Download project plan group A2

TEIO12
Maglev project
–
Extension of the
Maglev Train Track
between Shanghai
and Huangzhou
Group12
Henning Autzen
Michael Cramer
Thomas Herzig
Frauke Hummelt
TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
Structure
Appendix.................................................................................................................................................. 3
0.
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 3
1.
Executive summary ......................................................................................................................... 3
2.
Background, objective and goal ...................................................................................................... 4
Goal ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
3.
Requirement specification .............................................................................................................. 6
Triangle .................................................................................................................................................... 6
3.1
Product requirement ................................................................................................................... 6
3.2
Project requirement .................................................................................................................... 6
3.3
Prerequisites................................................................................................................................ 7
4.
Handover ......................................................................................................................................... 7
5.
Situational analysis and stakeholder ............................................................................................... 8
5.1
SWOT ........................................................................................................................................... 8
5.2
Stakeholder mapping .................................................................................................................. 9
5.3
Milestones ................................................................................................................................. 10
5.4
Activity list ................................................................................................................................. 10
5.5
GANTT........................................................................................................................................ 10
6.
Organization and staffing .............................................................................................................. 11
6.1
Roles, responsibilities and authorities ...................................................................................... 11
6.2
Staffing plan............................................................................................................................... 12
7.
Budget ........................................................................................................................................... 13
8.
Communication and quality assurance ......................................................................................... 15
8.1
Reports and documents ............................................................................................................ 15
8.2
Communication plan ................................................................................................................. 16
8.3
Quality assurance ...................................................................................................................... 16
8.4
Change management ................................................................................................................ 17
9.
Risk analysis and response planning ............................................................................................. 18
Quantitative Risk Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 18
10.
Others ........................................................................................................................................ 19
Project Planning..................................................................................................................................... 19
11.
References ................................................................................................................................. 20
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
Appendix
APPENDIX 1: MILESTONES ........................................................................................................................................... 10
APPENDIX 2: ACTIVITY LIST .......................................................................................................................................... 10
APPENDIX 3: GANTT CHART........................................................................................................................................ 10
APPENDIX 4: COMMUNICATION PLAN ............................................................................................................................ 16
APPENDIX 5: QUANTITATIV RISK ANALYSIS...................................................................................................................... 18
0. Introduction
This first introduction part is about why our group A2 has chosen this project for the assignment. The
real project plan starts with chapter one and is consequently written from another perspective.
The course TEIO12 “Industrial Project Management” is about industrial projects like the course
description implies. From this point of view we changed our project from a bicycle tour to the
following project: “Extension of the Maglev train track between Shanghai and Huangzhou”.
Our group members are interested in high technology solutions as well as in the application of such
technologies. As industrial engineers, we have the understanding about the technical issues without
forgetting the costs and implementation part.
The Maglev train is an ecological solution for public transportation and will of course shorten the
travelling time dramatically. Due to this reasons, the technology will become even more interesting
in the years to come.
The project planning of a Maglev train is naturally also an ambitious infrastructure project, which is
also interesting for us.
One other aspect was also, that it is “german” technology and we are coming all from Germany. But
the Maglev technology is not very successful in Germany. It is nice to see that at least other countries
appreciate this high-tech train.
We have chosen the location in the region of Shanghai, because China is already considering the
extension of the existing Maglev track. The project becomes more realistic than by just choosing a
location randomly.
1. Executive summary
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
The project plan defines how to achieve the goal of constructing a ready to operate Maglev train
track between Shanghai and Huangzhou until 2013.
The project plan considers at first the important aspect of establishing written goals for the project
organization as well as limitations of the project. In order to define the handover for the project
sponsors and other involved parties, different requirements like product and project requirements
are formulated.
The success of any project depends on the project organization. To understand the own strength and
weaknesses, a situational analysis is done with the obligatory SWOT-analysis. To follow the direction
of the established requirements and handovers, the interests of all different stakeholders are
investigated.
In the following part, the focus lays on the different milestones and activities that are essential to
achieve the overall project goal. Tools like a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and a Gantt-chart are
used to visualize deadlines and interdependencies.
