Managing flood risk with digital project controls

The erosion of our nation’s coastline, and the escalating frequency of riverbank breaches, serve as sobering reminders of the increasing influence of climate change.

Our collective endeavours remain steadfastly focused on fostering sustainable, resilient, and healthier communities. By cultivating an environment within our project organisations that nurtures innovation and challenges conventional practices, we can strive to attain superior outcomes and forge a path toward progress.

In support of this goal, integrated project controls deliver critical project data to enable effective decision-making, while facilitating a timely delivery, within budget and at the right quality. Digital ensures this is delivered reliably, predictably and in a cost-effective way. 

Robust project controls play a pivotal role in effectively navigating the complex landscape of major water and Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) projects and programmes. They provide a structured framework for planning, monitoring, and managing the various projects and programmes, ensuring efficient execution and timely delivery of desired outcomes.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for a lot of current projects, but digitally-enabled project controls can radically improve efficiency, restoring clarity, confidence, and resilience to both planning and delivery.

However, the workforce resource pool is getting smaller due to skills shortages, meaning a step change is needed to take the industry forward. The slow rate of change in the profession and cautious external adoption has limited its game-changing potential. If we want to solve the challenges of today, we must begin to unleash the promise of tomorrow’s solutions.

Data-driven to succeed

 The core of an advanced, effective project-controls approach is data-driven analytics. Modern projects are very complex, ambitious, and increasingly futuristic, involving a wide range of contractors, stakeholders, and partners. The result is the slowing down of decision making and subsequent inefficiencies. Technology has the power to cut through these complexities to provide a clear line of sight from a holistic view through to the granular detail, providing real-time, unbiased monthly updates, utilising past project data to uncover and manage risks.

Although this sounds simple in theory, it can be complicated in practice. The tools that work with data are only as good as their input; non-standardised data formats, repetitive manual data entry and siloed systems create confusion rather than clarity. Poor data maturity holds back the range of benefits that digital technology and analytics can bring and lead directly to a lack of trust. It is therefore critical to ensure consistent, high-quality data collection practices are embedded in projects from the very start, allowing the full potential of AI, data analytics and collaboration to be unlocked.

Start as you mean to go on

 We also need to change the way we work, and even more importantly, the way we work together.

Leadership is an integral catalyst for change. Making sure leaders prepare workforces for change with clear messaging as to ‘the why,’ and the subsequent benefits to individuals, along with providing an empowering and delegated authority to innovate and make change happen, are all vital components.

AtkinsRéalis brings a myriad of experience and supports clients through the process to flourish in a successful digitised programme management organisation. We believe that a holistic, collaborative approach must speak to the range of maturity across every project, simplifying where practical and upskilling; that starts right at the beginning, with a dedicated transition team preparing the Project, implementing processes, and delivering training to ensure that everyone is ready to hit the ground running.

True collaboration is at its most effective when systems are set up to pull all data into an only source of truth - a comprehensive, scalable project dashboard using a common information management language. Once a common framework is established, the diversity of thought and expertise across a project becomes an asset rather than a hindrance.

In the UK, AtkinsRéalis is leading the PMO (Portfolio Management Office) and project controls functions on many major project and programmes, including the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), a transformational, cross-industry approach to delivering a programme under an industry-first collaborative model

Time to shine

 It’s hard to break the habits of a lifetime, but the promise of technological change will always be held back unless accompanied by behavioural change. From the simple creation of schedules, to drone surveying, technology exists to make digital control roles less labour-intensive, less reactive, and more proactive.

To unlock its full potential, change methodologies and structures must change to enhance the possibilities of technology, learning and implementing the lessons of the past. We must innovate and invest in people, from practitioners to clients, suppliers to contractors; upskilling and uplifting so that problems can be shared, and impactful solutions delivered.

Digital programme management is the future. Accelerating the evolution of project controls is essential to improve the delivery of projects to ensure we counter the trend towards disastrous overruns and overspends. With greater predictability, visibility of real value, and a continued stream of operational insight, projects will be transformed to deliver optimal results for clients.

Better yet, the more advanced analytics become, the faster we can adapt and improve decision-making more widely; that starts with how we act and invest today. If we can boldly employ existing technology, and integrate it within innovative new frameworks, the sky really is the limit.

Driving innovation

 In the face of ever-increasing major water and Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) projects and programmes, project controls and digital programme management play a pivotal role in our quest for resilience and sustainability. As our coastlines erode and riverbanks breach more frequently, the need for effective portfolio and programme management becomes increasingly evident.

Project controls provide the framework for assessing risks, allocating resources, and monitoring progress, ensuring that initiatives aimed at combating climate change and building resilient communities stay on track.

By fostering innovation and challenging conventional practices within project organisations, we not only enhance our ability to respond to climate challenges, but also pave the way for progress and realise outcomes in our collective effort to address the flood risk.