Risk Analysis and Mitigation Plan: Sydney Metro Northwest Project

This project management case study analyzes the Sydney Metro Northwest project, focusing on risk assessment and mitigation strategies. Part A provides an overview of the project, its rationale, key features, funding mechanisms, and stakeholders. Part B delves into a comprehensive risk analysis framework, identifying potential risks such as schedule slippage, stakeholder involvement issues, communication barriers, and improper reporting. The analysis includes a risk matrix to assess the likelihood and impact of each risk. Part C outlines a detailed risk mitigation plan, evaluating each identified risk and proposing specific strategies to minimize their impact on the project. The project covers key construction phases, environmental considerations, and financial aspects, providing a holistic view of project management challenges and solutions. The analysis highlights the importance of effective communication, stakeholder management, and proactive risk planning in ensuring the successful completion of large-scale infrastructure projects.

Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project management- Case Study: Sydney Metro Northwest
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Part A: Project overview..................................................................................................................2
A.1 Overview of the project........................................................................................................2
A.2 Overall budget of the project................................................................................................2
A.3 Social and economic rationale..............................................................................................2
A.4 Key statistics.........................................................................................................................3
A.5 Funding mechanism............................................................................................................11
A.6 Key stakeholders.................................................................................................................11
Part B: Risk analysis......................................................................................................................12
B.1 Potential risks......................................................................................................................12
B.2 Risk matrix..........................................................................................................................13
Part C: Risk mitigation plan..........................................................................................................15
C.1 Risk evaluation and risk mitigation strategy.......................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................26

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Part A: Project overview
A.1 Overview of the project
The main focus of the paper is on the construction of “Sydney Metro Northwest” which
will mainly helpful in delivering eight railway stations and around 4000 commuter car parking
spaces. It is found that the train will mainly run in the gap of four minutes and thus it is identified
that the customers does not need to maintain a timetable but they can easily travel without facing
time related issues and challenges. The Sydney was mainly named as the North West Rail link
and it is considered as the first automated metro rail within Australia (Sydneymetro
2019). Further the construction of Sydney metro will be helpful in delivering around reliable
proper public transport within the region that generally consist of highest ownership of car. It is
found that the construction of Northwest Sydney metro has been re-announced in February 2010
and the work of the metro rail will be expected to get completed by May 2019 within the budget
of around $314 million.
A.2 Overall budget of the project
It is found that for constructing the Sydney Northwest metro rail project, it is identified
that around $314 million budget is mainly needed. The construction work will get successfully
completed within the approved budget. The amount that is allocated for completing the
construction mainly includes the execution of each and every activities of the project which are
needed for constructing the metro rail successfully.
A.3 Social and economic rationale
The population of Sydney was growing at an alarming rate and in order to provide proper
travelling experience, the government took the initiative of constructing the Sydney metro

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northwest. It is found that the construction of Metro is considered to be advantageous as the
project that was constructed mainly involve in constructing new stations like Bella vista,
Kellyville and more. It is found that the trains will generally run at the gap of four minutes and
thus the metro will be able to give redundant time table facility to the customers which generally
helps in reflecting that the train will generally arrive shortly. In addition to this, it is found that
the newly constructed northwest metro will generally be able to have the capacity of moving
around 4600 people per hour and thus it is almost double the load that a public transport in
Sydney caries. Moreover, the metro will be helpful in reducing overcrowding on the trains and
will also keep the ever-growing Sydney moving (Sydneymetro 2019). The addition of the fast as
well as reliable train network will further helpful in encouraging the utilization of public
transport which will further helpful in improving the commute for those who already select
public transport. Furthermore, it will be helpful in reducing congestion on the roads.
On the other hand, it is found that the construction of Sydney Metro Northwest also
creates a number of disadvantages in context to social and economic rationale. It is found that if
more existing lines are generally reclaimed and transferred to metro then there is a chance that
large number of staff of railway can be get out of job that generally reflects negative economic
impact. In addition to this, the construction of Northwest Sydney metro is considered to be
incompatible with the existing network.
A.4 Key statistics
Scope and size
The construction of Sydney northwest metro is one of the large project which will helpful
in constructing eight different stations and around 4000 commuter in context to car parking

