Project Management View from Rail Transit Programs and Projects

The broad scope of integration includes understanding processes and interdependencies, verifying process durations, assuring logical sequencing of project schedule activities, and interconnecting processes across organizational silos to assure alignment of managerial areas with the project scope, schedule and budget.

On rail transit projects, integration includes linking management across organizational silos, including design, construction, contract administration, operational coordination, quality and safety, and tailoring processes, deliverables and approaches to the Owner’s business and, if available, its established Project Management Office (PMO.) 

Project management integration crosses all the knowledge areas, which are defined by the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) – Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).   PMI knowledge – project level areas include: scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risk, procurement, stakeholders, claims, safety, environmental and finance.

An Owner’s rail transit business management typically includes engineering, maintenance of equipment (mechanical), transportation, passenger services, procurement and logistics, materials management, business systems, fleet management, human resources, legal, safety and security, and CEO leadership team.   For projects, the Owner’s traditionally assign representatives from essential groups to the support the Project Manager with assistance from the PMO.   Typically, the PM will work closely with engineering, transportation, passenger services, procurement and logistics, legal, and safety and security.

For most rail transit projects, the PM is always responsible and ultimately accountable for integration across all the management functions.  The PM's skills and experience on projects will determine the approach and success of the integration.

PMI defines the PM’s role “when performing integration on the project:

• Project managers play a key role in working with the project sponsor to understand the strategic objectives and ensure the alignment of the project objectives and results with those of the portfolio, program and business areas.  In this way, project managers contribute to the execution and integration of the strategy.
• Project managers are responsible for guiding the team to work together to focus on what is really essential at the project level.   This is achieved through the integration of processes, knowledge and people.”

Unfortunately, many project organizations today, do not define a Project Manager position.   However there may be a collection of leads for various silos including design and engineering, construction, construction management, scheduling, estimating, reporting, contract administration, budget administration, operational support, safety management and quality management. 

Through years of experience and training, and regardless of the scope, value or duration, a PM is required.  As built into the PMI-PMBOK, a PM is always responsible and accountable for the overall project performance, whether he/she was a direct contributor or hands-off manager.   If a contributor failed, the PM failed.   As a result, the PM learned every team members’ role, responsibilities and deliverables and as needed, he/she could step in or delegate to a qualified person to fill a gap and support the team without missing critical milestones or delaying project progress.  

On large rail transit projects, the Project Manager’s focus is frequently redirected to responding to Board governance, numerous oversight consultants, funding partners, government influencers, and community advocates.   As a result, the PM will surround himself with Assistant Project Managers that can focus on managing progress to schedule and as needed, contributing equally to estimates, schedule updates, reports, contract administration, quality, safety, security -  IE Integration.  And as the leader of the project, the PM provides direction to the team based on institutional knowledge and cultural perspective of a rail transit organization.  

If the project organization does not have a dedicated PM, the integration will likely be spread by default to other members of the team.   This leads to no-one member being accountable for the project – as a result no-one member is responsible.  This situation will create managerial ciaos and an endless search for a manager that is accountable for decisions and performance.   Without a PM, the project team will simply delegate to a responsible party in an organizational silo.  This situation makes management integration difficult.     

PMI states “The project manager should strive to become proficient in all the Project Management Knowledge Areas.   In concert with proficiency in these Knowledge Areas, the project manager applies experience, insight, leadership, and technical and business management skills to the project.  Finally, it is through the project manager’s ability to  integrate the processes in these Knowledge Areas that makes it possible to achieve the desired project results.”

A superior knowledge and understanding by project leaders with integration experience on projects needs to be balanced with experience in the domain, such as rail transit projects.   This may require assigning or hiring PM personnel that have broad experience with projects that have similar as scope, regulatory and statutory requirements, industry suppliers of products, government or developer funding sources and division of labor to execute the project. 

