Julianakanaal project management proves added value

Making complex projects manageable and controllable. That is one of Count & Cooper's areas of expertise. Reason why they were asked by Rijkswaterstaat and Van den Herik-Sliedrecht for the widening of the Juliana canal. Teus Stam, project manager of Count & Cooper: "Project management increases the quality of the planning and the risk file."

"From Rijkswaterstaat and Van den Herik, the task is to make and keep a realistic schedule of the work," Teus explains. "The ultimate goal is to make the opening of the canal and the further completion of the project predictable. In practice, this amounts to realistically estimating the work we need to do and the risks that may occur." Teus and his colleagues sit with Rijkswaterstaat and Van den Herik on site at the Juliana Canal. "Every week we collect information about the progress and risks in the work sections North, Middle and South. An important risk is the uncertainty about the amount of contaminated dredged material and its disposal options. The important thing is to figure out in advance how to deal with this risk so that we can avoid any deviation leading to delay. Another risk is unworkable weather during the winter period." 

Substantiation essential

Count & Cooper works with advanced planning and risk analysis tools. "With these, we substantiate the feasibility date. There is a lot of money involved in this project and the stakes are high; therefore it is very important to be able to substantiate the progress of the project and the consequences of occurring risks. The tools and techniques help us to do this, but the most important thing remains the interaction with the people who carry out the project," says Teus. 

Cooperation Agreement

Rijkswaterstaat and Van den Herik work on the basis of a cooperation agreement, and this is different from a traditional client-contractor relationship. "This is a fine form of cooperation. The communication is very open and you easily take note of each other's risks and concerns. And precisely because we are very open with each other, we can discuss and remove concerns and uncertainties in a timely manner. That benefits the quality of project management and creates a nice atmosphere."