An important aspect before starting the project is the human resource management. Roles and
responsibilities are clarified and a staffing plan is made.
After staffing the project and considering the limitations, it is necessary to keep the budget if the
project should be successful. All different cost and profit centers are investigated.
A more people related part after the hard facts is the management of the project organization and
the communication plan. To assure the required quality, several quality tools are considered and a
risk analysis together with a response plan is carried out.
To sum up, the success of the project will be guaranteed by a structured, realistic and sophisticated
project plan.
2. Background, objective and goal
More than 5 years have passed since the first commercial Maglev trail in Shanghai was inaugurated.
The track connects Shanghai City with the 30km distant Pudong International Airport. The Maglev
train is the fastest railroad connection operating on a regular basis.
The construction was a project with high prestige for all involved organizations including the
technology companies Siemens and ThyssenKrupp, the Chinese government and the Chinese railroad
company.
For the two companies (Siemens and ThyssenKrupp), the track was a demonstration showing that
their high-technology train can be used on a daily basis. The two other partners gained prestige by
owning and operating the fastest commercial train on the globe.
The journey of the 30km between the two stations takes only 7minutes and 20 seconds maximum
speed of 431km/h.
Due to some reasons the Maglev train is operating at a loss. Too few passengers use the train
because of high ticket prices (compared with other means of transport) and an insufficient
connection to the public infrastructure.
The Maglev high-speed train can exploit his excellent capabilities especially on longer tracks. Since
the beginning, discussions were hold about an extension of the existing airport track. Now, the goal is
defined:
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
Goal
Goal of the project is to extend the existing Maglev railway track in China from Shanghai to
Huangzhou. With project closure it will be possible for passengers to travel not only via the
existing line from Shanghai to the Shanghai Airport, but also to have a non-stop connection
from Shanghai to Huangzhou with a track that is mainly going through sparely populated
areas. This should be achieved until 2014 and the project budget should not be exceeded.
In advance an essential pre-study was used in order to clear the specifications and the relevance of
the project. Also risks and possibilities are elaborated. During the pre-study phase, several possible
solutions were considered, like for example a high-speed train between Shanghai and Huangzhou. A
regular train connection would have been more economical from the cost perspective, but not as
much as in other comparable situations due to the fact, that no high-speed train tracks are existing
between the two cities.
The time aspect is a big advantage for the Maglev train, because the travelling time will be reduced
dramatically. Also the environmental aspect was advantageous for the Maglev train in a long term
perspective due to a less energy consumptive technology. Two more considered advantages are on
the one hand the connection to the already existing track in Shanghai and on the other hand the
prestige of the worldwide first long distance Maglev train track.
One goal is to increase the utilization of the existing Maglev train by connecting it better to the
infrastructure and make it more attractive by covering a longer distance. The second point is the
importance for the industrial partners of the project to promote their technology.
The Maglev project is not supposed to replace the existing train track and flight route from Shanghai
to Huangzhou. The Maglev is supposed to offer a faster, more regular, but also more expensive way
to go between the two cities.
The projects focus lies on the technological extension of the existing track. The project is not
supposed to plan the operation the extended track or the maintenance of the Maglev track. The
operation and the maintenance are projects on its own and have to be planned and executed by the
Chinese transportation corporation.
Also, the project is not supposed to transfer the entire technology to Chinese companies. Only the
parts that are specified in the contract are transferred. The core competence stays with Siemens and
ThyssenKrupp in Germany.
During the project, no new high technology should be invented but rather the existing high
technology should slightly be updated and then be used. No new research is to be initiated during
the project, this would consume too much time and the project would be delayed and costs would
increase strongly.
The project organization itself will manage and coordinate the main activities during the project. But
it is not the goal of the involved partners to implement all on their own. It is often of advantage to
engage specialists for the execution of special tasks, considering the project quality and costs. The
project organization will not acquire all knowledge on their own, but will instead corporate with
other companies and delegate tasks to subcontractors.
