Project Success Pentagon for Airport Expansion Projects Airports are very large, complex organizations that resemble the size of a small community when on-site employees are counted. An impressive and varied numbers of activities are performed at airports ranging from ground handling, to passenger handling, to commercial activities, to transport etc. As part of the airport operations, most of the activities are quite obvious to the average person, however one aspect of the airport is usually overlooked – that is that airports not only need to manage air transport operations but also real estate investments and construction projects. Restrictive Budgets, fast paced communications and just-in-time delivery makes the airport construction projects complex. In order to compete in a challenging airport environment, the construction entrepreneurs must streamline operations and seek out ways to improve, innovate and curtail the building cycle of the projects. Notwithstanding cost and schedule parameters, the successful proponent must address a variety of issues, pre-requisites and needs in order to deliver a winning project. After the euphoria of winning the Project ends, reality sets in, and efforts must focus on execution and project delivery. It is not simply enough to have an error free design or to organize an efficient construction project management. Successful projects must also satisfy the owners. The products must not only be of a high quality but also be perceived as being the best. When looking at current airport construction projects, specifically on airside i.e. Airport Restricted Areas, construction costs can range from 15 to 25 percent higher than what is estimated as “normal”? The increase in cost can be attributed to the following cost drivers: 1. Airside Safety Rules and Regulations A construction entrepreneur entering the Airport Restricted Area (ARA) first time will find a number of obstacles that will not present if working elsewhere. First of all, the entrepreneur must factor the safety and security elements into the construction equation. All personnel must display appropriate badge. To obtain this badge, each worker must be educated and security checks undergone as per the rules of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines for safety and security. Also, if the entrepreneur drives the vehicle inside the Airport, the transportation vehicle must first be equipped with a special vehicle operating license, the driver should be certified with the certain process to drive inside ARA and the vehicle must be equipped with revolving red flash lanterns at night time. 2. Technical Issues Due to the complexity of designing new facilities at airports, many airport administrators are tempted to establish the exact design and specifications before awarding Contract to the entrepreneur. In other words, the design is more rigid allowing little change in the work execution phase. The complexity in design issues will eventually slow down the construction works. 3. Restricted Working Hours Most of the airports are very busy and operate 24 hrs/7 days. Hence the construction projects specifically inside airport restricted areas should satisfy the aerodrome and work safety. Since most of the airports are busy, most of the works specifically Runways and Taxiways construction are carried out during night curfew. The construction of these works in night curfew time increases the overhead cost requiring the illumination system to carry out the works In other cases, the work can be carried out in day time but high care should be given to the operating airlines minimizing the disturbance. If the construction activities and operation of the aircrafts are conflicting inside the airport, the operating aircrafts get first preference. 4. Multi Stakeholder Engagement Because of the large number of different activities that are carried out at airport, there are many stakeholders in a construction project. There are too many personnel from different departments of the airport and most of the work sequences are conflicting to each other. It is normally very difficult to cater for all the issues and the airport administrator has hard time fighting against the design issues. If the design is changed during the work execution phase, it will be the high cost driver to the project including claim from the Contractor. Conclusion Construction Projects are an integral part of the airport operations, but the special circumstances inherit working inside the Airport Restricted Areas result in the production costs that are much higher than the construction costs “outside” the airports. 1. Determination of the Requirements An airport has many stakeholders, all of whom want to optimize different aspects of construction. To keep costs contained, the airport operator should be keen enough in pooling demand and transferring them into realistic requirements. 2. Engagement of the Contractor In most of the projects, the Contractors are incorporated in late phases of the projects and therefore their experiences are not fully utilized. Airport administrations should keep their eyes wide open to engage the Contractor in all phases of the project including design phase. 3. Harmonization of the Contractor To be effective in construction project management airport authority should be able to harmonize the Contractor by appointing competent and knowledgeable person in all the phases of the project cycle. 4. Assistance in the Working Conditions Working inside the airport requires several safety and security requirements; the airport authority should facilitate the Contractor by conducting regular training on safety and security issues making the process least complicated during the process. 5. Contractor’s Effective Project Management Considering these implications, Construction Contractor should be keen enough to organize and mobilize his resources during the Project Implementation. The winning teams of the personnel should be suitably created to address each and every aspects of the construction. (Note: Due to the word limit requirement, this article is the summary of the full article on the subject matter. Interested readers can avail the full version of this article by writing e-mail to the author at shailesh.work@gmail & [email protected].)
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 02:38:18 +0000
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