Good Practices for Project Management Integration

• Verify the schedule logic is appropriate for work sequences; means, methods and durations; defined interfaces to predecessor and successor activity, and for interdependencies in the WBS
• Validate Division of Work is consistent with the Owner’s organization and internal labor force and collective bargaining agreements
• Monitor the activities and progress of cross-connected management silos by project producers including design contractor(s), construction contractor(s), Owner, PM team quality, PM team project controls, and PM team contract administration
• Confirm alignment and timing of material purchase processes, durations from PO to delivery, and the adequacy of float to schedule installation or construction activities
• Validate site access and work hours can support the scheduled performance milestones at the contract level and project level
• Assess the durations for manufacturing and fabricating processes for materials and systems are within industry capabilities and practices
• Establish and monitor Owner’s staffing levels are adequate to support the design and construction activities as defined in contract Division of Work.

Other considerations:

• Identify a PM or an Integration Manager role for reporting and monitoring interdependencies of work across functional groups and with authority to provide direction
• Assure assigned PM from in-house candidates or a consultant PM has demonstrated project management skills and expertise; project experience matching the current project scope; and demonstrated knowledge of the Owner’s operations and management culture
• Provide the PM with the autonomy and authority for allocating resources and implement decisions equal to the level of accountability on the project
• Create a Matrix that identifies the interdependencies between functional silos and the critical path on the schedule

TIP:   The PM or Integration Manager must be an avid reader with the ability to see hidden threads in content across managerial silos and PMI-PMBOK knowledge areas.

TIP:   On a mega project, an effective way to improve integration is to breakdown the mega-project into a program of individual projects that can each be executed by Project Managers in a PMO environment.

TIP:   Regardless of assignments created by software tools, experienced rail transit persons should monitor all incoming transactions and review the titles and content of Submittals and Requests For Information-RFIs.  As needed within individual accountabilities and expertise, contribute technical and managerial comments to complete integration of comments across silos. 

TIP:   Design management integration topics include consultant management, processes and deliverables for construction specifications and drawings, design criteria, project business case and value engineering to provide best value to the Owner.

TIP:   Construction management integration topics include contract documents, inspection and testing, quality control, quality assurance, performance management, change control, risk management, project records management, and knowledge transfer to the Owner.  

TIP:   Communications on project progress and actions can vary frequently based on changing conditions.  When communications create different messages, project leadership must take immediately steps to  resolve the different messages by providing clear direction.  

On rail transit projects with multiple design and construction contracts, a key project management function is Contract Integration.  

Typically, a contract has specific performance milestones for delivering services and furnishing systems, products and tangible assets to complete the work.  The work activities, durations and sequencing of predecessor and successor work are defined in the detailed contract schedule, which is used to report progress and determine payments to the contractor.    

When multiple contracts are executed under a single project with a fixed budget and end date, the interfaces between contracts is critical to organizing and monitoring the work to ensure it is executed in the same manner as-designed.   A Project Manager (PM) or designated Integration Manager will define the specific interfaces between the contracts, identify the activities that are linked to the interfaces, and create a Contract Integration Plan (CIP).   The CIP, which is a supplement to the Project Management Plan (PMP), is used by the PM to monitor and maintain the sequence of contract progress and manage risks that impact the overall project schedule. 

Contract integration is a cross-functional management activity that connects knowledge of processes, input/outputs, and tools and techniques from several areas of PMI’s Construction Extension to Project Management Body of Knowledge, such as Scope Management, Time Management and Risk Management.  

In rail transit construction, contract integration can be performed by any one of several members of the project team, including PM and staff, Contract Officer/Manager, Scheduler and Risk Manager.  However, contract integration requires the team acquire a thorough understanding of:

• Procurement methods and durations
• Scope and contents of the contract documents
• Timing of work progress relative to other contracts
• Likely means and methods by contractors to meet the performance requirements of the contracts
• Interfaces created by the scheduled sequence of the contracts.  

While the PM will assign the responsibility to a single team member, the entire project team should be aware of the function and the key markers that will be established to monitor the interfaces between contracts. 

