14.11.07
Every decision counts
"The longest journeys often start with the smallest steps" says Jon Hart of law firm Pinsent Masons.
Rail work beneath the streets of London has been grabbing a significant proportion of column inches in the press over the last few weeks.
On the one hand, there has been much discussion of the future form of private sector investment in rail, following the demise of Metronet. This gloom contrasts with the fanfare associated with the launch of the multi-billion pound Crossrail. There seems to have been relatively little attempt amongst commentators to join the dots between the two, but perhaps the events associated with the first project give rise to a few moments for reflection on the part of those who may be interested in bidding for, or lending to, the new project, which has been described as ‘the largest infrastructure in the northern hemisphere’… and possibly the southern hemisphere too.
One of the direct causes of the Metronet crisis was the published decision of the PPP arbiter – the contractually appointed expert – in respect of additional funds claimed by the private sector consortium, in relation to cost and programme overruns for the work carried out by Metronet's sub-contractors in respect of the maintenance and renovation of the London Underground lines for which Metronet was responsible. Comments have been made in respect of what this may mean for the complex world of scoping work and managing supply chains. Looking at the vast scale of Crossrail, similar thoughts may spring to mind.
The announcement of the project's launch coincided with the findings of the Construction Excellence Infrastructure Forum on supply chain management. The Forum found that getting the right procurement methods and planning in place remain the biggest challenge in establishing better and more collaborative supply chains in the infrastructure industry. Important emphasis was also given to making sure that the right people with the right skills were in place.
For Crossrail, perhaps one of the biggest challenges is going to be how to break down the total project-not least the 16 km section being tunnelled beneath the capital-into meaningful and manageable parts. Also critical to this will be the success of bringing together the teams that will be procuring the project and their opposite numbers in the bidding and lending community.
It is a sobering thought just how significant the consequences of some of the decisions that are going to be taken over the next few months may be.
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