Denver Baggage Handling System Case

Terminal 4

Terminal 5

WBS

Stakeholders Management

Terminal 8

• Lack of clear project definition since the start.
• Structural modifications
• Interior configuration (concourses)
• Equipment, systems, and machinery integrated randomly
• Poor scope lead to a lot of changes in the WBS

• Airlines signed contract
• But United Airlines
• Denver PM Office
• Not used or consulted
• Population and government
• Invited for demonstration before any test
• Contractors
• Not kept in the loop or in the decision making

References

Terminal 6

Outline

1) Schloh, M. (1996). Analysis of the Denver International Airport Baggage System, 1-29

2) Gibbs, W. (1994). Software's Chronic Crisis. TRENDS IN COMPUTING, 1-14

3) Calleam Consulting Inc. (2008). Case Study – Denver International Airport Baggage Handling System – An Illustration of Ineffectual Decision Making

4) Johnson, K. (2005) Denver Airport Saw the Future. It Didn't Work. The New York Times

5) Coolman, A. (2014, October 30). Lessons Learned from Project Failure at Denver

6) International Airport: Why Checking Bags is Still a Pain.

7) Denver International Airport (DIA). (n.d.).

H. (2010, August 23). MSNBC on Denver's Automated Baggage System.

Time management

1. Case Introduction

2. Scope Management

3. Work Breakdown Structure

4. Stakeholders Management

5. Time Management

6. What could have been done

• Project delayed 16 months
• Bad time management since beginning
• Construction of the airport was competed before the project start date
• BEA agreed to complete a 4 year project in 2 years
• Opening date delayed 4 times
• Additional cost of $528 million due to the delay
• PM team let the baggge system become the critical path

Prioritization task

• 1- Scope Management
• 2 - WBS
• 3 - Stakeholder Management
• 4- Time Management

Terminal 1

Terminal 2

Terminal 3

Case Introduction

Scope Management

• 140 sq-km, largest in US, handles 50 M passengers
• Reduce aircraft TAT by 30 mins
• Expected completion - Oct 1993
• Actual completion - Feb 1995
• Project delayed by 16 months
• Result - Single concourse for outbound flight + manual system

Case Introduction

• Underestimated the complexity of the project
• Ended up with a single concourse, outbound flights only and manual system

Absence of a change control board

• No Change Management strategy
• Continually accepted change requests

Terminal 7

What could have been done

• Building planning made at the same time as the baggage system (Integrated planning)
• Listen to experts saying the project was more complex and could not be done in 2 years
• Execute a change management strategy
• Proper line balancing
• Testing of the system
• Proper stakeholder management

Denver Airport

Baggage Handling System

Nirja Shah

Javier Angel

Caner Ozcan

Dhruvil Oza

Mehmet Tuna Sakallioglu

Kayavan Shah

Maria Silva