Project Risk Case Study

In this assignment, you are tasked to investigate a case study answer questions related to your learning journey throughout this module.

Individual Report 2

Task type: Individual Report

Word count: 2,500 words

Submission method: Upload your assignment through the submission portal at the bottom of this page. All submissions are automatically submitted through Turnitin.

Task: Case Study Background

Coventry rail station is one of the fastest growing stations outside of London. To meet travellers’ needs for capacity and accessibility, an £82 million redevelopment was initiated by Coventry City Council in partnership with Network Rail, Virgin Trains, Transport for West Midlands, Friargate Coventry, and other stakeholders. This project commenced in 2015 and was to be completed in time for Coventry being the UK City of Culture in 2021.

The upgrades include the following:

• A second footbridge for all platforms and extended platform canopies.
• A second station entrance building, providing step free access to platforms.
• A 633 capacity multi-story car park.
• A bus interchange in connection to the station building.
• Road improvements, including a new road connecting Central Six directly to the Ring Road and improvements to create additional capacity on Warwick Road.
• A new bay platform (this means set in off the main line so it does not impede direct London trains) to enable two trains per hour between Coventry and Nueaton.

Work has commenced on the footbridge and canopies. An extension is a new platform at Coventry Station, allowing the rail service to increase frequency from one train per hour to two. Nevertheless, the project has faced some setbacks, which has prompted for a scope reduction to keep costs under control. Risk register is partly completed. See the appendix for the risk register.

References

• Big changes as cost of Coventry station masterplan spirals – CoventryLive (coventrytelegraph.net)
• Coventry Station Masterplan

Individual work (do not collaborate with other students)

Question 1 (10 points)

Prepare a power-interest grid for relevant stakeholders and discuss different types of stakeholders in this project.

Question 2 (20 points)

Prepare a Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) for this project, and discuss possible categories of risks.

Discuss a project risk management plan for this project.

Question 3 (20 points)

Prepare a detailed likelihood-impact risk matrix using risk register in the Appendix, identify the five most important risks to the project. Discuss your selection based on likelihood, impact, the risk category in your RBS, and more generally which of the three success factors (time, cost, and quality) are affected.

Question 4 (20 points)

For each of these five risks you identified, present one mitigation and one contingency plan, based on your judgment. Identify trigger events (when to act) for both mitigation and contingencies. Discuss whether your mitigations will transfer, avoid or reduce risk.

Question 5 (20 points)

What is the mean for Probability, Impact and Composite Risk Index (CRI) in the risk register in Appendix? What is the coefficient of variation for CRI in the risk register in the Appendix? Discuss the implications of values of the mean and coefficient of variation value for CRI in this project. For the given risk register, draw an interval histogram for CRI and comment about obtained histogram.

Question 6 (10 points)

Select two of the risk IDs in the risk register and recommend a risk monitoring and control method for that particular risk. Discuss how you would implement your selected method on the selected risk. Discuss the risk management in the lifetime of this project.

Submission Instructions

1. Upload your completed assignment below before the end of week 8.
2. The word count for this assignment is 2,500 words.
3. Penalty for late submission: Standard penalties apply.
4. This assignment contributes 60% to your overall module grade.
5. This assignment requires online submission only, and you are required to submit your report once (i.e., your first submission is the final submission). The assignment will be checked for plagiarism.
6. The Harvard referencing style is currently used by the Management School. Make sure your referencing style is correct and consistent. We encourage you to use up to ten academic references to support your answers.

Appendix Risk Register:

Schema Generic

Risk ID	Status	Risk title	Risk Description	Impact / Modelling Note	Risk Measure	Probability	Impact	Risk	Mitigation	Risk Owner
REF005	Open	New Equipment fails	New equipment (e.g. cable joints) fails when commissioning the new system	Repair time will impact on commissioning	Programme delay cost	2	3
REF006	Open	Specialist staff	Specialist staff required to undertake the works may be unavailable	Specialist staff may be required and they are booked in advance	Programme delay cost	3	4
REF018	Open	Freight Operations	Unable to rationalise current freight/passenger operations to achieve business case capacity	Scheme not viable	Programme objectives	2	4
REF002	Open	Late possessions	Possessions granted late by NWR authority, works cannot be completed during possession	Additional shift costs if possessions lost	Cost	4	2
REF004	Open	Estimating uncertainty	There is uncertainty in the rates/quantities included in the base cost	-10% to +40% on construction/labour costs	Cost	3	4
REF010	Open	Infrastructure damage	Existing infrastructure may be damaged during construction	Cost of repairing/ replacing damaged equipment	Cost	1	3
REF013	Open	Polluted ground	Uncertain extent/ activity of ground contamination (e.g. PCBs)	Cost of treatment/ disposal different from expected	Cost	5	2
REF015	Open	Signalling Records	Availability of signalling records and resource to undertake any modifications	Cost of regenerating signalling records & parallel design	Cost	5	1
REF016	Open	Retail Telecoms	Lack of capacity of existing retail telecoms control centre to accommodate additional requirements at proposed new and altered stations	Increased scheme costs for upgrading existing control centres. Moderate demand requirements	Cost	2	2
REF017	Open	Cable Divsersions	Requirement to relocate/ divert general line side signalling and telecommunication assets	Increased cost of diversion/protection and timescales for Signalling Maintenance Testing Handbook (SMTH) procedures. Cables routes evident at all locations	Cost	3	3
REF019	Open	Theft and vandalism	Theft and vandalism disrupts works	Cost of replacing damaged/ stolen assets (Max equipment stolen prior to a major possession)	Cost	3	2
REF023	Open	Site clearance	Additional site clearance costs (vegetation)	May be necessary to pay for removal of vegetation	Cost	2	1
REF024	Open	Fly tipping	May be necessary to remove fly tipping materials	Additional cost of removal and disposal	2	1
REF025	Open	Japanese knotweed	May be necessary to remove Japanese Knotweed	Additional costs of specialist removal	Cost	2	1
REF026	Open	SSSI	Working in close proximity to a site of special scientific interest (e.g. Sand eels must not be disturbed)	Cost of specialist consultants	Cost	1	1
REF028	Open	Safety case	Issues associated with safety case approvals	Cost of design changes to satisfy Department of Transport	Cost	3	2
REF029	Open	Interfacing Projects	Planned interfacing enhancement/ renewal schemes	Modification to NUCKLE design to accommodate interfacing designs	2	1
REF001	Open	Weather	Exceptionally adverse weather occurs (while constructing)	Failure to achieve productivity, inability to get materials or labour to site	Schedule	2	3