Hendy review: Fred Garner
Senior Director – Rail, Taylor Woodrow
Sir Peter clearly already understands many of the key challenges faced by Network Rail. For businesses working with NR to design and deliver the infrastructure upgrades integral to the CP5 and CP6 plans, his observation that the “biggest mistakes have been when the railway has tried to do something which is not properly scoped, planned or costed” will strike a chord.
They are interesting and challenging projects that people want to work on. They are procured through a competent and thorough process with a strong emphasis on collaboration. But they seem destined not to hit the ground running in mobilisation and early design, exactly as Sir Peter calls it - through scope gaps, incomplete data on existing assets, unforeseen interfaces. Resourcing at the right time with the right knowledge and experience and in the right places is also a challenge, something that applies not only to the rail sector but to construction as a whole.
I was lucky enough to work with an excellent Network Rail team during the King’s Cross redevelopment project, which set for me a benchmark for how a complex, multi-disciplinary project in a live operational environment can be delivered. I recall strong leadership, a desire to build and foster good working relationships at all levels, and a unity of purpose through clear consistent communication, backed up by stable resources in all the right places.
It was on this project that NR’s Project Director explained to me how he saw their key role as being 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 were then empowered to deliver within their agreed remit. It wasn’t all plain sailing, and there were scope gaps 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. It was a great overall experience to be made to feel part of that bigger team, and it got the best out of us and our supply chain.
Sir Peter also talks about his expectations from a devolved organisation - “the people running it on a more local basis would make some intelligent interventions”. One challenge this model might face is where a project expands beyond that of a local knowledge horizon, where scope has to be developed as part of a larger programme incorporating new infrastructure and new train fleets over a large geographical area. At the outset all the requirements are unlikely to be defined. Such projects require a higher degree of upward-facing activity, with extensive pre-planning, control and integration to capture the impact on existing infrastructure. There are also significant relationships to be managed - with the TOCs, with third parties such as local authorities, and statutory bodies such as The Environment Agency or English Heritage.
Here, the ability to identify and then make decisions quickly is important. This is allied to the need for governance and control of budgets. Bringing the two together, in a timely manner so as not to have an impact on the project delivery, isn’t straightforward. Added governance from being part of the public sector and a stretch on resources are major constraints. Creating agile decision-making capable of dealing with the myriad of operational, contractual and commercial issues upstream and downstream will be challenging.
I recently took part in a discussion session at which Nicola Shaw spoke and answered questions about her Review of the Financing and Structure of Network Rail. It made me wonder if NR’s role as an enabler will feature in the recommendations, although there isn’t a “one size fits all” model to the enabler role, and the needs of a complex major project are very different to that of a local infrastructure enhancement or renewal.
There are, however, some very dedicated people from Network Rail and the businesses that support it working day, night, weekends and Bank Holidays. They deliver complex engineering solutions to the point where a lot of it is taken for granted and unseen. Opportunities remain for the environment and structure in which those people and their businesses work to be more streamlined, more efficient and to deliver more, with better returns for them, NR and the rail network as a whole. It is to be hoped that Sir Peter, with support from his colleagues, continues to look at what can be done to realise these opportunities.
Read the original interview: Hendy means business at Network Rail.
