Managing and Controlling Complex Airport Construction

Projects
Introduction

View Figure 1

Restrictive budgets, fast paced communications and just-in-time delivery make

for demanding owners/clients. In order to compete, players in the construction
industry must streamline operations and seek out ways to improve, innovate and
shorten the building cycle on their projects.

The purpose of this paper is to share experience and insight in the hope that
players in the industry may take advantage of some of the unique characteristics
of airport work and utilize these for their construction project. The remarks are
structured, not so much on the tools, new technology, or on project management
ways, but rather on the techniques that are used in the execution of airport
projects; strategies and principles used to effectively manage the assignment
and to deliver satisfying results to the airport owner.

This presentation will refer to a few past airport projects undertaken by the firm,
Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM), and more specifically to the new terminal project
at L.B. Pearson International Airport (LBPIA).

View Figure 2

The LBPIA terminal project is currently the largest building project ongoing in
North America, with estimated costs at some $1.7 billion. HMM, among other
assignments at the airport, is responsible for the civil engineering and airside
works for the new terminal.

Why look at airport projects in a forum discussing construction technology and

innovation? The simple reason is that airport projects, especially the LBPIA
terminal, epitomize the challenges and demands facing every developer, owner,
contractor and design professional on any large construction project.

View Figure 3

Airports have come along way from an open grassed airfield with a small one
storey terminal building. Todays airport projects are commercial drivers,
with many components, features and systems. They are not just stations or
nodes in a transportation network;

They transcend the traditional on-time and on-budget prime directives;

they are the quintessential just-in-time capital investment in infrastructure;

They push the development envelope with challenges that must be dealt
with in a careful, sensitive, comprehensive and benevolent manner in order to
guide the project to a successful conclusion.

Notwithstanding cost and schedule parameters, the successful proponent must

address a variety of issues, pre-requisites and needs in order to deliver a winning
project. After the euphoria of winning a project wears off, reality sets in, and
efforts must focus on execution and project delivery. In other words, the designer
and contractor must:

1. Manage and execute the project successfully, and

2. Satisfy the owner.

It is simply not enough to prepare an error free design or to organize an efficient

construction procurement program. Successful projects must also satisfy owners.
The product must not only be of high quality, but must also be perceived as being
the best.

The following points summarize techniques used to effectively manage an

airport project and to deliver owner satisfaction.

1. Deliberate Organization, Planning and Preparation

Careful and deliberate preparation before embarking on any project pays many
dividends. This rule is universally true, whether it be for an airport authority
committing to a capital project, or to a contractor scheduling and managing
resources on the site. Pre-construction is a hugely important issue, and the
delivery of the final product is very dependent on careful preparation, frank
discussion with all stakeholders and, most important, with the owner.

All projects must have work plans to succeed. This is job one. You are simply
dead without one. Work plans at HMM are integral to all projects. They are part
of the firms ISO 9000 quality assurance program, and once committed to, they
are run with the precision of a military campaign. Work plans define who does
what, when and how. They are typically developed by the Project Manager,
reviewed by the Project Principal and generally require the sign-off by the
owner/client before proceeding.

Careful deliberate up-front planning is crucial to the success of the project. It is at

this point owner objectives are clearly laid out with realistic budgets and
schedules, prior to selecting design professionals and pre-qualifying contractors.

View Figure 4
Figure 4 illustrates graphically the relationship of a projects life-cycle cost over
time. Where there is more thought and preparation in the early stages of a
project, potential savings are high and the costs to implement are low. Once
construction commences, changes are expensive with diminishing benefits.

Many times, however, changes during construction are unavoidable. Thus, the
matter of change control becomes an issue. If not managed properly, changes on
a project cause problems. They can adversely impact people relations; they
affect quality and delay the schedule. These can lead to poor economic results.
This problem is easily avoided if there is open and frank discussion in the
planning stage with all parties to understand the impact of changes, how ways
are to be dealt with to avoid changes, and to organize a process to deal with
changes.

2. Understand the Environment of your Project

View Figure 5

Every project has its unique conditions. The seasoned professional studies and
makes every attempt to understand these prior to engaging into a major
commitment. The airport presents a number of unique challenges and
circumstances to the project team. Some of these include:

A pre-requisite for specialized know-how

Aircraft are big, buildings are huge; the scale can be overwhelming
Efficient processing of passengers and dealings with airlines is both an art
and a science
Airport systems are complex
In addition to standard building codes, there are special aviation and
international codes and non-typical operating procedures that must be
followed

High cost/High tech characteristics
LBPIA Terminal building $1.7B; 70 gates (i.e. some $25M per gate)
Large aircraft cost $150M each
Ever changing IT needs

