Project/Program Name: Positive Train Control (PTC)
Description: Federally mandated program to improve railroad safety by enforcing speed profiles that automatically enforce signal indications and ensure that trains cannot enter speed zones at excessive speed. Project entailed installation of PTC equipment on 340 cars/locomotives and 560 track mi of railroad, and at 120 radio sites, together with the installation of 220 mi of fiber optic cable for system communications.
Project Owner: NJ TRANSIT
Stakeholder Agencies/Departments/Suppliers: NJ TRANSIT Rail Operations, NJ TRANSIT Capital Programs, NJ TRANSIT Network Services, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Communications Commission, NJ State Historic Preservation Office, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, Parsons Transportation, Alstom Signaling, HNTB
Involvement: project scheduling, project controls, configuration management, contract management, claims management, project risk management (as NJ TRANSIT employee)
Notable Challenges: project understaffed, inadequate budget, missing scope, institutional complexity, political oversight/sensitivity, IT support, organizational impact, technical immaturity, delay claims, supplier capacity, management changes, demand for PTC technicians exceeds industry supply, slow procurement process, regulatory deadlines
Results Achieved: Reduced typical change order delays from eight months to three. With help of supportive project management, established realistic budgets, enforced contract provisions, and successfully reversed the growth rate of claims and backlogs.
Critical Actions: Initiated formal risk management, led integration of required configuration management procedures, analyzed contract scope, specifications, budget and schedule, identified missing project deliverables, directed development of a comprehensive cost-loaded master schedule, developed cash flows and forecasts, established traceability from test plans to requirements, directed planning for delivery of missing scope, analyzed needs for additional staff and consultant support, instituted change control and entitlement analysis, tied consultant support fees to defined deliverables, established formal document management and follow up, developed estimation and trend analysis templates and coached consultant staff in creation of risk-adjusted estimates, forecasts, scorecards and dashboards for management reporting. Engaged procurement staff, established standard templates for entitlement analysis, probabilistic cost estimation, proposal evaluation, cost analysis and change order documentation. Trained staff and consultant support to improve consistency of procurement process.
Period of Involvement: 2014 - 2017