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
3. Requirement specification
Quality 50%
Triangle
Q: 50%
R: 40%
T: 10%
Resources 40%
Time 10%
3.1
Product requirement
Product requirements are a prerequisite for a project and define the characteristics of the final
product that is handed over. The time it takes for the Maglev to go from Shanghai to Huangzhou
must be less than 40 minutes considering the average velocity of 250 km/h, the distance of 169 km
and one station in between. The passenger transport must be reliable in meeting arrival and
departure times. For the safety, the rail course must be protected from objects or persons that could
cause accidents. In urban areas, shields are installed to protect people from entering a dangerous
radius around the rail course. Furthermore, the Maglev train provides an environmentally friendly
way to transport large passenger numbers.
3.2
Project requirement
It is expected that the number of passengers on the existing track from Shanghai to Huangzhou is
going to increase because of the longer distance that can be traveled by taking the Maglev and no
other means of transport. Therefore, the product quality is most important for this project to satisfy
customers and provide a positive image in the long term. This implies that many test runs and quality
assurances have to be done which could extend the time frame. Because there is no specific date
when the extension of the Maglev track has to be finished, the usage of resources is expected to be
economical rather than executing the project in the shortest time possible. Therefore, the budget of
6046,4 Mio € may not be exceeded. Furthermore, a non-disclosure agreement is set which ensures
Siemens that its confidential core technology is not revealed. Yet, the Maglev technology is delivered
as the final product to the Chinese transportation company.
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3.3
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
Prerequisites
As prerequisites for a successful project, contracts have to be fulfilled in time and in a way which
satisfies the quality requirements. The financing must be reliable so that cash flows come constantly
and at the right time to ensure the liquidity and also the progress of the project. To maintain a high
level of motivation within the project group, all members sign a contract before the execution phase
which states that everybody will continuously give their contribution to a successful project closure.
This tool is rather providing a psychological effect than legal possibilities.
4. Handover
Before the Maglev project can be handed over, it has to be implemented into the existing system.
After the track, trains and new infrastructure are finished and each part is individually tested for
proper quality and functioning, they have to be tested as a system under real working conditions.
The project team acts as reference group during the tests. The reference group can by that way
discover flaws in the new system and the integration into the existing infrastructure. The test runs
also ensure that the future working personal is properly trained before the project is handed over. To
see the final project result coming together, is an encouraging reward for the project team and helps
them to see their part in the accomplished work.
The ticket system exists for the already operating Maglev track, but the new data including the
prices, new stops and time schedule has to be integrated into the database. The ticket system is also
being tested by the reference group to ensure a smooth start from the beginning.
The Handover to the client consists of an acceptance test of the final product. Therefore a committee
consisting of members of the Chinese Government and the Chinese transportation Company is
created to test the outcome. During the test, a full day operation is run to check whether the
planned time table is feasible, the new system works as demanded and the integration into the
existing track is working flawlessly. The administration of the new Maglev track is given over and
integrated into the existing Maglev division of the Chinese transportation company. The final project
plan that shows how the project was executed and the final change protocol are handed over to the
Chinese Government and Chinese transportation company to close the handover.
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
5. Situational analysis and stakeholder
5.1
SWOT
Strengths
-
Weaknesses
Predictable technology
Efficient by using concurrent engineering
Mainly same involved partners as in the
first Maglev project
-
Opportunities
-
Concurrent engineering: coordination &
synchronization
Long distance between the different
project locations
Cultural problem in an international
project
Threats
Sub-contractors are experts in their field
Publicity for the technology
Usage of the real power of the
technology in long-distance-traffic
Subsidies because of the economical
situation
-
-
Losing control by giving tasks to subcontractors
Concurrent traffic project which
influences negatively the commitment
for the project
Risk of plagiarism
Image problems because of
dispossession
Raw material prices
Before launching a project, it is mandatory to analyse influencing factors in the current situation.
Internal and external effects can cause difficulties as well as chances during the project execution.
Seeking a successful project closure, the influencing forces must be identified and integrated into the
project plan in order to avoid problems or to use opportunities. Therefore, a SWOT analysis is applied
to map strengths and weaknesses inside the project or the organization as well as opportunities and
threats from external factors.
Due to the fact, that this project is the extension of an existing track, the stakeholders already got
experience from a similar project. Therefore, coordination and communication should go smoothly.