Plethora of stakeholders
Owner
Airlines
Government agencies
Concessionaires
Ramp service providers
Hotels
Parking
Airside Operations
 Landside Operations
US Pre-clearance
Security
RCMP
Flight Kitchens
NavCanada
General Aviation
Fuelling
Fire Fighting
Cargo
Physical Plant and Services
Local Municipalities and citizen groups

Safety and security

Demanding and sophisticated owners
Profit, Capital, Life-cycle costs
Return on Investment
Competition
Risk

Unique operating environment
Flexibility to airlines
Adaptability to change
Air and water quality
Long lead times
Changing technology
Passenger demands

High visibility
Politically charged environment
Always subject to public view

Airports are cities to themselves. Even the smaller ones are complicated. Owner,
designer and contractor alike must know the project objectives, know what is
required, know what is possible and what is not. It makes good sense to spend a
small amount of time and money up front to establish the needs and to develop a
well thought out terms of reference. There may be unforeseen and expensive
penalties if this advice is not heeded.

View Figure 6

A recent lesson-learned example is a project that HMM completed in the

Caribbean, where the client purchased land for a complete airport before all the
planning studies were complete. The land acquisition did not incorporate
adequate height and zoning needs to facilitate longer term planning. As a result,
the design plan for the terminal facilities could only be accomplished by locating
landside parking in less than ideal areas.
 3. Structure Winning Teams for your Project

As mentioned previously, the complexity of airport development projects will

often necessitate a variety of specialties and skills to cover the many aspects of
the project. We all know that in todays competitive workplace, successful players
are typically those who can deliver on all fronts and who are equipped with the
comprehensive skill-set required for the job.

In addition, airport authorities, under the publics eye and who are under pressure
to deliver facilities quickly and efficiently are generally more agreeable to multi-
player teams. These multi-player teams, by their nature, spread the work around
(always a politically astute consideration) and give the airport owner a degree of
comfort knowing that with a sizeable array of players, critical mass is maintained
and there should never be a personnel resource problem.

View Figure 7

As such, teaming on airport projects has gained new heights for both design
professionals and construction contractors in the industry. For example, at
Torontos LBPIA, there are three high profile architectural firms who have joined
forces as the Lead Architect. In turn, this Lead Architect on the project has no
less than 18 individual sub-consultant firms working together under their
collective stewardship. A similar trend is seen with other consultant and
contractor appointments at LBPIA and on other major airport projects around the
world.

The message is that ones successful appointment for a major project at an

airport is greatly enhanced with a multi-team approach. Lessons learned in
keeping with a strategy for effective partnering include:

View Figure 8

Acquiring a specialty (and being good at it) that will be sought after in a team
selection process.

Work hard at developing and nurturing relationships and networks.

Provide a mind-set and ethic that is not greedy, or overbearing.

Develop a work culture that places value on flexibility and cooperation.

Avoid alienating your competitor. They are your future team-partners on other
projects. Alienating a rival firm today may destroy your chances to partner
with them on a project tomorrow.

4. Be Flexible and Innovative

When dealing with complicated airport projects, the pre-requisites of flexibility

and innovation go without saying. On the LBPIA project, although the project is
only into the first stage of a 10 year program, there are already a number of
examples that readily showcase these characteristics in real life. Two of these,
obvious to any recent traveler through LBPIA, are the tunnel detour into Terminal
1 and the new terminal frontage road construction.

Figure 9 shows an artists rendering of the intended design for both.

View Figure 9

The owner needs required uninterrupted access and services to Terminal 1

operations while the new terminal building was being constructed. As there was
no way to access Terminal 1 from outside the construction area, being flexible
meant that a tunnel be located directly underneath the new building, through the
middle of the construction site. Innovative design and scheduling techniques
were employed to implement this detour while under full terminal operating
conditions. This meant without interruption to access, building services, vehicular
traffic, airline operation or to any passenger inconvenience. All this was done in
the midst of the Air Canada and Canadian merger, which involved numerous
airline relocations into other terminals and a makeover for Terminal 1 to suit Air
Canada international departures.

View Figure 10

Another example featuring flexibility and innovation in both design and

construction are the frontage roads for the new terminal building. Project
highlights for these include:

Design of a complicated post-tensioned double deck bridge system, including

architectural limits on structural depths and column sizes and with extensive
deck openings for light wells and future curb-side baggage check in stations.

Design of bridge integration with the building since the inner departures level
deck forms the roof of a portion of the new terminal building in an area over
the inhabited space of the arrivals greeters hall.

Use of cast-in-place high performance concrete system.

An innovative shoring method, using long span, high load structural systems
for support of falsework.

Extensive coordination with existing and planned utilities, construction staging

and concurrent adjacent construction.

Planning and detail designs to meet structural as well as traffic planning,

airport planning and construction staging requirements as well as designing to
both bridge and building design parameters.

Development of provisions for environmental, air quality and landscaping
elements.

