Al Wahda Master Development - Case Study Example

Al Wahda Master Development Name Institution Course Date Al Wahda Master Development Introduction Located right at the heart of Abu Dhabi City, Al Wahda Master Development is one of the largest business and shopping paradise not just in Abu Dhabi, but in the entire United Arabs Emirates (UAE). The building hosts a five-star hotel with 850 rooms and apartments, has more than 400 shops, leasable office spaces, and residential apartments and is also the home to Al Wahda Football Club (APM 2013, p. 1). The project whose construction works began in 2005 was successfully completed in 2012 making it one of the most important projects in Abu Dhabi. The project was planned and implemented under the guidance of EC Harris, which is a leading consultancy firm in the region (Broomhall 2011). This project became such a big success because of effective project management that comprised of effective planning, careful coordination and management of resources and people by EC Harris. This paper analyzes how EC Harris managed to achieve its goal of building Al Wahda Master Development by looking at the success factors. Effective Project Planning Analysis of the project indicates that EC Harris was able to successfully construct the Al Wahda Master Development project because of effective project management. Portny (2013, p. 29) argues that, for any project to be successful, it must be properly managed to ensure that any risks involved is identified and eliminated before it impacts negatively on the project. EC Harris’ success in implementing the project began with good planning. Thomsett (2009, p. 72) argues that planning forms the first and most critical stage in any project management because all the other stages of a project depend on the planning stage. This implies that, when a project effectively done, chances are that the other phases would also be successfully executed. Project planning involves coming up with a master plan about the organization, project team composition, and the resource requirement for the successful completion of the project (APM 2013, p. 1). Effective Project Team Management Harris managed to deliver the Al Wahda project successfully because it began by ensuring that the project had the right manpower to deliver the project. To deliver such a mega project, EC Harris had to ensure that the project had a team of qualified engineers and architectures to come up with the master plan for the project and to ensure that the construction work is performed in the most efficient manner (APM 2013, p. 2). Other than hiring the best engineers and architects to deliver the project, EC Harris also ensured that human resources are effectively managed considering that project was being delivered by international project team comprising of people from different nationalities. Portny (2013, p. 61) indicates that the project team assembled by EC Harris comprised of people from different nationalities and cultures, including Americans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indians, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Palestinians, Portuguese and Italians among others. In total, the project had people from 31 different nationalities (APM 2013, p. 2). Working with a diverse team that is highly motivated and willing to multi-task in their roles was a critical factor in project management that ensured that EC Harris achieves his goal of ensuring successful implementation of the project. Effective Budget Management EC Harris also managed to achieve the project goals by ensuring effective budget management. Budgeting is a critical activity in project management. Portny (2013, p. 35) warns that lack of a well-planned budget is detrimental to project execution as this can lead to the project falling apart before completion. Because of this EC Harris ensured that there was a well-planned budget in place that was enough to allow the project to be implemented from the beginning to completion. EC Harris achieved this through proper cost estimation and prioritization and ensuring that no money or resources was misused throughout the project implementation. The total budget for the Al Wahda project was £400 million, which was effectively managed (Broomhall 2011). It is also important to note that EC Harris ensured that the monies were used to acquire quality materials. Thomsett (2009, p. 48) observes that many projects fail, or buildings end up developing problems during construction or few months after completion due to the use of substandard materials for construction. However, EC Harris ensured that the Al Wahda project became the best and most successfully completed project in Abu Dhabi through acquisition of quality materials, such as steel from structural construction and other materials some of which were sourced from the international markets. Effective Risk Management Risk management is regarded as a critical factor in project success. No single project is immune to risk since most projects are characterized by uncertainties. Therefore, to successfully deliver a project, Thomsett (2009, p. 45) argues that risk must be properly manage; otherwise the project might stall before completion. EC Harris success in delivering the Al Wahda project is linked to the fact that consultancy firm was able to effectively manage the risks that were involved in the project. The major risk that the Al Wahda project reportedly faced is the economic crisis of 2008 that affected the project when it was about 70% complete (APM 2013, p. 3). The global financial crisis affected the project implementation considering that the bad state of world economies resulted in a significant increase in prices of materials used in the construction works, such as steel, and concrete whose supply became unpredictable. Although many of the world projects that were similar to Al Wahda stalled, the phase two of the project continued since EC Harris had put in place contingency measures to deal with such an unforeseen risks that included contingency funds and ensuring that supply issues were planned for early enough to ensure that the project is not affected by such risks. For instance, EC Harris contracted Civilco to produce goods for the construction works and this ensured that the project continued smoothly up to completion stage. Effective Coordination Coordination is a critical process in project success. When a project is not effectively coordinated, this is a recipe for project failure. Thomsett (2009, p. 26) states that project coordination is important in project success as it ensures that the project and related processes are being implemented smoothly. In the case of Al Wahda project, coordination was important for EC Harris to achieve its objective considering that the project was being executed by teams from different nationality and cultural backgrounds, which included Arabs, Irishmen, and Egyptians among others (APM 2013, p. 2). This indicates that the multicultural mix of the management team of engineers, clients and project managers. Therefore, to ensure that the team worked effectively and efficiently, EC Harris had to ensure that the activities and processes are properly coordinated, thus contributing to the success of the project. In fact, it is reported that multicultural mix was a major barrier in the successful implementation of the Al Wahda project. However, EC Harris being an experienced project management firm was able to overcome the cultural barriers through effective coordination (APM 2013, p. 3). EC Harris achieved this by developing best practice for the team, making processes clear, and ensuring that the same was communicated to one-to-one coordination with the members of the team. Besides, EC Harris empowered its project team to assume greater responsibility and to effectively manage the processes, thus enabling EC Harris achieve its project goals (Broomhall 2011). Effective Stakeholder Management The success of a project begins with effective stakeholder management. Thomsett (2009, p. 18) notes that all projects regardless of size have stakeholders that either have an interest in the project or are affected by the development of the project. The same applies to Al Wahda Master Development project that had a number of stakeholders that were interested in the project or were being affected by the construction of this mega project. The key stakeholders for Al Wahda Master Development project included investors, suppliers, the government, environmentalists and the Abu Dhabi City residents. EC Harris succeeded in achieving the project goals because it ensured that the needs and expectations of these key stakeholders were met. First, EC Harris had adequate budget plan in place that ensured that suppliers, such as Civilco were paid in time for their supplies as the project was completed without any debt remaining, and this contributed greatly to the success of the project (Broomhall 2011). Second, EC Harris ensured that the project was approved by the Abu Dhabi City authority and the UAE, as well as the environmentalists before any construction works could begin and this played an important part in ensuring that the project was successfully executed without engaging in disputes with the government or the environmentalists. Conclusion Al Wahda is among the most vibrant business and shopping destinations in Abu Dhabi. The business and shopping paradise whose construction works began in 2005 was successfully completed in 2012 under EC Harris as the consultancy firm. As indicated in the report, EC Harris managed to successfully put up this mega project because of effective project management that included good planning, effective budget and resource management, effective risk management, proper coordination, as well as effective stakeholder management. References APM 2013, “Overseas project of the year 2012: Al Wahda Master Development, Abu Dhabi,” APM Project Management Awards, pp. 1-4. Broomhall, E 2011, EC Harris delivers Abu Dhabi's largest hotel, viewed 12 October 2016 http://www.arabianbusiness.com/ec-harris-delivers-abu-dhabi-s-largest-hotel-380198.html#.V_2aifRrJdg Portny, S. E 2013, Project management for dummies. John Wiley & Sons, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Thomsett, M. C 2009, The little black book of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, London. Read More