The predictability of the Maglev technology is also seen as a success factor. Nevertheless,
geographical and cultural aspects can become weaknesses within the project organization. While
concurrent engineering as the project model offers the chance to save time, it might cause
difficulties in the coordination and synchronization of the simultaneously developed parts.
On one hand, external risks such as rising raw material prices, plagiarism, or image problems due to
dispossession can jeopardize the project success. Concurrent traffic projects which offer passengers
another form to travel the same distance could deplete the motivation and commitment within the
project group. On the other hand, the public is interested in this highly developed technology and
subsidies are given because of the economical situation. Furthermore, the extension of the track
renders it possible to use the main advantages of this technology, which lies in the long distance.
Outsourcing parts of the project to subcontractors allows high quality expectations, but also lowers
the ability to influence and control those processes.
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
As an advantage for the project, the technology is predictable and the subcontractors are experts in
their field of profession, so that the end product will fulfill high quality characteristics. Losing control
to subcontractors and facing coordination problems due to concurrent engineering as the project
model, the project becomes vulnerable in a way that different parts will be incompatible. As a
countermeasure, meetings are held to discuss progress and changes. Furthermore, the predictability
of the technology and the experiences from the earlier Maglev project will strengthen the project
coordination.
5.2
Stakeholder
Core
Primary
Stakeholder mapping
Influencing
Chinese government
Chinese transportation
company
Siemens/Thyssen Krupp
Building contractors
Secondary
Influenced
Chinese energy provider
Residents along the track
General public
The above shown table depicts the different Stakeholders of the project. The core Stakeholders are
the three parties directly influencing and controlling the project: The Chinese government as sponsor
and client, the German consortium of Siemens and Thyssen Krupp which leads the project
management and provides most of the technology and finally the Chinese transportation company
which is going to operate the Maglev track after it is finished. This company is 100% owned by the
Chinese state, so the two could be counted as one stakeholder. However the two can be
distinguished by their scope: because the Chinese state is primarily interested in the large picture of
the project and the impact it has on its surroundings and the economy, the operating company is
counted as a separate stakeholder that is more into the details and profitability of the project.
The primary stakeholders are the contractors who are going to build parts of the project but are not
involved in making project decisions. Then there are two stakeholders that are directly influenced by
the project and therefore also primary stakeholders: The Chinese energy provider which has to
prepare its infrastructure for the increased energy demand by the Maglev track and the residents
along the track whose land property and houses are dispossessed in return to compensation
payments.
Finally there is the general public which has to accept the usage of tax money for the project in
return to the advantages for faster transportation that the Maglev provides.
The following table provides a more detailed analysis of advantages and disadvantages for all
stakeholders to understand and evaluate their expectations in the project.
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
Stakeholder
General Public
Advantage
+diversified transportation:
better quantity and quality
makes traveling easier and
more comfortable
+faster transportation by
Maglev makes travel faster
Chinese government
+revenues from Maglev
+economic growth
+cleaner environment
+less accidents
+less clogging on other
modes
+prestige object
+technology transfer
Chinese transportation
company
+revenues from Maglev
operation
Siemens/Thyssen Krupp
+revenues from project
+Maglev technology more
used(references)
+revenues
+revenues due to high energy
consumption
+possible compensation
payments
Building Contractors
Chinese energy provider
Residents along the track
5.3
Milestones
The Milestone plan is attached in the appendix.
Appendix 1: Milestones
5.4
Activity list
The Activity list can be found as MS Excel file.
Appendix 2: Activity list
5.5
GANTT
The Gantt chart can be found in the MS Project file.
Appendix 3: GANTT chart
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group A2
Disadvantage
-possibly less
expensive transportation by
other modes
-tax money spent on high tech
while majority in china can
hardly effort normal train
tickets
-costs from Maglev
-loss of revenue for other
Governmental owned modes
-complicated contracts
-costs from Maglev
-loss of revenue for other
owned modes
-technology transfer can lead to
product copies
-complicated contracts
-costs
-investments in infrastructure
-noise disturbance
-possible electromagnetic
pollution
-disturbance due to building
work
-land dispossession
TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
6. Organization and staffing
6.1
Roles, responsibilities and authorities
Clear roles and responsibilities are necessary in every project, but especially in such large project
with duration over four years and many involved partners. It is difficult to establish authorities,
because authority has to be developed. But persons like a project manager should have authority in
order to manage the project.
