Customer Success Story
The Save Venice Project
Deltek Open Plan™ and Deltek Cobra™ implemented to Save Venice
The Challenge
Venice is built on 117 islands with 150 canals and 400 bridges. It lies at the center of a shallow lagoon created by the estuaries of three rivers and is protected from the Adriatic Sea by a fragile line of sandbars. Through the centuries, Venetian engineers have modified these elements to provide a better environment for the life of the city. Two natural channels were blocked to minimize flooding and massive sea walls were installed. The rivers have been diverted to prevent further silting of the lagoon, and one-third of the lagoon has been filled.
In more recent times, abnormally high tides caused by global warming are gradually eroding Venice's foundations, causing the historic city to sink. Local authorities have said that by 2050, much of Venice could be permanently underwater. In the past, flooding only occurred an average of five times per year, however the number of flood emergencies declared over the past 10 years has tripled.
The next major intervention will be the installation of movable flood barriers across the ports. Progetto Venezia (Venice Project) is a complex project comprised of numerous operations geared toward safeguarding Venice and its lagoon. The Ministry of Public Works created The Consorzio Venezia Nuova (New Venice Consortium) to administer Venice Project and deal with suitable contractors.
The Solution
The Consortium chose Emmepi, a project management services company, to implement a system for planning activities, monitoring progress, and managing the project through the creation of technical and financial planning, as well as document control. Emmepi selected Open Plan and Cobra as the project and cost management tools for Venice Project. At the project's conclusion, 79 flood barriers will be engineered and erected over eight years across the three ports of Chioggia, Malamocco, and Lido.
The project plan groups activities such as studies, experiments, preliminary planning, executive planning and completion of works. These are organized in a logical manner, and objectives relating to time, cost, and quality are established.
The complex nature of Venice Project is increased by the element of uncertainty and fluctuation associated with its financing. The government allocates funds to the project annually, but neither the amount nor the date on which the funds will be made available are announced in advance. Consequently, project plans must be flexible and capable of adapting to available funds while still guaranteeing project advancement.
In order to implement the planning and control system, a model was created that reflects Venice Project's potential problems and details its operational processes. This model includes all necessary activities, responsibilities, deadlines, reciprocal interrelationships and financial commitments. From this model, Open Plan and Cobra were selected to manage the project.
The Benefits
“Open Plan is particularly suitable for Progetto Venezia because it enables multi-project management and the definition of external links that allow us to visualize the elements linking the project together,” says Signorelli. “In addition, Open Plan is capable of creating a large number of code files as well as custom reports. With its advanced features, Open Plan also offers a lot of flexibility to the user.”
Within the planning and control system scope, Open Plan performs many functions, including planning and progressing of activities, sub-dividing projects, creating codes and the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), reporting time elements, and managing the main project plan. With specific customization, Cobra is used to manage the reference budget, capture and validate balance sheets, analyze financial movements, simulate economic forecasts, and generate financial reports.
“Again, Cobra fits very nicely into the project. Its ability to customize both common (WBS, Fiscal Calendar, Code File, etc.) and specific (Cost Account and Work Package) reference structures and to link to Open Plan data allows project cost and status to be closely monitored and controlled. In addition, Cobra's flexibility to configure cost models enables management at various levels to better assess assets and liabilities,” continues Signorelli. “Only through applying project management techniques and tools such as Open Plan and Cobra is it possible to manage a project of this size and nature.”
Through the planning and control systems that have been implemented, Emmepi produces specific reports at prearranged deadlines, thus enabling the Consorzio Venezia Nuova to ensure compliance with its time, cost, and quality objectives, as well as with deadlines.