Project Management: Detailed Analysis of The Shard London Project

This report provides a detailed analysis of the project management of The Shard London, a prominent architectural landmark. It begins with an overview of the project, highlighting its design and construction, including the hands-on approach and secure environment. The report then delves into the factors contributing to the project's success, such as the high-quality architecture, innovative construction procedures, effective communication, and a top-down construction approach. It also identifies the challenges encountered, including budget overruns, delays due to weather and logistical issues, and the complexities of the construction approach. Furthermore, the report discusses the strategies employed to overcome these challenges, such as effective scheduling, the use of specialized systems for air quality and exhaust control, and the jump-lift construction method. Finally, it outlines the key lessons learned from the project, emphasizing the importance of a strong foundation, meticulous planning, effective communication, and a clear vision. This report is a valuable resource for understanding the complexities and successes of large-scale construction projects, like The Shard, and provides insights into effective project management strategies.

Running head: PROJECT MANANGEMENT
Project Management: Shard London
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
About the Project.............................................................................................................................2
Project Success................................................................................................................................2
Problems associated with the Project..............................................................................................3
Overcoming the Challenges.............................................................................................................4
Lessons Learnt.................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5

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About the Project
The Shard is a well known iconic landmark building in London. It is located towards the
south side of River Thames (Parker, Sharrat and Richmond 2012). Its height is 306 m. It is
considered to be the tallest building in the Western part of Europe.
The Shard project was completed in the year 2013. This project had followed a hands-on
approach. Careful attention was paid on the various other components of the construction that
were involved in the Shard project (Walker 2015). The people involved in the project had
worked out of hours. The project was carried out in a highly secured environment. The Test
Engineers had played significant role in the planning stage of the project. Senior engineers, site
supervisors, operatives and the team leaders were responsible for the installation process of the
project.
Project Success
The architecture that was proposed for Shard tower was of highest quality. The aim of
this project was to build a vertical city with striking architecture that would incorporate retail,
apartments, hotel, offices and restaurants (John Parker 2013). The project was completely
successful in implementing this concept. Several innovative procedures had been adopted for
finding fast methods of delivering the project without any delay. The constant flow of
communication between CAM’s Senior Project Manager, Shard’s developer, principal
contractor and the end customer of CAM played a significant role in the success of the project.
A top down project construction approach was used for delivering the project on time.
Jump lift strategy was used where installation works and shaft construction had continued above

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operational lift (Ctbuh.org 2017). This strategy was implemented in Europe for the first time and
facilitated efficient and safe distribution of materials and operatives across the site. This project
is also considered to be energy efficient.
The project success is measured in terms of project scope, schedule, budget and the
project quality. The Shard project had achieved its objective of building a vertical city (Wallace
2017). This project had met the requirements of the client within the scheduled time and budget.
The high quality of the project was also responsible for its success (Mace.world 2017). The
reason behind the success of this project was the strong management as well as the effective
installation process that was carried out during the project execution phase.
Problems associated with the Project
Budget: The contractor of the Shard project had presented a contract of around 350
million pounds. It was a fixed-price contract. This budget had exceeded more than 400 million
pounds (Wallace 2017).
Delay: The other issue that was faced during the execution of the project was delay due
to weather issues due to high wind.
Busiest station: The Shard was built in a busy transport station and this led to logistic
issues. Maintaining safety of the people was one of the main challenges in the Shard project.
Construction approach: The top down construction approach had also led to several
challenges. The unique architecture of the building posed engineering challenges as well.

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Overcoming the Challenges
Proper flow of communication and innovative strategies has helped to overcome the
mentioned challenges and achieve success. Effective project scheduling was done that ensured
right equipments were used at the right time (Kerzner 2013). VENTEX systems were installed
for maintaining the air quality. Air quality was constantly monitored. RAVEX systems were
installed for controlling exhaust fumes (Rvtgroup.co.uk 2017). These systems solved the safety
issue of the project. Jump-lift construction has helped to overcome certain challenges of this
project (Ctbuh.org 2017). The equipments were properly maintained to avoid equipment
breakdown. Strong project management team helped to overcome the budget related and delay
issues.
Lessons Learnt
Lessons learnt during the execution of the Shard project are:
Strong foundation: The main lesson that was learnt during the project execution was that
the foundation of the building plays a critical role in the success of any construction project.
Strong planning: Something magnificent can be built even in a small area with a proper
plan. Effective strategy must be developed to overcome challenges (Fewings 2013).
Strong communication: Constant flow of communication is mandatory for the success of
any project.
Strong vision: Correct vision of the finished product helps to develop strong construction
logic (Chapman 2014).

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References
Chapman, M.R., 2014. The Rules of Project Risk Management: Implementation Guidelines
for Major Projects. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Ctbuh.org.,2017. The Shard, London. [online] Available at:
http://www.ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/FeaturedTallBuildings/FeaturedTallBuildingArchive201
3/TheShardLondon/tabid/6020/language/en-US/Default.aspx [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
Fewings, P., 2013. Construction project management: an integrated approach. Routledge.
John Parker, M.A., 2013. Engineering The Shard, London: tallest building in western
Europe. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 166(2), p.66.
Kerzner, H., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Mace.world., 2017. The Shard | Mace World. [online] Available at: http://mace.world/mace-
world/better-business/the-shard/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
Parker, J., Sharratt, M. and Richmond, J., 2012, September. The Shard, London, UK:
response of arches to ground movements. In Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
Engineers-Bridge Engineering (Vol. 165, No. 3, pp. 185-194). Thomas Telford Ltd.
Rvtgroup.co.uk., 2017. [online] Available at: https://rvtgroup.co.uk/cmsrvt/uploads/shard.pdf
[Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].
Walker, A., 2015. Project management in construction. John Wiley & Sons.

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Wallace, D., 2017. Project managing the Shard. [online] Blog.learningpeople.co.uk.
Available at: http://blog.learningpeople.co.uk/project-managing-the-shard [Accessed 28 Oct.
2017].