Airport Construction Without the Turbulence: A Team Approach
One of the largest challenges in airport capital improvement projects is balancing construction activities with maintaining day-to-day airport operations. The question of how to approach these challenges as a unified project team is a frequent topic of discussion from project kick-off and often remains a point of focus well into construction. As operational needs shift and construction sequencing evolves, these elements can be in constant flux, leading to frustration, revisiting plans, and last-minute changes in operations. Therefore, fostering a cohesive team—including the contractor, designer, airport staff, and relevant stakeholders—is essential for successfully navigating complex phasing and logistics challenges.
The first key to successful phasing and logistics is to start off on the right foundation. What is the right process, organization, and roles/responsibility matrix to ensure success? Can we simply assign these responsibilities to one party in the contract? The answer is no. The key to long-term success in a multi-year construction project is to form a dedicated phasing and logistics team composed of members from each critical stakeholder group: the airport, contractor, and designer. Each plays a distinct and indispensable role in ensuring smooth execution.
Secondly, to be successful, it is important for each team member to understand their role and ownership in the process. The contractor must determine the construction sequence, means, and methods, as well as provide options for how to approach building the project. The designer is essential when sequencing requires unique engineering solutions to start and stop systems at different phases of the work or to validate fire/life/safety compliance with the authority having jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the airport team is critical in evaluating operational considerations and approving changes that may impact airport functionality.
The final key to success is to remain flexible and follow the mantra: plan the work, work the plan, repeat. Challenges inevitably arise at different stages of the project lifecycle. Problems occur when engineering solutions are relegated solely to the contractor or when means and methods decisions are offloaded onto the designer. Similarly, operational considerations cannot be simply deferred from the owner to the design/construction team. The key to overcoming these challenges is to ensure that each party has the appropriate personnel to manage their respective responsibilities. Tasks should be assigned to those best suited to handle them—design work to the designer, construction work to the contractor, and operational considerations to the airport.
Lastly, successful phasing and logistics planning is not a one-time effort during design but an ongoing process. Regular reviews with all parties are necessary to assess progress, address unforeseen challenges, and adapt the plan as new risks emerge. As the old adage goes, "No plan survives first contact!" The ability to pivot, problem-solve, and maintain a unified team approach is what ultimately drives success in airport construction projects.
LaMonte Forgays
Vice President | Aviation
Q&D Construction
