Mitigating the risk of planning consent delay at a major transport authority
- OverviewRead more
During the summer of 2005 we analysed the progress of Transport for London's (TfL) £12 billion Investment Programme (IP) for the capital's transport system. Our findings highlighted the strategic risk present in the large number of projects in the construction portfolio which required complex planning approval. It was recognised that the various consent approvals processes were inherently risky and as such our involvement was required to better equip TfL to identify, assess and mitigate this risk at a cross-modal level. Our approach was to improve programme and project (PPM ) delivery while laying a strong foundation for TfL's planning consent capability through the introduction of user-friendly guidance materials, training and competency identification. The intention was to facilitate understanding amongst all employees in TfL of the planning consents required for projects within the IP. This has led to a significant decrease in strategic risk through effective execution of approval processes and more realistic estimation of consent timescales and costs.
- Our client's challengeRead more
We analysed the progress of Transport for London's (TfL) £12 billion Investment Programme (IP) and our findings highlighted strategic risk in relation to the large number of projects in the construction portfolio requiring complex planning approval.
We recognised the various consent approval processes were inherently risky and, TfL, needed to better understand this systemic risk and improve the knowledge and processes required to best navigate this important aspect of a project's lifecycle.
Following reviews of 'best practice' in gaining consent approvals, a Chief Officer sanctioned working group formulated a number of recommendations.
These recommendations set out to better equip TfL to identify, assess and mitigate this risk at a cross-modal level – ultimately to reduce the risk of planning consent delay to the IP - by improving programme and project delivery.
- Our responseRead more
The recommendations formed the mandate for project ACORN and we were commissioned to deliver them. We delivered a strong foundation for TfL to grow its planning consents capability. We worked closely with all business units to deliver the following:
- Designed and developed an intranet solution enabling access to all relevant planning consents information. We designed a simple series of steps that leads the user through the identification of consent types relevant for a given project, pointing the user towards specific guidance notes.
- Created user-friendly guidance materials for each key planning consent type and related subject areas. Working closely with experts across TfL to both create and review content, we produced a number of easy to read and content rich documents that captured the 'lessons learned' across past TfL projects.
- Developed training materials and delivered initial training. We designed and led the delivery of the inaugural training session attended by approximately 100 individuals across the business. A training programme of a further seven training modules was defined and handed back to the business for ongoing delivery.
- Defined specific planning consents related competencies and identified both permanent staff and contractor experts in TfL with these competencies. This data was turned into a 'Directory of Expertise'.
- Presented organisation re-structure options. The options outlined different organisational models to better internalise the support capabilities required - reducing the 'fragmentation' of knowledge across the organisation and reducing the dependency on external support.
- Designed and developed an intranet solution enabling access to all relevant planning consents information. We designed a simple series of steps that leads the user through the identification of consent types relevant for a given project, pointing the user towards specific guidance notes.
- The value to our clientRead more
All employees across TfL now have access to simplified process descriptions and tips that facilitate understanding of the planning consents required for projects within the IP. The training programme has enabled TfL to be self-sufficient in the improvement of its in-house capability. This combined with the guidance materials, decreased the planning consent risk to its IP through more effective execution of approval processes and enables a more realistic estimation of consent timescales and costs.
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