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Question 4 [30] MANAGEMENT IN Read the case study below and conduct a post-project review of the Sydney Opera House project using your textbook as a guide. Include all parts of a post-project review and give your finding for each item. Case Study: The Sydney Opera House construction: A case of project management failure The Sydney Opera House is an iconic structure recognized as a symbol of Australia around the world. The architect, Jrn Utzon, won the design competition in 1957. Construction commenced in 1959. The construction period was originally scheduled for four years with an allocated budget of AU$7 million. The project took 14 years to completed at a cost of AUS$102 million. The Sydney Opera House is probably one of the most disastrous construction projects in history, not only from the financial point of view but also for the whole management plan. At the beginning of any project goals and objectives have to be clearly defined by the client to provide a guide to what the project must complete. There are three main factors: time, cost and quality. In the case of the Sydney Opera House the last was the most important, as it was an almost unrestricted goal of the project and the reason why it was launched. No indications of time or cost limits were provided for the competition. Thus, the architects were allowed total freedom in their designs. After Utzon was selected, he presented his "Red Book in March 1958 - the Sydney National Opera House report. It gave some indications such as plans, sections, reports by consultants, etc. The funds came almost entirely from a dedicated lottery, so the project was not a financial burden for the government. The goal was to complete the construction at the end of 1962 and have the grand opening at the start of 1963. The project should have lasted four years. The main stakeholder was the architect, but Utzon was much more troubled with the design aspect than time and costs objectives, which proved challenging. During the project Utzon joined forces with Ove Arup, who oversaw the structure and the engineering. With other subcontractors, the team oversaw mechanics, electrics, heating and ventilating, lighting and acoustics. There was no real project manager, but collaboration between Utzon and Arup instead. The other main stakeholder was the client, the state of New South Wales. This included the Australian government, which launched the competition for the project, and the Labour Premier, Joe Cahill. A part-time executive committee was created to provide project supervision, but the members had no real technical skills. The government eventually became an obstacle to the project team by inhibiting changes during operations, contributing to cost overruns and delays. Finally, the public was an indirect stakeholder because they were concerned with the project's success. There appeared to be problems from the start, The project was divided into three stages: stage 1 was the podium, stage 2 was the outer shells and stage 3 was the interiors and windows. Utzon remonstrated that he had not completed the designs for the structure. The government maintained that the construction must start. In addition, the client changed the requirements of the design after the construction had begun, from two theatres to four. This meant plans and designs had to be modified during construction. he initial project's budget estimate was based on unfinished design drawings and sit urveys, which later lead to disagreements. The contractors for the first stage successfully saimed additional costs of AUS$1.2 million in 1962 due to design changes. When it was ompleted in 1963, it had cost an estimated AUS$5.2 million and it was already 47 weeks over chedule. tage two was the most contentious. As costs increased a new government stepped in and monitored all payments requested by the Opera House. By the end of stage one, Utzon ubmitted an updated estimate of the projects total cost as AUS$12.5 million. As more payments were delivered and no visible progress was seen, the government began withholding payments to Utzon. Stage two slowed down and in 1966 Utzon felt forced to resign from the project as his creative freedom was restricted, and therefore he could not bring his perfect idea co completion The project was taken over by three Australian engineers, and stage two was completed in 1967 at a total cost of AUS$13.2 million. When Utzon walked out of the project, he did not leave any designs or sketches to work with as he was convinced that he would be called back once the new team failed. This was not so, and as there were no designs to work with, new ones had to be created based on the current structure of the Opera House; many unexpected problems were discovered. Obviously, this resulted in a huge increase in the estimate of the total cost of the project, which ended up at AUS$85 million. Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the Sydney Opera House in 1973. This was 17 years after redesigns, underestimates and cost overruns. By 1975, the building had paid for itself , thanks to the lottery system that was created to assist its funding. Utzon was never to return to Australia, never to see the result of his work that was recognised as an incredible architectural achievement . In 2003 the architect was honoured with the Pritzker Prize, the most renowned architectural prize in the world