Project management at The Entrance: organizing in the dynamic rhythm of the city

She is project management manager of project The Entrance and works for Count & Cooper, partner of Max Bögl. Eline van der Bij, herself a resident of Amsterdam, handles project management together with her team. "We are partners from the start of the tender," Eline opens the conversation. Count & Cooper is responsible for project management. This includes project management, a crucial role in the case of The Entrance. "Building in one of the busiest places in 'my city' brings complex challenges," she says.

All management aspects in portfolio

"What I like about our interpretation at The Entrance is that everyone from Count & Cooper who has a role on the central project control team also has a role on the discipline teams. That way of working with the partners brings an innovative perspective to the right places in the organization. That's how we ensure integrality on the project." The work of project The Entrance is divided into five disciplines, each with its own team. Each process coordinator has all management aspects in his or her portfolio within the discipline team. "Then we talk about planning, risks, quality and interfaces," Eline outlines. "Managing money, time and quality in a challenging environment like this is sometimes literally a fun puzzle. To have a clear picture of what we are building, we plan the underground bicycle parking in 4D. By linking the time factor to the 3D design, we make it clear in advance where any
bottlenecks."

The art of controlled adoption

The other major challenge is posed by the changing scope on the project. Eline: "Of course, especially in this type of project, it is essential but at the same time often an illusion to freeze the scope. The fact that the scope is now much larger than when we took on the project calls for 'controlled adoption'. For project management, this means making sure that it is clear to everyone what assumptions we are planning with and that it is known what the right moment is for making the scope change. A combination of changes would delay the project by more than a year. We explored opportunities and - by adjusting the phasing - managed to win back six months on the critical path." 

Opportunities also created by the crisis

A key focus from the tender phase is building in the "rhythm of the city" to minimize disruption to Amsterdam. "Precisely that rhythm has changed because of the corona measures. The situation is difficult, but it also offers opportunities," according to Eline. "We may be building at one of the busiest points in Amsterdam, but because of corona it is now relatively quiet on the streets. This allows us to do paving work earlier, for example. Dealing with these changes requires clear decision moments as well as flexibility from all project staff. That is sometimes difficult, but in these times I prefer to see it as a luxury problem that we have to deal with." 

'Oil between the gears'

When asked how Eline ended up at Count & Cooper, she replied, "I wanted to work in an environment where the results are visible and I found that here. What have I learned since I started working? That everything hinges on people work. Count & Cooper, as a management party, is used to being the oil between the gears. But without good partners, we cannot realize a project. It's all about the right combinations of companies and people. If what we came up with together in the tender phase also turns out to work in execution, the puzzle falls together. I'm proud of that!"