The roles in this project are assigned as following:
Sponsor: Chinese government
Steering committee:
o
o
o
Chinese government
Project Manager (who delivers the reports)
Core stakeholders
Chinese government
• Minister for Economic Affairs
• Minister for Transportation
• Minister for Environment
• Secretary of state
Chinese transportation company
• CEO
• CFO
Project Manager:
The Project Manager is assigned of the main industrial partner Siemens
Project group:
Involved people of the different parties
o Siemens/ThyssenKrupp
Project Manager
Coordinator of communication with subcontractors
Project Management/Administration
40 responsible engineers
o Chinese government
5 local responsible
Land survey administration
o Chinese transportation company (Construction of the track)
2 responsible for the construction of the station (coordination, surveillance)
10 responsible for the track
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Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
Responsibilities
Additional to the explained roles in the preceding chapter, responsibilities for the most important
tasks are defined.
The Chinese transportation company is responsible for the course of the track, the construction
process and the construction process of the different stations. Of course, subcontractors are engaged
to fulfill the concrete task, but the company coordinates the processes.
The two industrial companies, Siemens and ThyssenKrupp, are responsible for the trains, the
actuation technique, the energy supply, the control and communication system and for all technical
issues during the project.
The Chinese government got the role of the sponsor and is represented in the Steering committee.
The sponsor defines the most important requirements of the project and will be informed over the
project progress regularly.
6.2
Staffing plan
Resources for the staffing plan are assigned mainly from Siemens, ThyssenKrupp and the Chinese
transportation company. Engineers employed by Siemens and ThyssenKrupp are experts for
technological issues and responsible for specific subtasks within the project. In case of responsibility
for tasks which are outsourced, the engineers have to set up requirements, select the subcontractor,
and monitor the process. Furthermore, they control that the non-disclosure agreement is not
broken. Besides being in charge for the successful completion of their specific subtask, the engineers
coordinate information about decisions, changes, and reportable events within the project group.
The Chinese transportation company has members within the project group to ensure that the
progress of the project and changes are consistent with their expectations as the future operator.
Within the project group, one person is always in charge for the cooperation and communication
with a specific subcontractor. This person in charge has advanced knowledge about the task the
subcontractor is responsible for. In this way, the cooperation with the subcontractor is expected to
go smoothly. If it is necessary, one representative from each subcontractor can attend important
project meetings in order to be informed about the current status or to solve a problematic task.
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
7. Budget
The overall budget consists of internal costs, external costs, other costs and the financing. Under the
respective topic, the different cost terms are further explained. All cost terms in the project are in
Euro.
Internal costs
Staffing
In the project group work almost only engineers with different engineer backgrounds. Most of them
will work during the whole project duration in the project organization. Additionally, costs for nonpermanent project members will arise.
It is calculated with 40 Million personal costs.
Office
The project group rents office rooms in Shanghai for the whole project phase. The rooms are
equipped with usual office staff and notebooks for the project members. There will not be fixed
offices for each project members, because they will work most often outside the office. Furthermore,
one meeting room is available. Costs over 160.000 Euros are assumed for the project office and its
equipment.
Administration costs
Due to the internationality of the project with companies in Europe and Asia and the extension over
almost 200km between the two cities voyage costs with 190.000 Euros are assumed as well as
staying costs for non-permanent staff over 50.000 Euros are assumed.
External costs
The term external costs consists of costs for the construction of the track, costs for the Maglev trains
and costs for the construction respectively reconstruction of the stations at the rail course.
The costs of the project are calculated by comparing costs of similar project with the actual project.
The Maglev project between Shanghai Airport and Shanghai City is used as reference as well as other
studies to possible Maglev tracks in Germany, the United Arabic Emirates and in China. These
references were studied due to their relevance to the project.
The costs for the trains were also calculated by paying attention to the size of comparable Maglev
trains. These costs are mainly compared to the feasibility study of the Munich Maglev project.