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spaces and the facility of train running at the gap of four minutes that further helps in reducing
crowding.
The scope of the project includes:
 Excavating the future area for the construction site
 Undertaking the work of tunnel construction
 Undertaking construction work on the precincts and stations
 Undertaking upgradation of the work that is associated with road and footpath
 Installing high voltage of supply
 Undertaking soil removal as well as general civil works for completing the
construction works
Budget and estimated cost
It is identified that for completing the Northwest Sydney metro construction work, it is
assumed that budget of around $ 314 million is generally required as per the assumption. The
amount of money that is set for constructing the project is considered to be appropriate for
successfully executing the project work. The estimated the project budget that is needed is
reflected below:

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Figure 1: Budget
(Source: Created by Author)

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Time required for the project
The construction of Northwest Sydney metro was re-announced in the year 2010 and it is
assumed that the work of construction will be completed successfully by May, 2019. Thus, it is
analyzed that time period of around 9 years (120.6 months approx.) is required for successfully
executing the construction of Sydney metro Northwest successfully.
WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish
0 Sydney Metro Northwest project
120.6
mons
Wed 10-02-10 Thu 09-05-19
1 Project planning 6.2 mons Wed 10-02-10
Mon 02-08-
10
1.1 Requirement analysis 2.25 mons Wed 10-02-10 Tue 13-04-10
1.1.1 Requirement analysis 20 days Wed 10-02-10 Tue 09-03-10
1.1.2 Project nature analysis 25 days Wed 10-03-10 Tue 13-04-10
1.2 Estimation of resource 22 days Wed 14-04-10 Thu 13-05-10
1.3 Time schedule estimation 20 days Fri 14-05-10 Thu 10-06-10
1.4 Estimation of budget 12 days Fri 11-06-10
Mon 28-06-
10
1.5 Estimation of manpower 13 days Tue 29-06-10 Thu 15-07-10
1.6 Analysis of resources 12 days Fri 16-07-10
Mon 02-08-
10
1.7
Milestone 1:Completion of planning
phase
0 days Mon 02-08-10
Mon 02-08-
10

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2 Initiation phase 18.9 mons Tue 03-08-10 Thu 12-01-12
2.1 Procurement of fund 20 days Tue 03-08-10
Mon 30-08-
10
2.2 Appointment of stakeholders 25 days Tue 31-08-10
Mon 04-10-
10
2.3 Arrangement of meetings 30 days Tue 05-10-10
Mon 15-11-
10
2.4 Financial management arrangement 35 days Tue 16-11-10
Mon 03-01-
11
2.5 Workers appointment 30 days Tue 04-01-11
Mon 14-02-
11
2.6 Blueprint preparation 45 days Tue 15-02-11
Mon 18-04-
11
2.7 Land area procurement 30 days Tue 19-04-11
Mon 30-05-
11
2.8 Legal notice release 25 days Tue 31-05-11
Mon 04-07-
11
2.9 Allocation of budget 30 days Tue 31-05-11
Mon 11-07-
11
2.10 Procurement of resources 30 days Tue 12-07-11
Mon 22-08-
11
2.11 Time division 25 days Tue 23-08-11 Mon 26-09-

