Delivering on Time, on Budget: A Q&A with Jacobs Risk Manager Eva Chan Hu

When you’re up against a critical deadline and must deliver on time and on budget, how do you overcome the unexpected, such as COVID-19 wreaking havoc on our worldwide supply chain? Jacobs’ Risk Manager, Eva Chan Hu, explains how in this Q&A.

Let’s get started:

Tell us about what you’ve been working on.

I’ve been working on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) Expansion Project – Floral Park to Hicksville for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which adds an additional 9.8-mile third track to LIRR’s Main Line and increases passenger capacity by 50 percent. The expansion also helps alleviate congestion during peak riding hours, improve overall rail services and enhance rider and vehicle safety.

Jacobs is working with our joint venture (JV) partner, Arup, as the project management consultant for MTA Construction & Development (MTA C&D), where we provide project management oversight that includes commercial, risk, public outreach, rail operations and digital information management. Our JV also provides compliance oversight for design, construction, quality, safety and security.

I joined the project in early 2018, and I’ve had a few different roles along the way. I started on the contract management side managing 20 sub-consultants. From there, I moved into a risk manager role, and now I’m the deputy commercial manager supporting Diaa Elmaddah, Jacobs’ program manager. It’s my responsibility to look at the financial front and any commercial issues that might arise.

Your expertise is in risk. Can you describe what risks come with a mega-project such as this and why it’s important to mitigate them?

Risk management plays a critical role on a mega-project like the LIRR Expansion Project. We have to be five steps ahead, thinking of possible outcomes and discussing each of them with the team, anticipating every scenario. Some risks can’t be mitigated, so how can we manage them?

A high-profile project of this size and magnitude carries a lot of risk because the project itself draws community attention. It’s our job to make sure it’s delivered on time and on budget, helping us protect our client’s reputation. We’re also working with a compressed timeline —that’s a big risk on its own. In addition, the project’s physical constraints also have risk. We’re not starting from scratch — we’re working with an existing, functioning railroad where operations must be maintained each day. LIRR is one of the busiest railroads in the country, so how can we maintain safety and operations while we’re building at the same time? These are all types of operational risk.

There’s also quite a bit of financial risk that comes with a project this size. How can we provide oversight and direction while also preventing cost overruns? How can we work with the design-builder to circumvent claims?

The project’s location impacts people’s daily lives; in some cases, we’re working right next to their back yards, affecting homes and businesses. A lot of people depend on the train to get from Long Island to Manhattan for work, so how can we make sure we don’t have a train stoppage when people are trying to get to work? We’re always working within the constraints; in this case, making sure service is maintained during those peak commute hours. The effort is huge, so our train operations team has daily conversations with the design-builder and plans every detail carefully.

One of the big challenges has been eliminating the rail grade crossings, which must be done within 48 hours so that we don’t impact the morning commute. It requires a Friday night start and must be finished before Monday morning’s peak hours. All of this is a huge risk and requires a lot of coordination.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic was our biggest challenge. At the end of 2019, we started to hear about something happening in China; there was talk of a virus. I’m from Hong Kong, and many years ago, the city experienced a small outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). I heard about what was going on in Wuhan, and it reminded me of the SARS outbreak. I alerted the team, telling them it had the potential to become a serious issue. We started discussing possible risks, one of which was how the virus might impact the supply chain. Of course, none of us knew we were facing a pandemic, but as the virus spread, we moved from risk management to crisis management, and before we knew it, we were working remotely.

In the construction industry, everybody is used to working full-time at the site. In a matter of days, we established systems and ways of communicating — an entire new working environment — because stopping work on the project wasn’t an option.

We experienced some supply chain challenges, but I give much credit to those team members who worked in the field once it was safe to do so. They went above and beyond for the project and broader team, and their dedication helped us pull through without any project delays.

How is the LIRR Expansion Project going to benefit New Yorkers?

There are many positive benefits. This railroad was built 100 years ago when the population was much smaller so having only two tracks — one going east and one going west — worked. But as the population grew, so did demand. The railroad was already being run at capacity, and if anything happened, with just two tracks, everything came to a halt. A fallen tree, bad weather, icy conditions, a train breaking down — the railroad stops. The new third track serves as a buffer so if something happens, a backup is available to handle the load.

The expansion also increases capacity by 50 percent, with commute times reduced by almost 40 minutes, saving time and providing reliability. We’re also bringing five LIRR train stations to modern-day standards, making them accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Eliminating the eight at-grade crossings is critical for safety. When the railroad was built, the crossings were located at-grade, so in essence, the railroad is being “shared” with those who drive vehicles. On a busy commuter morning, drivers have to wait for the train to go by to pass over the tracks safely. If they only have a few minutes to cross, they might be tempted to jump the red light, and this creates a huge safety issue.