The scopes of contract packages are developed for execution in a certain sequence to achieve project scope realization by the time the last contract is completed.   The planned sequence of construction contracts is heavily dictated by the physical reality of the project environment, available means and methods, and the space within the project envelope.   Those physical considerations will determine the key interfaces between each contract as well as a confidence level that the project plan and schedule can be properly executed.    

A simple method to implement contract integration on a project is to:

A)        Identify and describe the interfaces between contracts.    PM will manage the development of the contract documents.  Based on the contract scope and performance requirements, PM will prepare a simple statement such as Contract A for the system must complete submittals before Contract B for the equipment foundation is awarded so the weight and loading of the system equipment and the footprint can be finalized for constructing the foundation.   The Interfaces may include contracts under other projects that are adjacent to the Project envelope. 

If part of a Program, the interfaces may include connections to predecessor and successor projects.  An example interface is -  Contract E for the Control Center can not be completed until Contract D for the fiber Optic Network under another project is completed and available to connect into the Control Center.  

B)        Create a Master Project Schedule (MPS) with milestones or constraints linking the contracts to specific activities and dates.    PM will create an Integration Management Plan (IMP) that describes the interface and the connected contracts.   PM will assure the interfaces are shown in the MPS and that they are properly link in the approved detailed contracts schedules for each contract.   The interfaces will create specific connections to activities in each project contract and as needed, interfaces to specific milestones in contracts on other project adjacent to the Project envelope.   As the MPS is updated for progress, changes in activities dates may show variances between milestone dates and forecast milestone dates.   

C)        Establish the monitoring methods, schedule variance metrics and triggers, and the frequency for assessing any impacts to the dates based on progress updates or changes to the contract schedules.   PM will define the integration management responsibility in the PMP and incorporate the MPS milestones interfaces into the Risk Management Plan (RMP).   This may be discussed at monthly progress meetings, quarterly updates for the risk management plan, and at PMO Quality Management System Meetings.      

D)        Describe the mitigation for impacts to milestones or constraints created by contractors’ progress that varies from the planned schedule.   PM will create a CIP that describes the interface and the connected contracts and the actions required to address schedule variance for interface dates.  As the CIP identifies interfaces, the RMP will be updated for the risk that contract interfaces are changed along with qualitative judgment on probability and impact.   As theses risks are triggered, PM will lead the development of solutions, analyze the solutions and alternatives, assess threats and opportunities to other contracts and projects, and select/present to PMO the best value decision.  Due to critical nature of construction schedules, the solution development process should be completed within the PM’s progress reporting period.     

E)        Prepare a response action for solutions that require changes to contract milestones.  PM will develop the response action for the RMP, which will detail the cost, schedule and scope impacts from the triggered risk.    Interfaces with contract schedule variances that can not be mitigated will require changes in project end-date.   Under the RMP, the PM will execute the response plan, which will implement changes to cost, schedule and scope on the affected contracts, and as needed, to the Project and to any other projects with interfaces.

TIP:  Before developing the CIP, ensure that the project has developed the prerequisite project documents such as Project Charter, PMP, and a Procurement Plan/Contract Packaging Plan 

TIP:   Contracts can include labor agreements for work conducted by the Owner’s in-house labor forces, which are governed by Owner’s collective bargaining agreements with the unions with jurisdiction for the work.  

TIP:   Before validating the project schedule and milestones and finalizing the CIP, obtain the Owner’s organizational process and forms to support the proposed procurement acquisition and delivery methods for authorizing work by contractors and in-house forces.  

TIP:    The responsibility for contract integration maybe best handled by the PM with support from a Scheduler or Project Coordinator providing monthly updates on key marker activities in the Master Schedule.

TIP:   Best value decisions should not seek to reduce the project scope or create dramatic changes in a Program.  However if it does, a thorough review of interfaces should produce a Lessons Learned that may include updating the planning and executing of projects and the packaging and sequencing of contracts.