Management and Quality Control of Spinnaker Tower and St Pancras Station - Case Study Example

THE SPINNAKER TOWER Project management “is the art of directing and coordinating human and material resources throughout the life of a project by using modern management techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, cost, time, quality and participation satisfaction”. (pmbook.ce.cmu.edu). Construction planning is a fundamental and challenging activity in the management and execution of construction projects. It involves the choice of technology; the definition of work task is, the estimation of the required resources, durations for individual tasks, and the identification of any interactions among the different work tasks. A good construction plan is the basis for developing the budget and the schedule for work. Developing the construction plan is a critical task in the management of construction, even if the plan is not written or otherwise formally recorded. (bpo.knowledgehills.com). In managing a construction project, it is common to adopt primary emphasis on three basic elements, namely, task, resource and time. They are interrelated, and any alteration in one will affect the other two. The main objective behind time management is to complete the project in minimal time. But this should not be achieved by compromising on the quality or cost factors. It should be taken care that by optimizing performance at any stage does not have an effect on the overall project such that it does not bring in an element of benefit. Even though all these objectives were taken into account while planning The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, some flaws on the part of the managing team brought up a delay in the completion of the project. This was undesirable, in a project of such importance. Until September 2004, the delay that had occurred was as a result of delays with structural steelwork. It was noted that the time required to fabricate massive cruciform steelwork took longer than the estimated time. As all stages of work are interrelated, the delay in the ending of stage one of the construction process, took it’s toll on the starting of stage two, which again caused an unprecedented delay. Further more; to add to the miseries, bad weather was a great hindrance to the smooth proceeding of the activities, thus bringing in more delay. Europes largest glass floor and a glass external lift, “which caused most of the recent delays to the towers opening date because of safety doubts.”(Lindsay 2005). All these were defects of proper project management, which led to the inefficient utilization of time. All these resulted in the opening of The Spinnaker Tower, about five years after the estimated opening date. Quality control in construction typically involves insuring compliance with minimum standards of material and workmanship in order to insure the performance of the facility according to the design. Quality control directly reflects on the safety of the structure. Each component used should pass the quality check, with a sufficient factor of safety. It also has great effects on the cost, as defects of failures can result in large costs for reconstruction. The importance of quality control is such that, even minor defects may require a reconstruction, depending on the importance of the structure. In extreme cases, faulty installation or inferior quality may either lead to failure of the structure and cause fatalities or cause accidents during the construction process. The quality control has been very efficiently adopted during the construction of The Spinnaker Tower. High rise and specially shaped architectural wonders, such as The Spinnaker Tower, need to very strictly adhere to the quality standards set by the authorities. The designer, Mr. Scott Wilson ensured a touch of professionalism to the whole project by providing high quality finishing works. It was noted that, even the smallest elements had passed the required quality tests. This perfection was maintained to the extent of having perfect steelwork alignment ant bolt connections. As in the case of concrete quality check, “hollow sounding” defect was found in the structure but specialist groups confirmed that it would not have any adverse effect on the strength and durability of the structure. During the execution of a project, the most important tools that help project managers and other related part-takers in the construction are, procedures for project control and record keeping. These help in maintaining a record of the financial transactions that are made, and allows the manager to refer any such previous transactions. It also helps in providing indications on the progress of work and the problems encountered. Problems of project control can be defined as, “any collection of vaguely related activities that are ninety percent complete, over budget and late." (pmbook.ce.cmu.edu). For cost control, the plan of the structure under construction and the amount of money being injected into the projects, helps in forming a reference line, parallel to which, the construction should proceed. It helps in monitoring and controlling the project. The final estimate prepared, helps providing a check on the progress of the project, such that the costs don’t exceed the estimated cost estimates. If this is successfully implied on the project, the project is said to have financial or cost control. The Spinnaker Tower did not display good cost control. These were indirect effects of unforeseen objections or hindrances in the progress of the construction work. Every time the project gets delayed, the cost of project increases. Infact any flaw in the above discussed controls, shows an immediate rise in the overall cost. The construction managers of this project, were not able to control the finances efficiently. This led to an overall cost of “£21 million compared to original estimates of £16.5 million”. (Oliver 2002). It was an overspent and delayed project. A major part of this overspending was due to the five year delay. On the overall, The Spinnaker Tower is a modern day building with high degree of aesthetics. The construction of the tower and the steelwork used in it were of very high quality. The construction at site was limited by certain constrains of the site and due to the efforts taken to comply with the interface agreement. Other delays were caused due to unforeseeable problems during the design. The weather too played a major role. The completion of steelworks was delayed due to the autumn winds. This showed lack of risk management. ST. PANCRAS STATION, LONDON The King’s Cross St. Pancras underground station is being redeveloped to meet the rise in population depending on railway as a mode of transportation. It has an existing capacity of 2,50,000 people today, and is expected to increase it’s capacity to 4,20,000 