In this podcast we talk about “managing complexity and risk” on major projects with Mark Thurston, chief executive of the vast HS2 project. 

The UK design and construction sector has for too long been dogged by failure to properly understand and manage risk and complexity, leading to a poor track record of projects completing late and over budget - a point emphasised recently by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt who told a gathering of MPs and engineering professionals that the UK had “lost our way in our ability to deliver big projects at pace”.

Yet experience from many past project successes suggests that it doesn’t have to be that way. We have the talent, resources and experience to do better. So what is going wrong - what has to change to ensure that public money is spent effectively to deliver value outcomes

To discuss this issue, my guest today is Mark Thurston, chief executive, HS2, and as the man in charge of the multi-billion pound investment programme to increase rail capacity between London and Birmingham and then on to Manchester and the North he is well placed to give a view. It is fair to say that he is in charge of one of the most complex projects ever attempted.

Resources

HS2 website
Transforming Infrastructure Performance - Route to 2030
NAO London 2012: post-Games review
HS2 - the route