Station costs were compared with construction of other famous stations, which were built during the
last years for example in Peking and Berlin.
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TEIO12 vt2009
Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
Track costs
These costs are calculated per kilometer of the course. The overall distance between Shanghai and
Huangzhou is 169km. The track passes the cities of Shanghai, Jiaxing and Huangzhou. In between, the
track course is planned to avoid proximity to other cities. Obviously, the requirements for a track in a
city are almost completely different to those of a track in sparsely populated regions.
The security standards are higher in the city and special arrangements for noise protection have to
be made.
This results in different costs per kilometer:
Costs per kilometer in cities:
Costs per kilometer sparsely populated regions:
47 Million per kilometer
24 Million per kilometer
The cost calculation anticipate 25km in the city of Shanghai, 15km in the smaller city of Jiaxing (but
the track hast to go completely through it) and 20km at the final destination in Hangzhou. All
together, 60km of the 169km are anticipated to be more expensive than the others.
This results in the following costs:
Costs in cities:
Costs outside cities:
60km x 47 Million per kilometer = 2.820 Billion
109km x 24 Million per kilometer = 2.616 Billion
All costs are corresponded to a double lane kilometer.
Train costs
Even if the travelling time will be around 40 minutes, the track belongs into the category of longdistance traffic. The existing Maglev train operates according to a time schedule with six trains in an
hour. On the long distance between Shanghai and Huangzhou the train is going to operate according
to a time schedule with one departure every hour.
The consortium orders three trains with a capacity for more than 400 passengers each. This results in
costs of 150 Million.
Station costs
The Maglev requires special stations and cannot automatically use normal railroad stations. To
achieve economies of scale and in order to connect the Maglev in an ideal way to the rest of the
public transportation system, it is beneficial to expand the already existing railroad stations to
Maglev compatibility.
Station in Shanghai
The existing Maglev station will be expanded in order to allow departures to Hangzhou as well as the
perpetuation of the already operating traffic. This reconstruction is required because the two
connections will be operated completely independent.
Cost for the reconstruction: 80 Million
Station in Jiaxing
Considering the existing infrastructure in Jiaxing the conclusion to build a completely new station was
drawn. The new station will be a Maglev station with perfect connection to the other infrastructure
and public transportation systems like regional trains and buses.
The construction of a completely new station with halls and buildings around is calculated with 220
Million.
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Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
Station in Huangzhou
Hangzhou has already a modern railroad station. By the pursuit of the goal of a perfect link to the
transportation system, the station will only be reconstructed for the Maglev. Costs of 120 Million will
arise.
Financing
The project is financed by the project sponsor, the Chinese government. They stand for all expenses
during the planning and implementation phase. Within the operation phase, the operator which is
the Chinese transportation company can sign a contract with the former sponsor in order to
distribute the income until the sponsor’s expenses are refinanced.
Budget
costs in million Euro
Internal costs
staffing
office
administration
40
0.16
0.24
in cities
sparsely populated
regions
2820
External costs
track costs
2616
train costs
150
3 trains
station costs
80
220
120
6046.4
Shanghai
Jiaxing
Huangzhou
Overall costs
8. Communication and quality assurance
8.1
Reports and documents
The project team members hand in reports regularly in order to inform the project manager about
the current status of progress and performance. On this way, the project manager over gives
information and reports with aggregated data about the overall project activity, time and resource
consumption, results and deviations to the steering committee. A proper registration of each report
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Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
assists to cope with the large amount of documents during the execution phase. In addition to the
regular reports, problems and special situations such as delays or strikes have to be reported
immediately to the project manager. If these obstacles occur in activities that belong to the critical
path, special attention must be paid. Nevertheless, time is less critical than the resource utilization in
this project according to the project management triangle.
Project meetings in form of information, work, decision, negotiation or evaluation meetings are held
every Monday with the entire project group. Beside these meetings, additional meetings for urgent
issues can be held at short notice in order to keep pace with the time plan. Steering committee
meetings are also held regularly, but less often. They are imperative for far-reaching decisions and at
tollgates.
The project office is located in Shanghai and gathers knowledge, information and people at the same
place in order to exchange information easily, decide quickly, and create a team feeling. As an
assistance for the project office, an intranet is established which is used to transmit information
when team members are at other locations and to retain project documents.
