Scottish Architecture Building

sparing Architecture BuildingThe Scottish Parliament Building- A report into regard Failure IntroductionSitting within the UNESCO World heritage state of affairs, the new home to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood from its outset has proven to be controversial. Opening in 2004, politicians, the media and the Scottish globe prepargon criticised many aspects of the build. off from equal controversy surrounded the decision to construct a new grammatical reflexion, the choice of site, the selection of a non-Scottish interior decorator and the selection of Bovis as a bodily structure Manager after beingness earlier excluded from the shortlist.In amongst its criticisms the twist has seven awards, including the 2005 Stirling prize, the Vill Biennial of Spanish Architecture and the RIAS Andrew Doolan award for architecture, and after being shortlisted for the Stirling prize in 2004 was described by judges as a statement of sparkling excellence.The building in conclusion opene d in 2004, three course of instructions after its schedule opening with a final estimated cost of 414 million, exceeding the originally estimate of between 10m -40m. In 2003 the former Lord Peter Fraser chaired a major public head into the cost over-run and delays in the construction of the Scottish parliament building finally concluding in September 2004, criticising the management of the forecast. Lord Fraser said his inquiry had been hampered by the un exitingness of those intricate in the offer to take responsibility for what went wrong. The ancient walls of the Canongate name echoed only to the cry of, it wisnae me, he said. He concluded that on that point is no single villain of the piece behind the Holyrood building fiasco.This report looks at the fundementals of what went wrong and to what extent realise management could be held responsible. strategic and Ope coherentl come across management actions that could defy been taken to better control the project and incre ase its chance for successful delivery against metre and cost targets are discussed. The report finally concludes by indentifying the key lessons that project management usher out learn from the start.I do non wish to pass comment on the subjective point of view of the aesthetics of the building yet rather seek to analysis the reasons to explain the delay and cost over run of the project. This report has been broken down into the following(a) sections.Delays and CostThe role of the Project ManagementStrategic and Operations ManagementConclusionDelays and CostThere are many factors that attributed to the cost and delay of the building which when added together led to disastrous consequencesPrimary Coast and BriefThe primary cost projection by the Scottish office for housing MPSs in a new Scottish parliament were never achievable from the outset. The estimate took no account of either location or purport of its buildings. Lord Frasier concludes that the figure of 40 million whi ch appeared in the white paper was informed by a range of costs put forward in a minute of tenth June 1997 which was based upon very general assumptions and for a bog standard and new building.40 million was never a realistic estimate to cover anything some other than a basic build, certainly not a complex building much(prenominal) as the building which was finally procured when considered it was based upon a unresolveded site of 16,000sqm on Brownfield land in either Leith or Holyrood, a basic be after and was unclear if this sum included professional or construction fees. then as the project progressed and the design of Enric Miralles was chosen, the cost projection increased dramatically, being revised to include VAT, acquisition costs, contingencies, site costs, and consultancy fees.Over the course of the five class build it is reported that 18,000 design changes occurred resulting in a three year delay. There was clearly an inadequacy of the brief and a dropure to adequat ely canvas the size requirements of such a building, with the gross area of the building having to be increased by 35%. The increase of security features such as the incorporation of bomb-proof facing in October 2002, may have amounted to as much as nearly 100 million. Security requirements envisaged for the new parliament building were contained in the building user brief of 1998, however rather than designing to a security specification, the reputation of the concept meant that a realistic assessment of the detailed security requirements could not be undertaken until the detailed design of the building had commenced. This would have the greatest impact in regards to cost and computer programme on the project.Architect Selection In July 1997, it was inform that a competition would be held to select the best design for a new Scottish parliament, with the press release stating we want value for money as well as whole tone. We will be looking at ways in which the cost of the p arliament can be kept to a minimum. The clip frame was set with a designer to be in smear by early 1998 and for the building to be complete for the new Millennium. As such, it seems the Scottish parliament was unable to decide where there priorities lay with respect to quality, cost and time.The panel selected designer Enric Miralles with the work being awarded to EMBT/RMJM (Scotland) Ltd, a Spanish-Scottish joint venture design company set up specifically for the project. The two practices found the two different cultures and ways of functional difficult