L ON DO N G AMES – WH AT WEN T WEL L?
Report of seminar 179 held on 12th June 2013
Hallam Conference Centre, London
S U MMARY
SEMINAR PROGR AMME
08:45
09:00
Coffee and registration
Chairman's introduction
09:15
Establishing the demand
forecast
Keeping London moving
during the 2012 Games
Discussion
Coffee
London 2012 first and last
impressions
2012 security – what
worked?
Discussion
Lunch
Providing the most digitally
and socially connected
Games ever
09:45
10:15
11:00
11:30
11:50
12:10
12:45
14:00
14:30
15:00
15:45
16:00
Antony Oliver, Editor
Hugh Sumner, Director of
Transport
Mark Evers, Director of
Customer Strategy
Andy Garner, T2 Airline
Readiness Director
Robert Raine, Director
New Civil Engineer
Magazine
Olympic Delivery Authority
Transport for London
LHR Airports Ltd
Home Office
BT Global Services
Jon Osbiston, Senior Project
Manager – formerly London
2012 Venue Telecoms Manager,
BT Global Services
BBC Project L2012, planning Jamie Hindhaugh, Chief
BT Sport
the programme
Operating Officer
Discussion
Chairman's closing
Antony Oliver, Editor
New Civil Engineer
comments
Magazine
Close
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KE Y CONCLUSIONS
PURPOSE
To learn why various aspects in delivering the London 2012 Games were as successful as they
appeared to be and to explore how approaches to planning and execution might be applied to
other projects.
KEY MESSAGES
•The scale of the operation of the Games was enormous. The duration of both the Olympic and
the Paralympic Games was discrete and yet the daily variation in attendance numbers and use
of different locations introduced a complex variable to planning and execution.
•The planning required exceptional attention to detail, for example the types of visitors, the
athletes, the Olympic Family, the media and public all required separate consideration, often
down to a 15-minute timeframe.
•The backbone to all planning for the operation stage was the travel demand forecasting
model. This helped fix the choice of venues and the provision of public transport, freight
deliveries, border control and security.
•All forecasting models are inaccurate and need constant updating.
•During the Games not only did planning have to address the event itself, but London had to
keep operating as normally as possible, giving rise to conflicts of interest.
•Stakeholder engagement across as many bodies as possible was essential, as was the
advanced publicity to enable everyone to adjust their personal travel and work plans.
•Several rehearsals and pre-exercises were undertaken. Many themes held independent
reviews during planning to receive robust comments for improvement.
•In media and communications the Games easily exceeded all previous events for scale of
coverage, quantity of immediate data handling and security of provision.
•During the Games themselves real data was measured and analysed to influence and modify
planned execution. Messages to stakeholders were constantly updated.
•Combined project teams were co-located and run as a single integrated command and control
centre.
•Many existing organisations were brought together for the first time and aligned behind a
single and genuine desire to deliver a world-class Games.
KEY LESSONS
•Plan in huge detail. Expect forecasts to be wrong. Hold independent reviews. Update models
with live data. Be flexible and agile in responding to unfolding issues.
•Embrace creative thinking, but lock down development work early enough to use established
technologies.
•Embody maximum cross-communication, but be decisive when needed. Manage changes in
technology and people.
•Know what good looks like and convey. Just because you can, does not mean you should.
These are the views of Malcolm Noyce, Executive Director, MPA
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INTRODUC T ION
Since 2006 the Major Projects Association has held seminars which have addressed the planning and
delivery of facilities and infrastructure for the London 2012 Games.
This full day seminar looked back at the six weeks of the Games themselves. Focusing on three key
topics – transportation, communications and security – the seminar heard from speakers who were
directly responsible for these areas of operation. It considered how the planning and implementation
determined the success of the Games, and if the reasons can be replicated.
The event was chaired by Antony Oliver, who as Editor of New Civil Engineer has closely watched both
the delivery and execution of London 2012.
E S TABLISHING THE DEMAND FOREC A S T
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the largest logistical peacetime challenge any nation faces.
The numbers of participants, workforce and spectators involved drives every facet of the design of
the Games, and creates logistics of huge complexity.
The first presentation, from the Director of Transport at the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA),
explored how demand for the London 2012 Games was predicted, refined, validated and then used
in real time by many organisations. Data was shared through an open architecture data repository
created by the ODA. It was used by a wide range of stakeholders in assessing the implications for
their organisations – for example Transport for London (TfL), the London Organising Committee of
the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the Home Office, the NHS, security services and local
councils.
In looking at the research undertaken and the forecasting models it was noted that at the heart of
the exercise were the large numbers of people involved: about 12 million ticketed and 8 million nonticketed spectators, the Games Family of some 14,000 athletes, and 20,000 media personnel.
Detailed modelling was required to assess likely travel patterns and the subsequent effect on
transport systems such as London Underground. The models had to be integrated, not just within
London, but back into the UK transport distribution models in order to tie in with local public
transport. It was explained how understanding demand and transport patterns influenced the
planning of events in a variety of ways – for example, the competition schedule, or defining Olympic
Park approach routes.