people, by 2010. it is also expected to function as a gateway to London for those using national and international (Eurostar) railway. The redevelopment had started in 2001 and the two phases were finished by 2007. The main aims and goals behind this project are firstly, to combat the rising population and demand. This leads to the need for increasing the capacity. Secondly, it aimed in providing better interchanges. Thirdly, the existing facilities were not ample to meet the requirements with the rising number of users. It also did not meet the modern day standards. Hence the facilities were improved. Fourthly, the services and systems managing the smooth functioning of the station needed to be upgraded. Systems like The CCTV, PA system, Help points and Fire Safety systems. “The integrity of these systems was maintained to ensure the continuous safe operation of station”. (tfl.gov.uk). It also helped in efficiently managing the new and improved facilities to a greater extent of precision and perfection. Finally, the project aimed at providing a fully accessible station to the passengers. This was one of the most welcome changes as it made journeys more convenient. These were accomplished in two phases of redevelopment. The first phase took 5 years, from 2001-2006. This mainly aimed for the completion of the Western Ticket Hall, and the second phase saw the completion of the Northern Ticket Hall. With the completion of the two phases, nearly all the aims and objectives were accomplished. Quality control has remained an integral part of any successful construction project. It reflects on the efficiency and durability of the structure. The reconstruction of St. Pancras Station underwent thorough quality checks to ensure safety and durability. This was achieved by involving the services of Inspectors and quality assurance personnel. Each party, in direct connection with the project had their own quality and safety inspector. These inspectors were contractors from specialized quality assurance organizations. Quality checks were done on-site as well as, samples of materials were sent to specialized laboratories for testing, to check whether the samples did comply with the set standards. The inspectors checked for compliance with regulatory requirements. Quality control in construction materials was maintained to a very high degree. Strict quality control for the concrete pour was brought into effect during construction. Each element of work, which includes the minutest works, had to undergo a detailed inspection and a test plan which included quality checks on material and workmanship. There were regulatory measures for checking the quality at each stage of construction. At every stage of construction work, a check sheet needed to be filled out and had to be produced before the client for their approval before starting the next stage. This led to high quality concrete pours and very limited remedial works. The materials used had a lot of innovation behind them. The bricks used at the critical areas were not normal bricks, but a rare 5-cut brick technique. Here each brick was manufactured separately and was made to undergo quality checks. The main reason behind such a stringent quality control was public safety. One of the officials quoted “Over 78,000 people pass through the station at peak time so public safety and limiting any disruption to the traveling public were major factors when planning the works." (Waghorn 2005). Cost control is one of the most important criteria to be maintained. The contractor should take care that any point of time the cost does not exceed the budget prepared for that stage. Overruns in certain cost categories indicate the possibility of problems and give an idea of exactly what problems are being encountered. Expense oriented construction planning and control focuses upon the categories included in the final cost estimation. This focus is particular relevant for projects with few activities and considerable repetition. Even though, there were such strict controls on quality, time and very efficient project management, the actual cost greatly exceeded the budgeted cost. The total cost was estimated at £310 million but on completion, the overall cost was a whooping, £800 million. It was more than double the estimate. The main factor that brought about such a lapse is the long term construction process. The estimates and plans were developed well in advance of the commencement of the project hence all assumptions were made on the cost of resources then. Resources, mainly dealing with man, machines and materials, had undergone a change in value during the project. As the project spanned over six years, there was a drastic rise in the cost of materials, labor and machinery. This caused a rise in the cost of the project. On the other hand it can also be argued that it was quite the inefficiency on the part of the financial managers, not to foresee such problems. On the whole, The St. Pancras Station, London is treated as an architectural wonder, done in gothic style. A security-sealed terminal area was constructed for Eurostar services to Continental Europe through High Speed 1 and the Channel Tunnel. In addition to this, there are provisions for domestic connections to the north and south of England. The station houses a total of fifteen platforms, a shopping mall and a bus station. Other than these, there are provisions for other recreational activities, in addition to London Underground services from Kings Cross St Pancras tube station Even though, there were a few flaws in the cost control, on the overall, the project was managed well and was a great success. The project was completed in time and the structure was aptly built to suit the requirements. The strict quality checks provided a strong, durable, reliable and safe structure. References bpo.knowledgehills.com, What is project management? viewed on December 3, 2009 http://bpo.knowledgehills.com/PM/Project-Management-Defined.aspx Lindsay, A 2005, Spinnaker opens five years late, viewed on December 3, 20092009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/4326932.stm Oliver, A 2002, Scott Wilson replaces Arup on Spinnaker Tower, viewed on December 3, 2009 http://www.nce.co.uk/scott-wilson-replaces-arup-on-spinnaker-tower/805884.article pmbook.ce.cmu.edu, Organizing for Project Management, viewed on December 3, 2009 http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/02_Organizing_For_Project_Management.html tfl.gov.uk, King’s Cross St. Pancras Underground station development, viewed on December 3, 2009 http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/6-MthLookAhead_Nov06-Apr07_FINAL.pdf Waghorn, K 2005, Kings Cross station redevelopment, viewed on December 3, 2009. http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/nonmetallic-mineral-product-manufacturing/1014884-1.html Read More