to adapt to, especially since they were overly working from two different locations and communicating mainly via fax. In 1998, Bill Armstrong, Project Manager to the project, resigned from his position due to not receiving the support undeniable to enable him to tamp out his job and heavily criticising Miralles saying a stand must be taken to either bring Miralles to heel or to accept his inadequacies. He does not believe he has any. The programme will drift, the cost will increase, the design team will make claims, the subdueors will make claims and the project will become a disaster. Project communication was also hindered by the multi-headed customer comprising of the SPCB, the presiding officer and an architectural advisor. The project was also further complicated by the deaths of the architect Miralles in July 2000 and Donald Dewar, first minister in October of the same year.Procurement pathThe decision to procure the building under Construction Management is said to be one of the most evidential, if not the most significant decision taken during the course of the project. The choice of procurement was chosen rather than under a mystical Finance Initiative for its speed in construction by overlapping design, tendering and construction. The Holyrood Inquiry criticises that the choice of procurement was not properly identified or evaluated, describing it as beggars belief that ministers were not ask to approve the proposal to adopt construction management.The Scottish office publicly declared that they would be working to a doctor budget and where grittyly risk adverse, yet they followed a procurement path which had no fixed budget and also a route where a high degree of risk lies with the client.In an attempt to achieve early completion the management contractor produced an optimistic programme from which the flow of design information was fate to fail to meet expectations. As such, construction cannot proceed in accordance with the programme and cost entailed. While some failures have been attributed to the architect arising from co-ordination and communication in differences between Edinburgh and Barcelona the client should have been make aware that high quality design work takes time and that the programme was un realistic given the complex nature of the design.The appointment of the Construction ManagerAlthough initially rejected on tender price, Bovis were readmitt ed to the selection on the basis of past performance on the Museum of Scotland.On finalising the contract the Scottish Office left themselves open to large construction fees if the project over ran by not processing Bovis organisition in regard to their fee. Bovis proposed a Construction Management Fee of 1.25% to be converted to a lump sum on agreement of the Project Cost program. A formal earn of intent was issuedby the Scottish Office of their intention to enter into a contract with Bovis on 19th January with the formal legal Memorandum of Agreement not being signed until October of the same year. Although Schedule 1(J) confirmed a fee of 1.25% it failed to make provision for conversion of that fee to a lump sum on agreement of the cost plan.Had a lump sum value been stipu latterlyd, it would have have acted as a powerful incentive for Bovis to complete the project on time .The Auditor General in his 2000 report makes the point that a tapering percentage scheme could have been utilize in that the percentage fee would visit as a proportion of construction cost as that cost increases, although Lord Frasier also makes the valid point that this would not have been as significant as the possible conversion to a lump sum upon agreement of the cost plan.As demonstrated above the project was a catalogue of errors resulting from a digit of decisions at a relatively early stage of the project that were fundamentally wrong or wholly misleading and it was those decisions that caused massive increases in cost and delays. The next section in this report looks at to what extent the project music director be held accountable.The role of the Project ManagementBriefAfter the appellation of the requirements of a new parliament building by civil servants in June 1997, a project manager was diligent for the specific task of larning a brief for a parliament building.The project brief is a comprehensive statement of the requirements of the project which enables construct ion professionals to understand the scope and extent of the project and quality requirements. The outcome of any project relies on the quality of the briefing provided. The project brief in this instance had many failings, proved by the fact that it was necessary to increase areas due to under estimating the actual requirements of the parliament and its end users.The Auditor General was complementary about the user brief in that it presented a clear vision of the requirements of the new parliament, however it failed to address the potential conflict between cost, time and quality.More time should have been spent developing the brief at an early stage taking into account risk and requirements which would have reduced the likelihood of changes later which could have direct cost implications and knock-on effects with regard to programme. chatThe relationship between the project manager and architect and also the project managers relationship with his employer is vital. From reports sub mitted to the Holyrood inquiry it is concluded that the project manager did not succeed in developing constructive dialogue with the architect. Indeed