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11
2.12 Allocation of duty\ 28 days Tue 27-09-11 Thu 03-11-11
2.13 Risk analysis 27 days Fri 04-11-11
Mon 12-12-
11
2.14 Risk mitigation plan 23 days Tue 13-12-11 Thu 12-01-12
2.15
Milestone 2: Completion of initiation
phase
0 days Mon 12-12-11
Mon 12-12-
11
3 Execution phase
120.6
mons
Wed 10-02-10 Thu 09-05-19
3.1 Preparation of land 1 mon Tue 13-12-11
Mon 09-01-
12
3.2 Construction in tunnels 20 mons Tue 10-01-12
Mon 22-07-
13
3.3
Installation of track slab as well as
installation of railway tracks
5 mons Tue 23-07-13
Mon 09-12-
13
3.4
Installation of cable and equipment
including communication and signlling
7 mons Tue 10-12-13
Mon 23-06-
14
3.5 Construction above ground 4 mons Tue 24-06-14
Mon 13-10-
14
3.6 Ongoing construction of the sky train 5 mons Tue 14-10-14
Mon 02-03-
15
3.7 Construction work related with stations 6 mons Tue 03-03-15 Mon 17-08-

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and precincts 15
3.8 Road and footpath upgrade works 10 mons Tue 03-03-15
Mon 07-12-
15
3.9
Construction of new road with
pedestrian bridges
8 mons Tue 08-12-15
Mon 18-07-
16
3.10
Installation of rail track with Sydney
metro train facility
13 mons Tue 19-07-16
Mon 17-07-
17
3.11 Installation of high voltage power supply 12 mons Tue 18-07-17
Mon 18-06-
18
3.12 Station construction 5 mons Tue 19-06-18
Mon 05-11-
18
3.13 Stabling facility construction 6 mons Tue 06-11-18
Mon 22-04-
19
3.14 Testing and commissioning 13 days Tue 23-04-19 Thu 09-05-19
3.15
Milestone 3:Completion of execution
phase
0 days Wed 10-02-10
Wed 10-02-
10
4 Closure phase 1.55 mons Wed 10-02-10
Wed 24-03-
10
4.1 Sign off stakeholder 12 days Wed 10-02-10 Thu 25-02-10
4.2 Review of post project 19 days Fri 26-02-10
Wed 24-03-
10
4.3 Milestone 5: Completion of closure 0 days Wed 24-03-10 Wed 24-03-

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phase 10
Key construction phases or elements
The key construction phases that is associated with the construction of Northwest Sydney
metro rail is generally listed below:
1. Initiation phase
2. Planning phase
3. Execution phase
3.1 Completion of construction of tunnels
3.2 Completion of construction above ground
4. Closure phase of the project
Environmental costs or benefits
It is found that the construction of Sydney metro northwest generally has very much clear
vision and therefore they are capable of delivering proper infrastructure that helps in
demonstrating the social, economic as well as environmental improvements within the entire
lifecycle of the project. It is found that the sustainability generally helps in properly measuring
the project that has generally been properly established for achieving efficiency of water,
biodiversity conservation as well as waste management as well as integration.
A.5 Funding mechanism
It is found that the government of Australia provides funding of around $314 million in
order to undertake the work of construction for effectively constructing the Sydney rail

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northwest. It is necessary for the construction team to execute the project within the amount of
budget that is funded.
A.6 Key stakeholders
The key project stakeholders who are involved with the construction of Sydney metro
Northwest are generally listed below:
 Project manager
 Project planner
 Contractor
 Sub-contractors
 Workers
 Architectural designer
 Construction team
 Financial manager
 Human resource manager
 Civil engineer
Part B: Risk analysis
B.1 Potential risks
The potential risks that are generally identified by utilizing both qualitative as well as
quantitative risk measures within the Sydney Rail Northwest project in context to PMBOK
principles.
Schedule of slippage: It is found that due to some political issue, the project manager
faces a number of issues and challenges in completing the project initial stage and thus the initial