Frequently, the SPI is calculated and reported to the project group. The SPI performance is important
in order to finish the project on time. Simultaneously the CPI is reported as well. According to the
constraints of the project, the costs are the second most important constraint. Regular performance
measurements are necessary for the quality of the project and the successful progress of the project.
8.2
Communication plan
The communication plan is illustrated in the following table. The table illustrates who reports to
whom and when special communication events (e.g. tollgates) are established. Of importance is also
the routine of communication. Some reports for the project group has to be communicated
continuously, other reports for the steering committee only when a need or when special events (like
Tollgates) occur.
Appendix 4: Communication plan
8.3
Quality assurance
Quality assurance is a part of Project Quality Management. It is therefore important that also the
other parts like quality planning and quality audit have a high priority and are working well.
In order to achieve high quality in an organization, some quality tools have to be implemented. In a
first step commitment has to be created in the organization to give the further processes the needed
support.
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Maglev Project
Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
In the Maglev project, quality has the highest importance concerning the triple constraints.
Continuous improvement has to be followed, because only small resting phases are allowed if higher
quality levels are achieved. The two big companies, ThyssenKrupp and Siemens, are using Total
Quality Management (TQM) and continuous improvement is one of the several tools of TQM. TQM is
also used in the project organization.
Another famous and powerful tool is the PDCA-Cycle which stands for Plan-Do-Check-Act. This will
help all involved parties in the later phase of the project or even in new projects. One important
statement is that quality does not cost only poor quality costs.
The project organization has also one important advantage. The industrial partners are ISO9000
certified. Attention is paid to the selection of subcontractors. They can get only partners of they have
implemented the ISO standards and if they are using TQM.
In the specific production processes Statistical Process Control (SPC) is another tool which helps to
increase the quality level. SPC-Tools are only considered for the production or manufacturing of
specific parts and not for the project as whole. Attention should be paid to have processes under
statistical control by using these tools (histogram, control charts, stratification, Pareto-chart,...). But
the whole project is not a process and cannot be observed by these tools even if it is absolutely
necessary to use them in the concrete production processes.
During the pre-study Ishikawa diagrams are used. They are also important in the quality assurance
meetings to detect main problems. Project Risk Assessment and Project Quality Assessment deliver
the Project Management Maturity. By lowering risk values or increasing project management
maturity better results are achieved.
Regular quality meetings are important for the success. If there will be any sign of poor quality,
quality circles with the involved parties will be introduced to solve the root cause immediately.
All in all, the quality managers are not isolated in their work; every project employee is working for
the overall goal of high quality.
8.4
Change management
The Project documents are stored in a central depository in order to avoid single documents being
saved on local computers without informing others about the changes. This server has to provide
proper document version controlling in order to keep track of changes and versioning.
In case of occurring change requests, the changes have to be analyzed in aspect of their impact on
time, resources and quality. Depending on how severe the impact on the three dimensions is, these
changes are handled by different roles in the project hierarchy. If the changes are of minimal impact
(not affecting the project goal, the budget or the project time), the project manager can take the
decision by himself. Otherwise, changes are decided upon by the steering committee. Additionally
there is a change control board formed out of technical experts and experienced project members
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Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
who help to evaluate and asses the risks and impacts of changes. This advisory function for project
manager and steering committee is necessary because most members of the steering committee
(especially the Chinese government) have insufficient knowledge of all the details of the Maglev
technology.
All changes are to be tracked in a centralized change protocol. There has to be a regular report of all
performed changes by the project manager to the steering committee.
9. Risk analysis and response planning
Quantitative Risk Analysis
In a high technology array project always several risks have to be handled. During the long duration
different risks have to be considered.
In the following part the risks of the table are explained and a suitable risk response strategy is
presented.
Appendix 5: Quantitative Risk Analysis
Claiming residents: There is a high probability of claiming residents. During pre-study and earlier
similar projects have been some public demonstrations even in China. This can delay the project and
occupies resources during long processes at court. One response is an adjusted rail course to avoid,
that the track goes through resident areas in the cities. An alternative response is noise protection
around the track.