Designing the system to be used as a staging platform to facilitate

construction of the terminal building.

5. Explore Alternative Delivery Means

The conventional project delivery method is well understood and practiced in

North America. This includes traditional design followed by implementation using
a general contractor. Many airport projects are implemented using this tested
formula. However, there are new forces shaping airports in Canada and
throughout the world and we see many airport authorities, contractors and other
stakeholders looking at new ways to deliver their construction projects. These
forces are a result of privatization, which generally translate to faster
implementation, a need for better returns on investment and more intense
commercial activities. As a result, we have seen a new breed of project delivery
systems, some of which include:

View Figure 11

Design Blitz followed by Multiple Bid Packages

Designers meet with the owner at a remote location for intense
concentration on the design. Typically done at concept and schematic
design stages.
Project divided into distinct bidding packages, each with its own team,
under the direction of a Construction Manager.

Design-Build
Single point responsibility for both design and construction vested with
one entity.

Construction Management/Fast Tracking
Designing the project as it is being built
Construction Manager responsible for general conditions
Many sequential bid packages

Single Sourcing
Last resort, but sometimes becomes necessary due to unforeseen
circumstances
Example is recent Vista Cargo project at LBPIA

View Figure 12

Vista is the operator of one of LBPIAs main cargo facilities. Last year, they
required an immediate expansion to their aircraft parking apron to accommodate
the introduction of larger aircraft by Fed-Ex. With winter quickly approaching,
there was little time to carry out a conventional design followed by general
contract construction. The project also involved edge-lighting, taxiway fillet
construction and the installation of tethering devices for the wide-bodied air
freighters. It also involved developing a strategy to keep apron fully operational
with on-going construction works. The only strategy that could work given the
challenges at hand was a non-stop design effort followed by single sourcing a
contractor.

The results were record breaking: 18 continuous days (and nights) to design and
construct the required apron expansion. The owners apprehension of going to a
single sourced contractor, Dufferin Construction, was soon dissipated by the
contractors professional, flexible and reasonable approach to both execution and
implementation costs.

There are lessons to be learned here. Owners should not be averse to

considering single source delivery methods where uncontrolled situations arise.
Contractors should hone their skills and be prepared to negotiate single sourced
contracts.

6. Mitigate Risk

View Figure 13

Every project has its risks, be they for the owner, the designer or contractor.
Although one will never eliminate risk, especially on a complicated airport project,
efforts can always be directed to reduce the risk. If carefully managed, the
likelihood for successful project delivery leading to a satisfied owner is
maximized.

It makes sense contractually and commercially to mitigate risk. One can deal with
this issue from the start by employing the following:

Involve the Owner/Client

Involve the client in preparation of the work plan and with design
reviews
Endeavor to get sign-offs on major milestones during the design
Early and honest discussions on budget and schedule
Ensure a fair system for incorporating changes

Synchronize the Design Progress with Cost Expectation

Designs should exhibit +/- variation that is consistent with degree of
accuracy.
Example: Preliminary estimates carry a design contingency of 30%.
This should be a measure of the changes possible at this point. As
 submittals approach the 100% tender stage, the cost estimate reflects
a diminishing contingency.

Be Aware of Market Forces

Market forces can affect a projects outcome, especially if the project
runs for extended periods.
Issues can affect an airport project very quickly. These can include
sudden variation in air travel demand brought on by airline mergers
and alliances, price of oil, entry of larger and heavier aircraft, political
instability etc.
Develop a master plan for development, suitable for the big picture, but
which can be staged incrementally.
Provide flexibility in the design to suit future market forces, especially
when such changes impinge on schedule and cost parameters.

Never Underestimate Commissioning

Complex systems need appropriate shake-down time before coming
on-line. Experiences in past airport projects at Denver and at Hong
Kong are recent examples where malfunction and delays where
documented on opening day. Airports are complicated systems with
many parts, many stakeholders, many interests. It is indeed necessary
on such projects to build in enough time at the end of the installation to
test and commission operations before they become the subject of
media bashing and the like.

Conclusion:

By our brief look at airport projects, we can examine ways and means to deliver
successful projects. There are simple and basic rules to follow, independent of
todays e-mail, computers and IT, and the need for instantaneous delivery and
production. A successful project will always include:

View Figure 14

Clear objectives

Opportunity for scope definition

Responsive design

Real budgets

Good team

Integrated communication

A deliberate work plan featuring aggressive management

Good control of changes

Thorough understanding and involvement of the Owner with rapid decision
making
There is no doubt that the construction sector is in the midst of an economic
boom, with demanding owners and developers. In order to maintain market share
and profitability there is a need for better and more efficient execution. By study
and analysis of certain airport projects, there are lessons to be learned, many of
which can be employed to make the typical construction project better and a
greater success.