NETLIPSE Press Release Managing Large Construction Projects
Tuesday 13 May 2008

The Netlipse consortium presented the results of major
research into the management and organisation of 15 large transport
infrastructure projects (LIPs) in Europe, during the last network
meeting in Turin, Italy.
In total 15 transport infrastructure projects with a total
investment of more than € 50 billion were studied in depth during a
two-year research period, by a consortium of private, public and
research institutes. Infrastructure projects often experience
delays, cost overruns and face challenges with technological
developments. The research identified the causes of such problems
and established "best practice" methods, to help improve the
management of future projects. Despite the different political,
legal and financial frameworks, the Netlipse consortium found that
many projects have similar, if not identical, problems.
Some conclusions:
- managing the "hard" factors is of equal importance as the
"soft" factors, such as coping with stakeholder management and
political influence;
- project organisations often focus on the building phase rather
than on the larger scope of the project and the very purpose of
their construction.
Marcel Hertogh, Netlipse Project Manager: "…an enormous amount
of research material has been obtained resulting in numerous best
practices and lessons learnt that could be of benefit to other
projects. However, our research shows that projects do not focus on
learning from others." A shame, because these lessons could help
improve the management of these projects." Netlipse offers valuable
experiences, as well as a active network to exchange knowledge. He
added "we look forward to discussing and expanding this work in the
next phase: Netlipse II." This will also involve the completion of
the 'Infra Maturity tool', a tool for evaluating and monitoring
LIPs.
The European Commission alone plans to invest many Billions of
Euros in new transport infrastructure in the next five years.
Guidance to all those involved in the task is vital. During the
Turin meeting, Mr Karel Vinck, ERTMS coordinator of the Trans
European Networks (TEN) in Brussels, acknowledged that a very
professional research task had been completed. He saw the potential
need for a second phase and development of the "Infra Maturity
tool". Mr. Scheele, EU Director of Transport Logistics, TEN-T and
Co-Modality, DG Energy and Transport, considered that Netlipse
could play an important contribution for future projects, in
execution and during the earlier decision making phase of a
project. Work on the "Infra Maturity Tool" will start during the
summer of 2008 as soon as financing is completed.
The Netlipse TEN-Book with all the findings of the research is
available from this website.
Editorial Notes
Netlipse stands for: "Network for the
dissemination of knowledge for Large
Infrastructure
Projects in
Europe". It is based in Baarn, although involving
representatives throughout many of the EU-member states. The work
has been funded by the European Commission.
The Netlipse consortium consists of the following institutes and
companies:
Governmental Organisations:
- Ministry of Transport, The Netherlands
- Department for Transport, Rail Projects, United Kingdom
Research & Knowledge Institutes:
- Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- ETH Zurich, Switzerland
- Road and Bridge Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
- Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Portugal
Private Organisations:
- KPC GmbH, Bern, Switzerland
- AT Osborne B.V., The Netherlands (Project Management)
The projects researched can be found here.