Transport during the Games was a success. Nonetheless there were aspects that only became clear
with hindsight, such as how much variability there would be in terms of the sports overruns or late
sales of tickets, or just how complex the logistics challenge would become. The lessons learned are
available for organisers of future Games, whilst tools and techniques for information dissemination
and travel demand management have been passed on to operating organisations, including TfL and
Network Rail.
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KEEPING LONDON MOVING
Transport for London had the twin objectives of making sure London hosted a successful Games, and
at the same time keeping the city moving and open for business despite unprecedented demand
across the network – for instance the 6.9 million journeys on the Docklands Light Railway during the
Olympics were double the normal levels.
This presentation explored how these objectives were achieved, and some of the challenges faced –
for example, the proximity of many of the venues to homes and businesses meant there were many
conflicting movements in terms of pedestrians, vehicles and public transport. And every day of the
Games was unique, with daily variability of movement and passenger flow.
It was explained that transport worked well during the Games for a number of reasons. These
included well-managed investment in new and upgraded infrastructure prior to the Games; good
collaboration between transport operators; excellent operational performance; effective road
network management; and a successful communications strategy – for example, the Travel Demand
Management programme provided spectators, businesses and regular travellers with information to
help them plan ahead. Encouraging people to alter their regular travel pattern for at least some of the
time during the Games helped to reduce demand at peak times.
A well-integrated customer experience was also crucial – such as free public transport for ticket
holders on the day of their event, combined with frequent and reliable train services and real-time
travel advice. Another factor was effective collaboration with business, providing help and advice on
transport issues to businesses of all sizes. For example, TfL worked closely with the freight industry,
the Government and regulators to ensure sensible enforcement regulations, and produced an online
freight journey planner to help companies plan delivery schedules.
The presentation concluded by considering some of the lasting effects of the Games across the
network. Infrastructure improvements have provided extra capacity, better reliability, and improved
connectivity across London. Accessibility was also markedly improved and included the use of manual
boarding ramps at 16 Tube stations during the Games. This has now been extended to a further 19
stations.
LONDON 2012 FIR S T AND L A S T IMPRE S SIONS
This session, from LHR Airports, looked at how Heathrow, the host airport, prepared for and carried
out the successful London 2012 Games airport operation. The Games involved 70,000 Games Family
journeys in and out of Heathrow and 12 million passengers, and was described by the CEO of LHR as
‘Heathrow’s greatest ever operational challenge’.
Key challenges included the need to accommodate some 3,000 extra aircraft movements in the
already congested airspace of south-east England, and the increased numbers of passengers and their
baggage – particularly the day after the closing ceremony of the Olympics.
…continued
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impressions continued
The presentation went on to detail Heathrow’s approach to planning and preparation, and some
of the processes that were put in place – for example ‘meet and greet’ services for the athletes. An
important factor at the outset was learning from the experiences of previous host airports such as
Sydney, Athens, Beijing and Vancouver, and adopting aspects that would work for Heathrow.
The objectives for the operation included a clear vision of success, a single operating plan with
customer needs at its heart, a single set of contingency plans giving maximum flexibility, and rigorous
programme and project management discipline. The plan was published in January 2012, at which
point there was ‘lockdown’ of the design and the proposed implementation.
Partnership was key. For instance, the airport’s 200 organisations and 70,000 employees worked as
a single team with a single risk responsibility; the police worked closely with Heathrow in terms of
security risk and the extra security measures that were put in place – for example they worked in
conjunction with the border control force, ensuring there were sufficient resources to avoid lengthy
arrival queues.
Record customer service ratings, positive media coverage and industry awards were indications of
how Heathrow performed during 2012. It was explained that many of the solutions and ways of
working implemented during the Olympics and Paralympics have been retained, providing a Games
legacy for Heathrow.
2012 SECURI T Y – WHAT WORKED?
This session, from the Director of Olympic and Paralympic Security in the Home Office (who was in
post from March 2008 through to the Games and their aftermath) described the scale of the Olympic
Games security task, the particular challenges that it brought and some of the innovative approaches
that were required to ensure success.
It was explained that the Government does not normally organise the planning, fund or take part
in the operational security of a major event in the UK. However, the size and visibility of the Games
meant that the Government had to take on an overarching role – for instance putting in place a
strategic framework, defining roles and responsibilities, and dealing with issues of funding.
The presentation looked at the threats and risks faced and how they were addressed, the planning
methodologies that were adopted, and how the complex solutions were subject to evolving
governance and programme management disciplines.
A single holistic threat assessment process was developed, with four types of major threat assessed:
terrorism, organised crime, domestic extremism/public order disruption and hazards (e.g. flooding).
The whole security community and the Games community were brought together to create a single
view of the threats, something which was in itself innovative.