Misuse of technology: Unfortunately plagiarism is widely spread in China. This is a threat for hightechnology companies and projects. The risk response is a non-disclosure agreement.
Soil quality: There is a risk that the soil quality is not adequate for the Maglev track. Later changes in
the track course would increase costs or complex solutions will be necessary which also increases
costs. Therefore extended and detailed soil analyses are made before the construction will be started
and several high-technology solutions are available.
Rising prices for raw materials: In 2009, raw material prices are on a very low level due to the
international financial crisis. Increasing prices has to be considered since international economy will
recover sooner or later. For the project, contracts with suppliers guarantee the 2009 price of raw
materials or only a little bit higher prices during the whole project duration. Financial contracts like
forwards are also used.
Delay in delivery of raw materials: Only reliable suppliers and sub-contractors are becoming
partners. So risk of shortages of raw materials is minimized.
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Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
Ground acquisition: In infrastructure projects, ground has to be purchased. Before the execution
phase of the project will start, all negotiations with the land owners are terminated and the needed
land will be acquired. This is guaranteed by early negotiations and compensation for the owners.
Technical difficulties in rail course: Even if there is already existing one Maglev track in Shanghai,
technical problems can maybe occur in this project. To handle this risk, high skilled project members
are engaged. The risk is also minimized by detailed planning and simulations as well as for its costeffective.
Delay due to difficulties in contract negotiations: In this large project, a lot of sub-contractors are
engaged because they are experts in executing these special required tasks. Of course, individual
contracts are set up with each contractor to specify the task and the payment. Delays in the
negotiations are avoided by engaging well-known sub-contractors of the first Maglev project and
other reliable companies which are known for good supplier relationships.
Corruption: Chinas rank on the international corruption index is not the best. Also large industrial
projects are said to be especially susceptible for corruption. The project organizations corporate
governance is organized in order to avoid corruption. Also transparency plays an important role and
even an internal anti-corruption team is engaged.
Communication problems due to internationality: Communication between people of different
countries is never as easy as between people of the same country. The differences vary especially
between the western attitude and the attitude in China. One response to avoid poor communication
is the inclusion of several project members who have been involved in the first Maglev project in
Shanghai and other high skilled stuff which is employed to work in international teams.
10.
Others
Project Planning
The concurrent engineering approach is used as project model for the overall project. The extension
of the Maglev project is mainly divided in three independent tasks: The track, stations and the train.
Also other activities can be started and implemented in a parallel way. The main risk by
implementing concurrent engineering is the synchronizing after the tasks are finished. This risk is
mitigated or even avoided by only considering the track, the stations and the trains as parallel tasks.
There does not exist a software/hardware conflict which causes often problems in the final
synchronization. The main advantage of concurrent engineering in this project is the reduced
duration. Independent activities are completed at the same time which shortens the project make
span.
Due to the size of the project and due to the fact that some tasks could even regarded as own small
projects, not only one project model is used. After breaking down the activities in the three
mentioned main tasks, these are dealt with by using sequential development or the so called
“waterfall model”. On the lower levels the main focus is put on quality aspects and risky methods
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Extension of the Maglev Train Track between Shanghai and Huangzhou
group A2
are avoided. This method guarantees an excellent quality while the time aspect is held on the top
level by using the concurrent engineering.
There will not be any difficulties in the coordination of sub-projects with different planning models,
because it would not be possible to carry out such a large high-technology array project at once.
11.
References
World Wide Web:
www.vr-transport.de/transrapid
www.transrapid.de
www.thyssenkrupp.com
www.siemens.de
Literature:
Bo Tonnquist, Project Management, Bonniers 2008
Stefano Tonchia, Industrial Project Management: Planning, Desing, and Consutrction, Springer, 2008
Croenenbroeck, Wolfgang: Internationales Projektmanagement. Cornelson, 2004, ISBN 3-589-236000
Hobbs, Peter: Professionelles Projektmanagement. Moderne Verlagsgesellschaft, 2002, ISBN
3478860148
Willie Tan von Taylor & Francis Ltd, Principles of Project Infrastructure Finance, 2007
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