from the time of the architects appointment the project manager had reservations and serious misgivings about the appointment and subsequently resigned in 1998.Although the project manager had been praised on an earlier project Victoria Quay, for his commitment, organisation, single mindedness and attention to systems and detail which had served the project well, these qualities which carried with them rigidity and inflexibility were not enough to develop and sustain a productive relationship with the EMBT/RMJM design team. Again this recurring theme was echoed in late 2000 when the Project Director also commented that he found it difficult to develop a constructive relationship with the architect.Procurement Choice- Construction managementThe Holyrood Inquiry notes that spot the timetable was developed by the project manager using h is considerable experience of project management the tight deadline was undoubtedly driven both by the political objective of an early completion and the occupancy of the parliament building. While the programme may have been a given factor which dictated a fast track construction method, greater investigations and evaluation should have taken place to appropriate the best procurement path.Construction management is a procurement option for high quality, potentially high cost projects if the client is extensivey engaged and has a clear goal. The Holyrood inquiry however found that the project managers were not fully engaged and failed to appreciate cost downsides and risks involved with managing 60 contractors according to an sodding(a) brief.The project manager should have given better understanding and advice to both the client and non construction professionals involved in the project about the significantly higher(prenominal) client risk and cost uncertainty that both construc tion management and management contracting entail over traditional procurement methods. Risk could have been passed to the contractor under another route. Although tender prices are likely to have been higher there would have been a greater degree of cost certainty.Sir Michael Lathem believes that full partnering should have been used to share the risk between client and contractor. The conceptional design work could have been complete by Miralles than novated to a major design and build contractor to work out construction drawings as part of the construction team. The client could have had proper cost control while legal transfer in value management at an early stage to design out things that adds cost but no value. Prime contracting could possible have been another option. Although still evolving in the late 1990s it benefits from joined up team from inception with the supply chain on board.Project Execution PlanThere was a failing by project management to finalise the draft Proj ect Execution Plan, as highlighted in the Auditor Generals September 2000. The Project Execution Plan is a key inscription governing the project with fundamentals such as project strategy, organisation, control procedures and responsibilities. The HM Treasury describes this document as a live management document, regularly updated to be used by all parties both as a means to communication and as a control and performance measurement tool.The Auditor Generals main findings in his 2000 report highlights there should have been change control procedures based on a detailed cost plan agreed between all parties at an early stage. Cost reporting was also deficient in a progeny of areas, such as an absence of an arrangement requiring project management to provide full cost information on regular and systematic basis and also in a departure from good practice in the failure to identify and quantify a separate allowance for the major risks potentially touch the project.Strategic and Operat ions ManagementFor project management to be effective, it must incorporate both strategic management and operational project management techniques. Strategic management planning at its simplest produces both primary goals for operational plans and also the framework within which they can be realised. Cole (1997) describes strategic management as being much about vision and direction as about mechanisms and structures.At strategic level, project management is concerned with the provision of the organisational and integration structures while at operational level, project management is concerned with how particular processes common to all projects should be executed and controlled. With the application of a clearly defined body of Knowledge, project objectives can be appropriately defined and objectives successfully delivered.When looking at the Scottish Parliament project there are a number of strategic and operational management actions that could have been undertaken to better con trol the project and increase its chance for successful delivery against time and cost targets..Project governmentBurke (2005) comments that projects are performed by people and managed through people. Therefore it is essential to develop an organisation structure which reflects the needs of the project (task) and the needs of the project team, precisely as importantly as the needs of the individuals. Central figures within the Holyrood project organisation were the project owner, the project manager and the project sponsor. The project owner sat within a steering group of senior civil servants who took strategic decisions on behalf of the client.The project manager was responsible for the day to day management of the