Systems Integration at London Heathrow Terminal 5
CMR 420, 02/01/09 Winter 2009 | Vol.51, No.2 | REPRINT SERIES CaliforniaReview Management Innovation in Megaprojects: Systems Integration at London Heathrow Terminal 5 Andrew Davies David Gann Tony Douglas © 2009 by The Regents of the University of California Innovation in Megaprojects: SYSTEMS INTEGRATION AT LONDON HEATHROW TERMINAL 5 Andrew Davies David Gann Tony Douglas growing number of infrastructure projects are being proposed and built throughout the world. A megaproject is an investment of $1B or more to build the physical infrastructures that enable people, resources, and information to move within buildings and betweenA locations throughout the world. Organizations responsible for produc- ing megaprojects face a “performance paradox.” Despite the growth in number and opportunities to benefit from learning, megaprojects continue to have poor performance records.1 Most are unsuccessful measured against their original time, cost, quality, and safety objectives, as well as their expected revenue predictions. The construction of airport infrastructure provides examples of how megaprojects can go wrong. When Denver’s $5B international airport opened in 1995, it was almost 200 per cent over the original budget, 16 months late, and passenger traffic achieved only half the predicted revenues. The opening of the airport was plagued by problems with the baggage handling system, which was eventually abandoned in August 2005. Although Hong Kong’s $20B Chek Lap Kok airport opened on time in July 1998, severe disruptions were experienced for six months after opening due to computer problems with the baggage han- dling system. The authors thank Jennifer Whyte, Catelijne Coopmans, and Tim Brady, who worked on a larger study of the T5 project with us, and four anonymous referees who helped to develop our conceptual approach.
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