Heathrow Terminal 5 Project

Answer

4. a) Heathrow Terminal 5 referred to as T5 was one of Europe’s largest and also the most complex construction project at the time. The goal of T5 was to increase the airports passenger handling capacity from the average 67 million passengers per year to 95 million. The total cost of the project amounted to £4.6 billion but the most significant achievements of the project were its timely completion schedules, adherence to budget and the sterling safety records. The project suffered a multitude of drawbacks on its completion especially on staff security procedures, staff car parking provisions and baggage handling capacity. The construction of T5 represented a breakthrough in project management in the United Kingdom.

T5 was a series of high profile projects that involved other disciplines and several stakeholders. The earth works for T5 foundation began in September the year 2002. The major work was undertaken by the main contractor Laing O’Rourke. Before the excavation commenced, an archaeological dig was carried out and over 80,000 artefacts were discovered at the T5 site. The other undertakings included landscaping, environmental assessment and other logistics centers.

The T5 project had two major phases. Phase 1 involved the construction of the main concourse building referred to as T5A. This area was to serve as the arrivals and check-in hallways while T5B was the satellite concourse building. The other structures that were built under the first phase included the control tower and other infrastructure. Phase one of the project was earmarked to handle an additional of 27 million passengers every year. Phase 2 involved the construction of an extra satellite building, T5C and it was to handle an additional three million extra passengers per year.

During the initial stages of the project the road and rail design for the T5 project were outlined. The major challenge was the excavation of the nine channels that were required to facilitate underground commuter services. The roads were to converge on a single facility known as MSCP5 and it was to provide parking for buses, taxes and coaches within the precincts of T5A. The Heathrow Express (HexEx) together with the Piccadilly line extension was to provide the rail transport.

During the construction of the project, the major challenge was the requirement of the river diversion which effectively divided the whole project site into two. The relocation of the rivers added extra environmental obligations like the capture and reconstruction of the natural habitat. In total, the T5 involved the management of 16 projects under a single project manager. At its peak, the project employed over 60,000 employees. Manning such a huge workforce was a very big challenge for the Laing O’Rourke construction consortium. The construction of the tunnels and other environmental projects required skilled labor force that were expensive and infact some excavation work for the tunnel earth works had to be negotiated through provision of joint ventures (Major Projects Association, 2007).

During the final phase of the construction the project encountered a series of problems especially on staff security procedures, staff car parking provisions and baggage handling capacity.

The construction of Denver International Airport was completed in 1995 in Colorado, US.

The idea that projects are unique does not add any value to the management of projects. Projects are managed based on the decisions and urgency of the projects.

The use of Project Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT) is mostly used in all projects and the uniqueness of a project is limited to the nature of the project but the management of the project is basically the same (Cattani et al, 2011).

1. b) Denver Airport, just like the Heathrow Airport is also one of the largest in the world. Denver Airport has a large main terminal with a fascinating fabric roof that totals 1.5 million square feet. There also three concourses each with six million square feet. The three concourses have a total of 89 gates and which can allow 100 million passengers every year (Airport Technology, n, d).

Collaboration between different groups is necessary for successful completion of any project. Various completion stages for most projects require constant consultation and accurate information in order to complete the remaining parts of the project. The passenger picking points have to be shared between the bus or the train stations and the new structures. The concourses had to be optimized in both airports in order to handle the maximum number of passengers that the facilities could handle. Heathrow terminal 5 involved the management of 16 projects under a single project manager. At its peak, the project employed over 60,000 employees.

The key differences between Denver International Airport and Heathrow International are that T5 utilized £4.6 billion while the Denver International used $730 million. The total number of projects that were being undertaken by T5 was much higher than those in Denver. T5 was more complex, was completed on time and the expenditure was within the budget. The Denver project was surpassed its original budget, from $500 million to $730 million, it took more time than it was expected but its initial launch was successful unlike the T5.

The other common challenges that faced both projects was the integration of the transport system. The huge number of passengers expected on the airport everyday makes the transport system to be a very big issue.

Also the huge volume of internet transactions like bookings and checking at the airport exposed the T5 operating systems in the final years of the project.

The best way to handle most of the specialized systems is to outsource the department that requires experienced and highly skilled staff to a specialized. For example, during the launch of the T5, experienced firms in IT management should have been hired oversee the initial operations of the Airport. Most of the technological devices that were fitted in the Airport were new to some members.

This approach would be the best option as technology is dynamic and the best way to solve such issues would be to learn from the experts (Ireland, 2006).  British Airports Authority however tried to ensure that only the right people were allowed to lead the sensitive department like IT.

The other challenge that faced Denver International project were the changes in economic conditions hence the initial cost of the project that was originally budgeted for $500 finally costed $730 (Olinger & Painter, 2016).

To counter the effects of inflation, the management for both projects should have been more careful and instead they should have provided for inflation or even utilized the use of hedge funds (Lock, 2007). The use of Project Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT) is applicable in most project management operations to optimize the project completion time and the utilization of the other resources (Cleland & Gareis, 2006; Phillips, 2003).  

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