12
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phase of the project does not get executed within the expected time (Sydneymetro 2019). In
addition to this, it is found that span cracks buckling risks are generally causing further delay in
completing the construction of Sydney northwest metro.
Improper involvement of the stakeholders: It is found that if the stakeholders are not
properly involved with the work for which they are generally assigned then they will not be able
to complete the work of the project successfully and as a result a number of issues and
challenges related with the project can generally occur (Cole, Gine and Vickery 2017). For
avoiding such issues, it is quite essential to keep the stakeholders informed and under the role
that they need to play in order to execute the project activities.
Barriers of communication: It is found that as the project team are unable to
communicate with one another properly then it generally can raise a number of problems as well
as problems in completing the project work. Thus, the problem that is associated with
communication can generally create proper impact on the project activities such that the
construction of Sydney northwest metro gets delayed.
Improper reporting: It is found that the project team that is involved with the
construction of Sydney metro northwest are unable to report each and every detail to the project
manager and due to lack of reporting, sometimes the project manager faces challenges in making
proper decision that is beneficial for the success of the organization.
Barriers in management: As the government is facing issues in managing the project
properly due to political issue, therefore the project manager are unsure about the execution of
the project by May 2019 (Tupa, Simota and Steiner 2017). It is found that in order to execute the

13
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
project successfully, it is quite important to manage the project successfully b adopting proper
management strategies.
Improper understanding of roles and responsibilities: The project team that are
mainly involved with the project does not have proper knowledge about their roles and
responsibilities and therefore they face a lot of challenges in issues in undertaking the work
properly. Due to this, the work that is executed by the project team members does not helps in
achieving the goals and objectives of the project effectively.
Safety risk: It is found that the construction of northwest Sydney rail project is risky for
the employees of the organization. It is found that the metro has dangerous corner that can be
risky for the employees of the organization (Koks et al. 2015). Thus, it is quite necessary for the
organization to use proper safety measures in order to avoid the chances of accidents.
B.2 Risk matrix
According to (), a risk matrix is mainly utilized during risk assessment for defining the
level of risks by properly considering the category of probability or likelihood against the
category of consequences. This is considered as a simple mechanism that helps in increasing
visibility of risks which further assists in making proper decisions. It is found that after
undertaking the Sydney northwest project, it is found that there are number of risks as well as
challenges that the project manager faces during the entire lifecycle of the project (Cole, Gine
and Vickery 2017). It is found that in order to analyze the risks, it is quite necessary to determine
the risks on the basis of impact and likelihood matrix. The table that is provided below helps in
properly defining the risk level by properly considering the probability as well as likelihood.
Risk Impact Likelihood Level of risk

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Schedule of slippage High Likely High
Improper
involvement of the
stakeholders
Moderate Possible Medium
Barriers of
communication
High Very likely High
Improper reporting Moderate Likely Medium
Barriers in
management
Very high Possible High
Improper
understanding of
roles and
responsibilities
High Unlikely Medium
Safety risk High Very likely High
Impact
Likelihood
Very
low
Low Moderate High Very high
Rare
Unlikely Improper
understanding
of roles and
responsibilities
Possible Improper Barriers in

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involvement
of the
stakeholders
management
Likely Improper
reporting
Schedule
slipapge
Very likely Barriers of
communication
Safety risk
Part C: Risk mitigation plan
C.1 Risk evaluation and risk mitigation strategy
Risk mitigation is mainly referred as the plan that helps in reflecting different ways for
dealing properly with the risks that generally occurs during the construction of Sydney metro
northwest. The strategies that are utilized for mitigating the risks mainly include risks avoidance,
transfer, elimination as well as sharing to an acceptable level (Andersen 2016). The risk
mitigation plan which are generally developed in order to resolve the risks that occur while
undertaking the metro rail project in Sydney northwest that are mainly elaborated below:
Ris
k
ID
Risk Description Impact Probabil
ity
Responsi
ble
Risk
mitigati
on
strategy
Mitigation
plan
1. Schedule of
slippage
Due to
political
issue, the
project
managers
fails to
High Likely Project
manager
Avoid The project
managers
must hire
more
number of
workers to

