THE CHUNNEL TUNNEL PROJECT

THE CHUNNEL TUNNEL PROJECT : 

THE CHUNNEL TUNNEL PROJECT CASE STUDY

Introduction : 

Introduction The project undertaken to create a link between England and France via underground tunnel. It required the co-operation of two national governments, bankers, contractors and several regulatory agencies. The const. and engineering of the tunnel required use of new technology and unexpected condition /changes required by various agencies. It was completed but late and over budget

Project life cycle phases : 

Project life cycle phases Inception Development Implementation Close out

Inception : 

Inception It may call initiation, preparation or conception It deals with project proposal, selection, initiations. It considers project concepts, feasibility and possible alternate solution.

Development : 

Development It may also be called planning, scheduling, design, prim nary engineering. It address development of plan for various project parameters i.e. risk, quality, resources. It consider development of a project baseline, WBS and master plan. Finalizing the project charter and obtaining approval to proceed with the project.

Development Phase- The Chunnel project : 

Development Phase- The Chunnel project This was an important phase for the project because of its sheer size, complexity and breadth Assessment Table………..

Major areas of strength : 

Major areas of strength There were significant success in terms of delivery quality and in terms of project schedule. Project Team- The project team did a very reasonable job in planning the technical equipment and understanding the complexity involved. They were able to use previous research on the soil. They took data from previous projects.

Major areas of strength : 

Major areas of strength Planning and scheduling The schedule planning during the development phase seemed to be adequate. the project finished a year late but due to things beyond the project team control.

Major areas of strength : 

Major areas of strength Quality aspects The project was delivered with a relatively high degree of quality because the free reign given to the IGC , the quality aspects were handled well. The ‘better of the two methods’ were adopted. Most advanced technological equipment and very little margin of error allowed for quality to be an extremely important attribute during this phase.

Major areas of strength : 

Major areas of strength Teamwork The focus on fairness was followed by the both governments involved. For every British team member French has the counter part.

Major areas of strength : 

Major areas of strength The project office did an adequate job and followed some of the planning, designing and retailing required in this phase of project. Project management in this phase w as hopeful and project management practices in place did provide an mechanism for achieving success.

Areas of improvement : 

Areas of improvement There were many things that made this phase difficult , including the Inflexibility of some of the characteristics of the project. Communication- Two different companies on two different sides , speaking two different language, managing by two different directors delayed communication until/near the end of project. Lack of communication during the development and design phase in early stage lead to differences of opinion in its later stage.

Areas of improvement : 

Areas of improvement Scope Functional requirement and technically specifications need to be defined and validated as early as possible. Although the data from past projects was taken but learning was not implemented when planning the project. The lack of continued focus on scope, resulted in the frustration of trying to do too much. The organization was asking for the best whether it or not it was needed.

Areas of improvement : 

Areas of improvement There was much interpretation for the agency like IGC .The IGC decision to change 600mm doors to 700mm doors itself delay the project to 9 months. The project management team must be given enough authority to act in the best interest of the project and not to be subject to undue influence from outside parties. Large multinational projects needs to be carefully plant, leveraging, proven, management tools and techniques,

Areas of improvement : 

Areas of improvement Fast tracking projects when the technical problem unknown compounding the risk factor. During the development phase scope was not fully assessed and the proper precautions to prevent scope creep were not put in place. The mistake of allowing IGC to have scope control without the ability of IGC to approve funding of scope creep affected the management of this project so that the success became extremely difficult . Project contracts and financing agreements should provide for sharing of risk and contingencies plans.