Project Control.

From project control to project management in major rail transition

Along hundreds of kilometers of track in the Netherlands, signals are disappearing. The existing mechanical train protection system is making way for a new, digital European standard. This extraordinarily complex project is taking place in virgin territory: everything is new. That makes it exciting for rail operator ProRail. Project manager René van der Haar explains where ProRail's needs lay and how interim professional Gopal Ruparelia of ConQuaestor emerged from project controller to project control manager.

"This rail transition is really a huge operation," René explains in the Inkpot, ProRail's striking headquarters in Utrecht. "The existing security system is still based on relay technology from the days of the Marshall Plan. And each country has its own system. By 2030, all European main railroad lines must be over to the digital ERTMS: European Rail Traffic Management System. Signals will disappear and every driver of every train will have the same screen in front of him. Freight and passenger trains will soon be able to cross national borders without changing locomotive and driver. Interoperability with a fancy word. This saves costs, works more efficiently and we can fit more trains onto the same route. But the route to that terminus is extremely complex."

Tens of millions of euros

"The section of track between Kijfhoek and the Belgian border is the first piece of track we are tackling," René continues. "With all the marshalling yards and yards, you're talking about some two hundred kilometers of track. And a budget of tens of millions of euros. That's why we initially needed a project controller. Such a request I put out through my line organization, where the relationship with ConQuaestor lies." Martijn Bins, business manager at ConQuaestor: "The relationship with ProRail has existed for years. From our professionals who were and are here, I know that this is a wonderful company to work for! In March 2019, our interim employee Gopal Ruparelia started here as project controller. That was the start of a great journey through the organization. A wonderful company to work for!"

Consistently high quality

Gopal: "The project team that looked into the transition of the first track section started small. And with a limited budget. My role as budget supervisor became less challenging after a few months. It was all just too easy for me." Martijn: "Our consultants want to keep learning and continue adding value where they work. From ConQuaestor we naturally want to ensure that our clients & employees can continue to develop and improve." René: "At the same time, the project team was growing and the existing manager of project management was moving up. So there was an immediate need for someone in that post. Gopal did not have project management in his portfolio, but he was clear in his ambition." Gopal: "Overseeing the entire project and monitoring a consistently high quality of control, planning and risk was something I saw as a very nice task."

Evaluation moment just forgotten

"We decided to make it a six-month learning process," René says. "In a master-apprentice construction with the outgoing project control manager. Gopal was going to combine the functions of controller and manager of project control. That had to be possible, because control seemed like a piece of cake to Gopal. We would take a moment after six months to evaluate how the combination of functions was going. To be brief: we all just forgot about that evaluation moment and Gopal is no longer with us.
working here successfully for almost two years." Gopal agrees, "It clicked immediately with the departing manager. At his side I could quickly pick up how to draw up management plans here, how to ensure integrality and quality, where to get information and with whom to talk. The fact that it was unfamiliar territory actually gave me extra satisfaction."

Path paving yourself

"This project is pioneering in every way," René adds. "We are working on behalf of the ministry, which has set up a separate organization within ProRail within our organization with its own program directorate. We are the first project within ERTMS to become concrete and claim funds from the treasury. There are no set rules or procedures to fall back on: we are inventing them as we go along. Gopal has to walk a path that he has to pave himself. Not just for the project itself, but for the entire program." Gopal nods in agreement, "And this is not even my only project. So I make long days in busy weeks. But with enormous pleasure.

Beyond a new tunnel

"That we want to keep Gopal does say how I feel about him," René believes. "I would like to continue our cooperation like this for another two years. He fits our organization very well." Martijn adds: "In secondment, we always pay very close attention to the ideal match between consultant and client. In doing so, soft skills are at least as important as hard skills." Gopal: "Our project team is substantially different in nature from the rest of ProRail. We lead the way and look for solutions in an organization that otherwise mostly revolves around fixed rules." René explains: "ProRail is the manager of our rail infrastructure, over which one and a half million journeys pass every day. With that management comes reliability, stability and continuity. That characterizes ProRail's culture. Within that conservative culture we are going to do something completely new and far-reaching. This goes much further than building a new tunnel or a new station. It is not surprising that these two cultures sometimes clash. That requires the right man or woman in the right place within our project team."

In the phone clapper

"I usually know very quickly whether someone is in the right place with us," states René. "In short: either a newcomer is gone within a few months or they stay and feel like a fish out of water. The fact that ConQuaestor regularly supplies people who stay with ProRail for a long time shows that they know how to make that match. That is certainly a compliment." Martijn replies, "That compliment also applies to ProRail. Our consultants greatly appreciate that this organization gives them the opportunity to grow. That's why they want to stay." René: "The compliment I also want to make to Gopal is that he guided many people during the difficult corona time. The pandemic took us all by surprise, and Gopal deliberately sought out people who were suddenly working behind their kitchen table instead of within a tight-knit team. He asked them how they were really doing. You just have to see that and be able to do that. Some people you work with, you remember better than others. Gopal will definitely be in my phone clapper." Laughs, " And not just for his great barbecue recipes!"