…continued
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security continued
The security approaches taken by the main forces – police, military and private security – were
outlined, and it was explained how they were brought together through a combination of both
innovative and tried and tested command and control arrangements.
Putting a national command and control structure in place was essential to manage a security
operation that involved 50,000 people – including a 105-day policing operation with 52 police forces
and up to 14,500 officers. Over 18,000 members of the armed forces were deployed, as well as
private security personnel. The command and control model was complicated, but well-developed,
properly scaled and properly practised command and control procedures were crucial to success.
The presentation concluded with an overview of what was achieved and some of the reasons why the
security operation was successful.
PROVIDING T HE MOS T DIGI TALLY AND S OCIALLY CONNEC TED GAME S E VER
The London 2012 Games was the most digitally and socially connected Olympic and Paralympic
Games ever – and every picture, message and call was carried over BT’s optical fibre networks.
Working with its fellow technology partners at LOCOG, BT was involved in building the
physical communications, and was responsible for delivering, operating and managing the
telecommunications services that underpinned access to the internet for broadcasters, the media
and the public.
This presentation looked at the challenges leading up to and during the Games, and how the four
years of meticulous planning led to six weeks of successful delivery.
The first three years were spent in planning, designing and testing the infrastructure, using tried and
tested technology. The decision was made to over-engineer the system to ensure there would be
sufficient capacity in the network.
Connectivity had to be provided to a total of 94 competition and non-competition venues. These
included all the venues and services within the Olympic Park, the outlying venues around London,
venues outside London, and other locations such as Heathrow and transport depots.
Installing infrastructure during the test events held in 2011 provided valuable operational experience
– for instance a significant challenge was the safe and steady provision of electrical power to
communications networks, particularly at places like Greenwich Park, where there is no normal mains
electricity provision. Another challenge was installing a communications infrastructure in temporary
venues that were constructed and dismantled very quickly, such as the beach volleyball venue in
Horse Guards Parade.
The presentation concluded by looking at what had been achieved, and what lessons had been
learned. For example, service targets and delivery milestones were exceeded on a network that
worked flawlessly – this was put down to detailed planning that covered every possible scenario. It
was noted that rapid, clear communication throughout the company is key, and improvements have
been made to both organisation and communications across BT’s lines of business.
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BBC PROJEC T L2012, PL ANNING THE PROGR AMME
The final presentation was given by the former Head of Production for the BBC’s London 2012
project. Known internally as L2012, the project provided multi-platform coverage – television, radio,
online – of the Games as well as other major events during 2012; it was the biggest single editorial
project in the BBC’s history.
The presentation started by looking at the project’s achievements. For example, the opening
ceremony of the Olympic Games had 28.7 million viewers, the largest audience in 30 years. Online,
some seven million people in the UK browsed the internet daily – it was the first time that live events
had been streamed on such a large scale. People were also able to watch sport on mobile devices,
which had not really happened before. Over 2,500 hours of live Olympic sport were broadcast across
27 channels, 24 of which were streamed.
The session went on to look at key aspects of managing and delivering the project – for example the
importance of trust; the creation of a road map to give a sense of direction; how to quantify value for
money; the importance of audience research in gauging people’s expectations of the BBC’s coverage;
and the logistics of setting up studios within and overlooking the Olympic Park.
The project team successfully adapted core project management approaches and principles to
manage and deliver this large project. For example, it was explained that the basic project triangle of
scope, cost and time was not adequate for a creative environment. Two additional aspects – quality
and benefits – were brought in; this produced a ‘production diamond’ that formed the basis of the
business case used for every programme commissioned around the Games.
The project was closed in October 2012. The ‘plan, do, review’ matrix for governance, delivery and
audiences that was used throughout the project provided the basis for the closedown report, which
detailed the budget, target, benefits, what was delivered and how. The report also included lessons
learned, opportunities, risks, and what did not go according to plan.
CONCLUSION
The scale of activity that brought the six weeks of the Games to fruition was huge, as was the scale of
plans needed to make them happen.
In summing up the many and varied reasons why the Games were successful, the Chairman noted the
importance of communication across the different working groups and stakeholders, whatever the
activity – for example, infrastructure construction, transport logistics or security. He also questioned
whether it was possible to replicate this, and continue to work across organisational boundaries in
the future.
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PARTICIPAT ING ORGANIS AT IONS
BAE Systems
BBC
Bechtel Ltd
BT Global Services
BT Sport
CJ Associates
Costain Ltd
Crossrail Limited
Defence Infrastructure Organisation
EC Harris LLP
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Home Office
Institute for Government
LHR Airports Ltd
MPLA Cohort 2/Department for Education
Major Projects Association
Mott MacDonald
National Centre for Project Management (NCPM)
New Civil Engineer Magazine
Olympic Delivery Authority
PA Consulting Group
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Risk Solutions
The Nichols Group
Transport for London
WMG: University of Warwick
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