Projects in the News this week – 8th November

International Project Management Day 2019

Thursday 7 November 2019 was International Project Management Day 2019. First introduced in 2004, it takes place every year on the first Thursday of November to recognise the value of Project Management and many different bodies host events worldwide to celebrate the day. For instance, the International Institute for Learning (IIL), which launched IPM day, had a theme this year of 'Focusing On What Matters' for their conference. The Institute of Project Management promoted its resources for all project managers to use for their projects.

Ireland's National Children's Hospital (NCH) Project

Thursday 7 November 2019, The Irish Independent and RTE reported on the National Children's Hospital (NCH) Project as the Labour party claimed the project would now exceed €2bn and Fianna Fáil' Marc McSharry said the situation "effectively amounts to a blank cheque". These statements came after David Gunning, the chief officer of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB), stated that there had been several exceptions outside of the approved budget for which there is no price certainty at this point or for the duration of the project. Members of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board appear again before the Public Accounts Committee in a few weeks.

UK's Crossrail Delay: Line will not open until 2021 as costs increase

Friday 8 November 2019, Crossrail Ltd chief executive Mark Wild said the project's cost could reach £18.25bn, an increase of £650m over budget. Europe's biggest infrastructure project, which will connect significant landmarks such as Heathrow Airport and the Canary Wharf business district budget, was originally set at £15.9bn. In April, it was announced that services would begin between October 2020 and March 2021. However, Mr Wild has now insisted services would begin "as soon as practically possible in 2021". The delay will allow more time to complete software development and enable safety systems to be tested. The news will not sit well for businesses in the region. However, once completed, an estimated 200 million passengers will use the new underground line annually, increasing central London rail capacity by 10% - the most substantial increase since World War Two.

Microsoft's "Working Reform Project" in Japan

Monday 4 November 2019, European media reported Microsoft Japan's human resource "Working Reform Project". The project involved its Japan offices being closed every Friday in August — approximately 2,280 employees participated. Comparing the same period last year, the data showed productivity per employee increased by 39.9% year on year. At the end of the trial, 92.1% of the employees said they supported the four day work week schedule. Employees reportedly took 25.4% fewer days off in August and used 23.1% less electricity in the office. Due to its successful run, Microsoft Japan plans to repeat the project in the summer of 2020 or during other times of the year as well.

Have a good weekend!

from The Institute of Project Management's Team