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
complete
the initial
stage of the
project
within time
and it
generally
causes delay
in
completing
the first
phase of
construction
.
complete the
work of the
project
within the
expected
deadline for
avoiding
delays
within the
completion
of first phase
of
construction.
2. Improper
involvement
of the
stakeholders
As the
stakeholders
are not
involved
with the
construction
work
properly
therefore
Moder
ate
Possible HR
managers
Mitigate It is quite
necessary to
improve the
involvement
of the
project
stakeholders
by starting
an

17
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
the project
team faces
problems in
executing
the different
stages of the
project.
engagement
program
with the
project
stakeholders.
In addition
to this, this
can also be
done by
arranging
proper
facility of
meeting
from time to
time for
improving
the
stakeholders
improvemen
t.
3. Safety risks It is found
that the
construction
High Very
likely
Risk
managem
ent team
Mitigate It is found
that for
resolving the

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of northwest
Sydney rail
project is
risky for the
employees
of the
organization
. It is found
that the
metro has
dangerous
corner that
can be risky
for the
employees
of the
organization
.
challenges,
it is
necessary to
adopt safety
measures. It
is found that
adoption of
proper safety
measures are
considered
to beneficial
for avoiding
accidents.
4. Barriers of
communicat
ion
If the team
members of
the project
are unable
to
High Very
likely
Project
manager
Mitigate It is found
that in order
to resolve
the barriers
in

19
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
communicat
e with each
other
properly
then it
generally
can raise a
number of
problems as
well as
issues in
completing
the project
work. Thus,
the problem
that is
associated
with
communicat
ion can
generally
create
impact on
communicati
on, it is quite
important to
use proper
method of
communicati
on method
such that the
project team
can be able
to
communicat
e with the
project
leaders and
can be able
to share any
type of
issues and
challenges
that occur
within the
project

20
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
the progress
of the
project and
thus the
construction
of Sydney
northwest
metro can
generally
get delayed.
which not
helps in
resolving the
issues that
are
associated
with the
project.
However
also helps in
avoiding
problems
that occurs
due to
barriers in
communicati
on.
5. Improper
reporting
Due to
improper
reporting,
the project
managers
are unable
Moder
ate
Likely Team
leader
Resolve It is quite
necessary to
report each
and every
details to the
project

21
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
to take
proper
action and
as a result
the success
of the
project
generally
gets
affected. It
is found that
due to
inaccurate
information,
it will be
quite
difficult for
the project
team to
progress
properly
with the
project
manager so
that they can
be able to
make
proper
decision
related with
the project
which will
generally
create
positive
impact on
the
construction
of Sydney
northwest
metro.

22
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
effectively.
6. Barriers in
managemen
t
It is found
that if the
government
is unable to
manage the
northwest
Sydney
project
properly
due to
political
issues, then
it is found
that it is
quite
difficult to
complete
the work of
the project
effectively
within the
expected
Very
high
Possible Managem
ent team
Avoid It is quite
necessary to
implement
proper
management
strategies
that must be
adopted
properly
while
undertaking
the
construction
work of
Sydney
northwest
metro rail
project so
that the
entire
construction
work can be

23
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
time and
budget.
completed
successfully.
Moreover, it
is found that
if
management
related
barriers are
mitigated
then it can
assumed that
the work of
the project
can get
completed
on time as
per the
objectives of
the project.
7. Improper
understandi
ng of roles
and
It is found
that if the
team
members
High Unlikely Hr
manager
Mitigat
e
It is found
that proper
information
about the

24
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
responsibilit
ies
does not
have proper
information
or
knowledge
about their
activities or
about the
work that
they need to
perform
then it will
be quite
difficult to
complete
the project
on time and
as per the
gaols and
objectives
of the
project.
roles and
responsibiliti
es of the
project team
must be
provided in
the initial
phase of the
project so
that the
entire work
of the
project gets
completed
on time and
the team
members
can be able
to achieve
the project
goals and
objectives
on time.

25
PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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