Matthew Heal: Lessons to be learned from London Olympics

Matthew Heal: Olympics was a good example of project management.

Opinion

Since returning to New Zealand from London, I have noticed a number of parallels between the London 2012 Olympic venues and infrastructure programme, and some of the major project challenges facing Auckland - such as housing - that are crucial to achieving our future aspirations for the city.

The London Olympics is a good example of successful programme management where the key issues of costs, design, scheduling, environmental compliance, sustainability, health and safety, equality, skills, legacy and transformation were considered together, and not independently of each other.

Running big developments like London 2012 as 'programmes' allows a level of co-ordination and benefits not available from simply approaching such developments as a series of independent projects. Such integrated approaches work best where the desired outcome is one that will drive organisational change in some way, or will deliver multifaceted projects for multiple stakeholders and the supporting infrastructure and environment that surround it.

The London 2012 programme, as the largest regeneration project in Europe, achieved incredible environmental, social and economic change across East London and saw a step change in performance among the wider construction industry in areas such as health and safety, employment, and delivery to time and budget.

Independent research suggests the programme's success was largely due to the leadership displayed by the delivery partners involved, and their commitment to creating a culture of delivery excellence.

Back home, we are seeing the Government, Auckland Council and its council-controlled organisations moving towards programme-based approaches, using business cases to assess value for money and to make decisions about prioritising investment.

In a constrained funding environment, being able to unlock investment and ensure it is spent wisely is critical. So is the ability to realise some of the wider socio-economic benefits through the development process.

Of the many critical lessons that can be learned from the London 2012 Olympic delivery programme and applied here in Auckland, there are four in particular that stand out:

* Putting in place a governance structure that clearly defines who is responsible for project delivery: if we want to realise the full potential of the Auckland Plan we need to make sure clear rules of engagement are established between all the players and leveraged for maximum benefit.

* Appointing a strong, visionary leadership team with an unwavering commitment to value-for-money, health and safety, programme delivery excellence, quality and wider social outcomes: in the case of Auckland, many of these priorities could be heightened through more efficient procurement and the smarter use of incentives.

* Ensuring the client, programme manager and project teams are all resourced properly: compared to London's approach, New Zealand does not place enough emphasis on having adequate skills to run some of the larger and more complex projects. New Zealand is extremely cost-focused and there needs to be a greater shift towards value over cost. While it's true we see this starting to happen, the significant benefits to be gained from properly resourced client and consultant teams who deliver consistently better results in a shorter timeframe are still to be fully realised.

* Taking a mature approach to risk management that places greater emphasis on where risk is best managed: the widespread use of the New Engineering Contract (NEC3) helped transparently manage many of these risks away which led to significant cost savings.

It is clear that both the public and private sectors are open to innovative approaches but we need to seize the opportunity to work collaboratively to address Auckland's major project challenges. In the case of housing, we have an opportunity to not only deliver the volume required but also a skills, employment and environment legacy that will support a thriving, inclusive, liveable city for future generations of Aucklanders.

Matthew Heal is Practice Area Lead - Programme Management at AECOM, and formerly Programme Director Mace Ltd, for the London 2012 Olympic Legacy Programme