driving on a clear road ahead, but instead are waiting for the direction of the next tiny step forwards.
It is in the interest of any organisation operating in the rail sector to demonstrate efficient delivery, in order to maintain confidence in funding organisations that their money is being spent wisely and to best effect.
In my recent experience, efficient and effective delivery has a direct correlation with the effectiveness of the working relationship between the design, construction and client teams - in particular, how much those teams have invested in three key areas: getting to know and understand the project; establishing a clear scope, specification and interfaces; and getting the buy-in of key stakeholders including the end-user. I concur with Philip’s conclusion: we still have some way to go.
