Handle With Care

Aaron is the former editor of ProjectsAtWork.com

  ProjectsAtWork  

When a complex baggage-handling system didn't deliver, Denver's new airport was delayed. A strategic project recovery effort got it rolling again.

Billed as the Airport of the Future, the  Denver International Airport became a fiasco for the ages when its scheduled opening was delayed for almost two years at a headline-grabbing loss of $1 million a day. A state-of-the-art baggage-handling system plagued by massive mechanical and software problems was the well-publicized culprit.

When the baggage system was finally delivered, its debut brought a mix of celebration and relief. The airport was open, thanks to a project rescue that cut through the chaos, separated fact from fiction and forged a pragmatic solution.                       

At the crux of  Denver airport's baggage problem-as with so many projects gone wrong-were promises that couldn't be kept. Such a complex baggage system had never before been attempted, and the contractor originally estimated it would take four years to complete. But caving to political pressure to cut ribbons and craving a big commission. the contractor squeezed the schedule down to two years. About a year in, as problems began to multiply, airport officials called on a team of rescue specialists from PA Consulting …

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