project and reported directly to the project sponsor and acted as the interface between project sponsor and the supply chain. It is the project sponsors role to act as the clients congressman and act in the clients interest in the project. In the case of the Holyroo d project the project sponsor was not familiar with construction or sponsorship of major construction projects. On a project of such complexity and playing such an important link within the organisation structure the project sponsor should have had sufficient knowledge of both. In my opinion this ultimately had a impact on both the projects successful delivery against time and cost.Decision making mechanisms of the project structure were criticised during Lord Frasiers summary of the Holyrood inquiry. Frasier recommended that where independent advisors are retained, their views should not be filtered by civil servants but put to ministers alongside any disagreement officials may have with the judgements expressed by those advisors. Ministers did not have any formal indication of the apparent threat to the agreed budget of 50 million during late 1998 and early 1999 when officials were aware of the evolving situation.Forecasting the future, Scenario PlanningCole (1997) describes anti cipation in a strategic context as referring to any attempt whether qualitative or quantitative and usually based on past performance, to predict future outcomes and trends in the internal and external environments of an organisation in order to limit the risks involved in devising and implementing strategy Forecasting at an operational level may be focused on the next few months to a year and need a considerable level of exactness, whereas on a strategic level a reasonable level of predicted trends is required in the longer terminus often on the basis of a 3 or 5 year plan.There is a number of techniques that can be used when forecasting the future such as such as Delphi technique, brain storming and scenario development. Scenario planning, essentially provide a framework for formulating strategy under conditions of uncertainty. Porter (1985) comments that when combined with material conceptual tools for understanding industry structure, competitive behaviour, and competitive adva ntage, the scenario tool can be an important part of the strategists arsenal.The most important difference between rational approaches to strategic planning and scenario planning is that the past is not always representative of the future as continuity cannot be assumed. By challenging assumptions and questioning things that we sometimes take for granted, the Holyrood project team could have been provided with the flexibility it needed to cope with the uncertain times ahead such as the death of the architect and factors such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America which has been suggested had a direct effect to the increase in security requirements including bomb proof cladding at Holyrood.ConclusionAlthough the choice of construction management was heavily criticised in Lord Frasers report many of the decisions that contributed to the massive costs and delays attached to the project were made at a relatively early stage due to the project not being managed pro perly.With an unrealistic estimated budget and programme the project was destined to fail from the outset. It would be unfair to compare the end cost figure to the original 49 million cited in the white paper because as previously discussed this was not an accurate figure. Had these estimates derived from final designs and contingencies for the variations then a more realistic comparison for the end cost versus the estimated cost could have been made.It would be fair to say that during the project there were a number of unforeseen circumstances that were unavaioidable which had an effect on both time and cost of the build, notable the deaths of Miralles and Dewar in 2000 and the existence of a multi-headed client (consisting of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body, the Presiding Officer, and an architectural advisor), who took over the project from the Scottish Executive (formerly the Scottish Office) while it was already under construction.Although events like these cannot be pre dicted they can be properly managed if the correct contingency measures are in place to effectively manage the risk.It seems that project management can be successfully implemented as seen in other industries such as aerospace and manufacturing, however as both the Latham and Eagn reports outline, the construction industry is behind in terms of performance improvements. In order to be successful project management must implement management at both strategic and operational level. If systems and tools that are used at an operational level to implement project management are not used in conjunction with corresponding integration and organisational aspects of strategic management, then problems are bound to occur.6.0 ReferencesBooksBurke, R (2003) Project Management, Planning and Control Techniques. WileyCole, G, (1997) Strategic Management, Letts EducationalPorter, M (1985) Competitive Advantage- Creating and sustaining superior performance, The Free PressReports JournalsLord Fraser, 2004. Holyrood Inquiry, Final Report. addressable from http//www.holyroodinquiry.org/FINAL_report/report.htm 7 Nov 2006R. Bayfield, 2004. Insights from Beyond Construction Collaboration The Honda Experience. Available from www.scl.org.uk 15 Nov 2006Websiteshttp//scottish.parliament.uk